HEARD IN PASSING
April 5, 2006
"This will be the first of its kind for us. So far we've only handled animal abuse cases. The problem is... Polish law has no penalty on the books for such a deed."
-Jolanta Szczytko, deputy district prosecutor in Augustów, on a complaint filed by a farmer who accused a veterinarian of casting a spell on her cow; the cow died
"They call themselves moral authorities, but in fact they're just scum."
-Roman Giertych, leader of the League of Polish Families (LPR), on journalists
"Attractive pacifism, ecological and anti-war sloganeering are uncritically accepted by young people today. In reality, they carry harmful educational content."
-From a letter by Jarosław Zieliński, deputy minister of education, sent out to education supervisors, warning against inviting certain NGOs to schools
"The fact that someone's wearing a white shirt and has innocent eyes doesn't mean their actions are pure."
-Artur Zawisza, a deputy from Law and Justice (PiS), on businesspeople
"Women who actually respect themselves, their families, the environment and their workplace, will not go out to the streets to say things that have nothing in common with justice, law, or the truth."
-Hanna Wujkowska, the prime minister's advisor for family issues, on the marginal role of feminists
"The man denied having an affair with the suspect's wife. He said: 'If you don't believe me, you can chop off my hand.'"
-A police officer from Sulechów, Lubuskie province, on a butcher whose co-worker cut off his hand after a night of drinking; the surgeons managed to reattach the hand
Compiled from press reports