"Blitzkrieg 4" wants you!

I'm pleased to hear that VADER's (one of the leading Polish death metal bands) "Impressions in Blood" album entered the Polish national chart at position No. 8.

The band's video for the song "Helleluyah (God Is Dead)" has been posted online at YouTube.com. The clip was shot with director Andrzej Wyrozebski, who is said to be one of the leading movie producers in Poland. Janusz Król (known from the Polish fantasy movie "Wiedzmin") was responsible for all special effects and the whole set design. Slawomir Panasewicz (who has worked on over 140 video clips!) was a cameraman.

The band has also announced the tour for Blizkrieg 4 - Polish death metal festival. It starts September 27 in Warsaw, ends October 10 in Lodz. The guests bands are Brazil's KRISIUN, Greece's ROTTING CHRIST and American death metallers INCANTATION. The bands are touring in most of cities throughout Poland.

More details should be soon available from Kerrang!, Terrorizer, Metal Hammer so keep your ears...err.. eyes.. open!

"...like something out of Apocalipse Now"

It is interesting to follow up Guardian's features on British front line in Afghanistan. Declan Walsh presents six-page photo special from the two weeks he spent with British troops in Helmand, Afghanistan.

"I curled into a ball as an Afghan fighter tried to blast open the jeep I was travelling with a rocked-propelled grenade. I interviewed a corporal from Newcastle as he soaped himself in an outdoor shower. I played touch rugby on a helicopter landing zone. And I watched life of ebb from the chalky limbs of a wounded young British soldier as sweating medics desperately tried to save him."

Walsh's description paints very real picture. The photographs in the feature are brilliant too showing troops in action as well as the time of relax. As the main British base Camp Bastion reminds more of a pub, soldiers sitting inside enjoy wide screen TV, wooden furniture, but not the beer. All what is missing is beer. Instead they suck on warm Pepsi or "brew" and tuck in some "scoff". Quickly kicked out from the base, they travel across the desert to join artillery positions under Taliban fire. The ground shudders under heavy artillery weapons killing even some more of other kind of deadly enemy of any soldier: tarantulas, scorpions and camel spiders.

Click here to read the whole feature.

Just 2 months and its all over...

Caption under the picture says:"Man, I could kill a human right now!"

Smoking has always been part of our pub culture, however from 1st July everything is going to change as smoking ban comes into force on 1st July in England.

It is now illegal to smoke in workplaces, most enclosed public spaces and on public transport in The Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the same is going to occur in the southern part of the UK.

We all know how toxic is cigarette smoke and how non-smokers can quite easily breathe it in pubs and other public places.

I don't smoke myself but personally cannot imagine a pub without the smell of cigarettes...actually I think I would even miss that. I am absolutely aware that it's a major step forward in the protection of public health, with smoke-free environments contributing to cleaner air as well as healthier environments, but come on...it's a part of a culture... Personally, it's hard for me to believe that on 1st July I will not see a single smoker in a pub... or are they all going to have popping outside for a cigy? will that be considered as a kind of a public meeting too? or may be just take chairs outside together with a pint if there is OK to smoke? pub? yes under a blue sky...

"Not in society interest.."

I've read in The Guardian from April 27 how the European parliament in Strasbourg is calling Polish leaders for more robust action on discrimination and hatred based on sexual orientation - (sponsored by socialists, liberals and greens but largely opposed by conservatives).

Poland's prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, rejected EU criticism of a ban on "homosexual propaganda" in schools, saying that: "It was not in society's interests to increase the number of gay people."

However, since Mr Jaroslaw Kaczynski(the prime minister) and his twin brother Lech(the president) have taken over the government in Poland...we are talking about a kind of dictatorship...

EU parliament vote earlier in the day in which MEPs called for a fact-finding mission to the country to investigate recent anti-gay comments by senior officials.

Yes, please go and visit Poland and find out yourself how is it really like to live under hugely dominating catholic values, anti-abortion and anti-gay rights and how Polish schools are being made to introduce compulsory lessons on catholic religion for children...

This year the education minister, Roman Giertych, the leader of the League of Polish Families, said "one must limit homosexual propaganda so that children won't have an improper view of family." "Homosexual propaganda"? - does anything like that even exist? or maybe we are talking here about a fear of not freedom of speech and thought?

You ban gay parades and love parades for no logical reason, you create mutual laws based on fear and disrespect of opinions of others. Poland may have joined the EU, but it will still take long to reintroduce a different way of thinking in the Polish society.
Unemployment percentage may be dropping, but isn't it because young people are leaving for different countries in a search for a "normal" life where they could be working and enjoy living?

Why is it that Polish prime minister and his brother always reject criticism...what about listening to some of it and trying to learn?

Shameful...shameful Mr Kaczynski & Co... what else can I say... See you when you're older!

German army racist video row

So here we go again... Another racist issue, another racist video... Will people ever change?
I am writing here about international news from Sat 14 April on BBC website "German army in 'racist video' row".
We read about some of the methods instructors teach the soldiers in the army. The African-Americans in the Bronx, are used as targets of hate and aggression by the soldiers and their instructor. And involving or creating the feelings of hate and anger the soldiers has here psychological aim...but will it ever go away?

I am not surprised that New York officials are a bit angry..and demand an apology...but will it be enough? Are the soldiers going to apologize and get back to the training using different nation as their target..? All these men on the training are supposed to swear, fire their gun to their "target practice".
Obviously we all know that feeling of anger and danger brings extra power to a human being, however why direct or teach to hate one particular nation..?

Have heard many controversial stories about my country's army (the Polish army), it seems clear now that military officials face difficult task of fighting with racism and it is probably all around the world...
Now a group of 18 German army instructors are on trial accused of abusing and humiliating recruits during training in 2004. However, the video comes from July 2006.

So we are the second generation?

This time I am going to write a few words about 'Web 2.0', a phase used by 'O'Reilly Media' in 2004. According to Tim O'Reilly, the establisher of O'Reilly Media, Web 2.0 is another step in transformation of World Wide Web. A quick evolution of Internet systems and developing social networking have made a great impact on the Internet itself and as Mr Reilly notices "new exciting sites and application pop up with surprising regularity." In that way a new business model of Web 2.0 was designed.

There are some characteristic points about Web 2.0 like: "the web as a platform" where the standart bearer is Google.
In terms of other "changes" from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 O'Reilly notify:
Double Click (from Web 1.0) to Google AdSense (Web 2.0), mp3.com to Napster, Britannica Online to Wikipedia, personal websites to blogging, page views to cost per click.
You can find out more about Web 2.0 from O'Reilly's website by clicking here.

I just have come across a blog that I had a chance of viewing some time ago... It's "The Policeman's Blog". The writer for this blog is David Copperfield, I suppose so, as there is no section "about me" or I couldn't find it. Mr Copperfield seems to be one of these people who are not afraid to speak aloud (or write "aloud")...what he thinks.
The coppers blog expect provides many comments from an ordinary life of a policeman, as well as huge section of different links to US Police blogs, Police Chefs blogs, Military blogs and so on the list is incredible...so you can find out a lot about different jobs and what they are about.
It would be probably a very useful site (or one of favourites) for someone who works or is interested in this kind of industry.
There is also a possibility to order a couple of books by Mr Copperfield or may be use "All UK Police Jobs" link - an add by Google. All of this possible on the blog as well as finding some alternative answers for current issues like "What's the answer to crime?" - "Chop their hands off", and yes we know that IS what you wanted to say Mr. Copperfield...