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Post by Moses on Jan 24, 2005 11:58:57 GMT -5
Poland Approves USD 870m
Lockheed Offset Deal
P[/size]oland officially accepted the changes to
the offset agreement with American
military giant Lockheed Martin, allowing
for USD 870 million offset investment in
arms producer Mesko, and pushing forward
the USD 1 billion Tetra project, government
said in a statement after a meeting on
Jan. 18.
The announcement expands on some
details and fine-tunes the mechanism for
cooperation between Lockheed and the
Polish government for further offset deals.
This is part of the on-going settlement of
an agreement first signed in April 2003 tied
to Poland’s USD 3.5 billion purchase of 48
F-16 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. In
exchange for the purchase by the Poles,
Lockheed is required to “offset” or match
this purchase value through investments
directly by Lockhead or other investments
by firms Lockheed brings to the table, which
are subject to approval by the Polish “offset
committee”.
The real value of Mesko contract with
Norwegian investor Nammo will be significantly
lower than PLN 870 million because
Poland highly values technology transfer in
its offset calculations giving it a multiplier of
five times the nominal value. According to
earlier government statements, technology
transfer constitutes a majority of the deal.
INTERFAX
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Post by karpomrx on Jan 24, 2005 13:31:01 GMT -5
What is Poland's role in NATO to be?
A forward airbase for the invasion of Russia?
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Post by Moses on Jan 24, 2005 15:34:58 GMT -5
Yes! Perhaps their history of having been colonized causes them to feel comfortable with their current overlord. They also have an active, theocratic far-right, the twin of ours, called the "League of Polish Families" (an "ultra-Catholic" org). Here are a couple of news items re: our fascist theocrat's Polish counterpart:
Attacking the Past
Roman Giertych, a leading MP of the farright
League of Polish Families (LPR),
sparked the ire of a broad spectrum of politicians
and commentators by demanding
access to confidential communist-era files
on 32 lawmakers and officials for a parliamentary
commission investigating corruption
allegations surrounding the country’s
largest oil company. The request was seen by
many as the beginning to the LPR’s campaign
for parliamentary elections expected
in June.
“This is just impudence,” Defence
Minister Janusz Szmajdzinski told Radio
Zet. “It has nothing to do with seeking truth.
They need these files for a political fight.”<br>Included on Giertych’s list are President
Aleksander Kwaœniewski, Prime Minister
Marek Belka, and former PM Jerzy Buzek.
The demand for the secret files comes on
the back of the resignation of Jozef Oleksy,
the ruling Democratic Left Alliance’s (SLD)
newly elected leader, from his post as parliament
speaker, following his conviction of
lying about his involvement in communistera
secret services.
The LPR, and another right-wing party –<br>Law and Justice (PiS) – believe that many
former communists (and even some 1980s
Solidarity activists) were in fact agents of the
dreaded Security Service (SB) and other
communist intelligence organisations.
Unlike Hungary, Czech Republic or East
Germany, Poland never tried to expel former
communists from public life after the
fall of communism in 1989. Giertych
believes this was a mistake, and wants to
make up for lost time. PETER GENTLE
Protect the Little Children
Poland’s Ultra-Catholic League of Polish
Families (LPR) announced plans for a
new campaign protect children from... art.
“We’re going to protest against any kind of
immoral art,” said spokesman Pawe©¯<br>Chruszcz, adding, “Children are a part of
our society most vulnerable to artists’<br>provocation and manipulation.” LPR members
will label offending galleries with
stickers that read “This exhibition is not for
members and supporters of the League of
Polish Families”.
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Post by karpomrx on Jan 25, 2005 1:04:35 GMT -5
How tedious.
When I was a kid.the Church had lists of approved books, movies, etc. Like most of my peers, I was moved to examine these forbidden fruits.
Russia- first the banks foist a criminal government upon them, then when it seems remotely possible that they will not go quietly into that good night, the Empire prepares to attack them.
What irony, Stalin always maintained that alliance with the west was not possible because of the basic difference in the "historical" dialectic. He may have been mad, but even a stopped clock is correct twice a day.
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Post by Moses on Jan 25, 2005 2:38:10 GMT -5
What I've read both diplomats and military say is that this neocon/neolib (Hillary Clinton immediately urged Ukraine to prepare to join NATO) imperialism -- aggressively surrounding Russia militarilly (after stealing its resources) has proven that the Russians weren't paranoid after all, and were justified in creating a buffer between themselves and the Western imperialists. (Who of course had had agents and allies pre- & during the Russian revolution w/ designs on said resources and massive industrial expansion).
One of our NATO commanders, after Hillary Clinton's covetous and aggressive statement, actually wrote an op ed warning Ukraine not to alienate Russia.
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Post by Moses on Jan 25, 2005 2:39:46 GMT -5
The Church in Poland: How do you feel about nuns? There are more nuns per sq foot in Poland than at the Vatican, is my impression.
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