For audio version of the press review, read by Alicja Baczynska, click above.
The Environment Ministry has drawn up a draft seed bill, where a given province’s inspector for the protection of plants and seeds will be able to keep tabs on all the GM plantations in a special register, according to the planned legislation.
Environmentalists are not pleased, however.
“Our country should totally ban the cultivation of GM crops, as many global research institutes show that modified food poses threats to human health,” claims Edyta Jaroszewska-Nowak, from the GM-free Poland association.
Dziennik Gazeta Prawna writes about growing product placement on Polish TV, which is now luring a rising number of advertisers.
According to data released by the Nielsen Audience Measurement research company, the number of branded goods showcased in TV programmes has increased by over a half compared to last year, with the figures growing from 181,000 to 282,000 from January to mid-September.
These can be seen all day long, starting from morning talk shows, to various TV series and entertainment programmes in the evening.
Embedded marketing is a clever way to stand out while steering clear of stuffed commercial clusters, the paper argues.
“The clients are, however, now increasingly asking about the possibility of co-producing the programmes,” says a sales director with one of the major advertising agencies in Poland.
Rzeczpospolita writes about the fact that kindergarten fees are up by even 100 percent, adding that this shows that the government is merely playing lip service to its trumpeted ‘pro family policies’.
Soaring nursery fees are the aftereffect of a number of new tasks set out by the government, which has promised grants totaling half a billion zloty (over 120 million euro) for kindergartens back in March. This cost, however, have not been included in next year’s state budget, which means that higher expenditures have to be covered by local government, who are passing on costs to parents.
Big Brother is watching in Bytom, southern Poland, as the city’s streets are now peppered with CCTV cameras, writes Gazeta Wyborcza.
The contraptions are equipped with receptors capable of recognizing the passerby’s mood and can detect any form of untypical behaviour, be it violence or loitering.
“It’s a project that violates the balance between security and the citizens’ freedom and privacy,” claims Interior Minister Jacek Cichocki. “Instead of genuinely improving safety on the streets, such systems could lead to the discrimination of certain behaviours,” says Małgorzata Szumańska, from the Panoptykon ngo dealing with surveillance society issues. After all, there is no obligation to traverse public spaces walking straight or with a smile on your face, she argues.
An extensive debate on mass surveillance in Poland is about to begin, the Interior Ministry officials claim, as they point to plans of drawing up legislation on monitoring systems – a first for the country. (aba/pg)
Poland in the foreign press:
Staunchly Catholic Poland takes a new look at easing abortion laws Christian Science Monitor via Yahoo News
Germany and Poland: EU needs more democracy The Local, Germany's News in English
A Polish girl's journey across three continents BBC World Service