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German-Polish Seabattle, German vessel forced to redraw under fire

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  • German-Polish Seabattle, German vessel forced to redraw under fire

    Of course that's an "apolytonized" title

    But there's lots of hysteria (well, mainly in the media of both countries) about a rather small incident:

    Poles Fire Shots at German Pleasure Boat

    The latest test of German-Polish relations came Thursday when Polish coastguards allegedly fired warning shots at a German pleasure boat after the captain refused to cooperate with customs officers.

    The late October calm of the Baltic Sea was rudely interrupted Thursday in an incident straining the fragile friendship between Germany and its eastern European neighbor.

    Shots were fired off the holiday island of Usedom after the captain of a cruise ship refused to cooperate with customs officers and headed off to Germany instead of the nearest port as requested.

    According to a local radio station in northern Germany, Polish authorities denied that shots were fired and insisted the coastguard simply used a flare pistol in order to prevent the captain leaving Polish waters.

    Undercover Polish customs officials maintained they had found cartons of cigarettes as well as crates of liquor without Polish revenue stamps.

    When confronted, the captain refused any further searches and also refused to sail towards the next Polish port.

    The customs officials maintain they alerted the coastguard, who allegedly fired shots. Undeterred, the captain steered a determined course back to Germany.

    "The Polish authorities were prevented from doing their job," said customs spokesman Janusz Wilczynski. "Then they were kidnapped by the German crew."

    A spokesman for the Sven Paulsen shipping company refused to comment on the incident.

    "I don't want the story to escalate," he told the local newspaper Nordkurier.

    Marine traffic to Poland continued as usual on Friday.

    "We're not petty," said the company's local manager, Alwin Müller. "War has not broken out."

    However, the "Adler Dania" pleasure liner was expected to remain docked, with the Polish authorities announcing it was now an undesirable presence in Polish waters.
    Currently both sides accuse eachother - the shipping company is accused by Polish authorities of smuggling/not paying taxes for the big amount of alcohol and cigarettes onboard and of kidnapping, while the company itself accuses in turn Polish customs that they did not legitimize themselves as Polish officials. Also the company claims that in several instances before Polish customs confiscated stuff without any justification and for private use (so effectively have stolen it).
    Blah

  • #2
    Hitler might use this as his excuse!!!
    Resident Filipina Lady Boy Expert.

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    • #3
      I guess he has staged it!
      Blah

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      • #4
        Redraw?
        Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
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        • #5
          Hey, whats wrong with a little piracy ??? It's a 1000 year old tradition in that area. Those wussy germans should stop whining
          With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.

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          • #6
            In my experience, Poles don't usually have much of a problem with "cartons of cigarettes".

            Now Germans, OTOH..

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            • #7
              Originally posted by SlowwHand
              Redraw?
              Maybe I should have written "retreat". My bad.
              Blah

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              • #8
                retreat or withdraw.
                B♭3

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                • #9
                  Just yanking your chain, BeBro.
                  Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
                  "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
                  He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

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                  • #10
                    The Poles probably thought they were firing in the opposite direction.
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                    • #11
                      Considering it's Poland that has been in a wacky mood of the late, I pronounce the Germans innocent.
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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Colonâ„¢
                        Considering it's Poland that has been in a wacky mood of the late, I pronounce the Germans innocent.
                        And I pronounce the German boat was a bit smuggling.

                        I don't see any problem at all if there were shots fired in the air. When I drive drive towards a border with my car, don't stop when I'm decidedly asked to do so, and kidnap officials (!) I wouldn't expect other behavior.

                        To me, this doesn't smell not political, but seems to have been a police action.
                        "The world is too small in Vorarlberg". Austrian ex-vice-chancellor Hubert Gorbach in a letter to Alistar [sic] Darling, looking for a job...
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                        • #13
                          I don't think it's political either....but of course it allows for some weird media reports (the more serious like the DW article above will probably handle it cool, but the yellow press in both countries will make some stupid headlines, nothing new though)
                          Blah

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                          • #14
                            Yeah, if someone else than the wacky Kaczynski twins had been in charge of Poland, I don't think the media would care about this story and certainly not call it "The latest test of German-Polish relations"
                            CSPA

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                            • #15
                              I grow increasingly sick of these countries.

                              Both of them.

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