Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors and best wishes of success in the next stages of your musical development We look forward to hearing more good news from you in the future Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" highly relevant issue briefs and reports that break new ground with a focus on advancing debates by integrating foundational research and analysis with concrete policy solutions the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox New Atlanticist is where top experts and policymakers at the Atlantic Council and beyond offer exclusive insight on the most pressing global challenges—and the United States’ role in addressing them alongside its allies and partners A weekly column by Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe Inflection Points focuses on the global challenges facing the United States and how to best address them UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraine’s politics UkraineAlert sources analysis and commentary from a wide-array of thought-leaders and activists from Ukraine and the global community MENASource offers the latest news from across the Middle East and independent analysis from fellows and staff Econographics provides an in-depth look at trends in the global economy utilizing state-of-the-art data visualization tools When Polish troops flew back from peacekeeping duties in the Central African Republic in 2015 Warrant Officer Mariusz Maronski was waiting for them at the airport He wasn’t part of a jubilant “Welcome home!” crowd He was there for a far more serious reason part of a European Union contingent to the civil war-torn country had been in an area that had had outbreaks of Ebola As head of the Polish Armed Forces’ biological Maronski’s job was to check the returning troops for Ebola and—if any showed signs of it—decontaminate them before getting them to doctors A lot was at stake. Not only could an Ebola carrier have spread the disease to other Polish troops, but to the public as well. News reports of Americans who had unknowingly contracted Ebola in 2014, then returned home to infect others, had generated world headlines the biological detectors that Maronski’s team carries showed that no returnee had Ebola The virus is one of dozens of biological and chemical agents that the team—part of the Polish military’s Epidemiological Response Center—is trained to detect and decontaminate The Warsaw-based operation is so good at what it does that NATO has dubbed it one of the Alliance’s special-expertise units The skills of Maronski’s thirteen-person team were on display at NATO’s Anakonda 2018 exercise at the Drwasko Pomorskie Training Area in northwestern Poland in November The scenario was that an enemy had used a helicopter to spray a toxic pesticide on NATO troops Journalists covering the exercise saw soldiers lying in the field pretending to be incapacitated The troops were rushed to a threat-detection and decontamination tent complex that Maronski’s team had set up in the event of a biological Wearing protective suits that conjured up images of astronauts the team used handheld AP2C detectors to identify the agent that was supposed to have felled the soldiers AP2Cs detect an array of both biological and chemical threats After determining what chemical struck the troops the team used a dosimeter to check them for radiation taking the worst cases first,” Maronski said In a situation where every minute can mean the difference between life and death the team has compressed the decontamination process to fifteen minutes It starts with removing the soldier’s clothing and placing it in a hazardous-materials disposal bag A conveyor belt then carries the soldier to a bath tent After washing the victim with a special detergent the team checks to see if the contamination is gone Then it transfers the soldier to a hospital-tent complex for treatment After all the injured troops have been taken to the field hospital Maronski’s team practices decontaminating their equipment and tent complex before packing up for the next mission One of the job’s challenges is working in the suits for extended periods “It’s not so bad when the weather is OK,” Maronski said we are able to stay in them for only about forty minutes” before becoming over-heated and exhausted Maronski started his army career in logistics in 2003 ensuring that soldiers in the field got the portable baths they needed to keep clean whose job was to ensure that battalion commanders’ field headquarters had communications equipment He was deployed on a NATO peacekeeping mission to Kosovo in 2008 he joined the Polish military’s weapons-of-mass-destruction response program “I had been interested in chemical and biological weapons for some time particularly the bioterrorism threat in the Middle East,” said Maronski a native of the spa resort town of Busko Zdroj in southeastern Poland Western intelligence agencies and various experts have warned that the chance of terrorists obtaining The threats they have mentioned include Ebola A major part of Maronski’s team’s mission is training partly because the threat is ever-evolving “Everyone on my team has taken first-aid training and specialty courses dealing with particular kinds of biological chemical and nuclear-radiation threats,” he said Maronski appreciates the importance of working with allies “The Polish Armed Forces does a lot of training with other NATO countries’ soldiers,” he said “The main advantage is learning from each other by exchanging experiences and procedures.” One of the NATO exercises the team has participated in is Toxic Trip which focuses specifically on responses to weapons of mass destruction biological- and radiation-threat components of all-encompassing NATO exercises the team has trained jointly with the Illinois National Guard which has developed  expertise in responding to biological and with civilians who respond to disasters The continuous training can be hard on family life Long days at his post in Warsaw and a lot of temporary assignments in the field and other locations can cut down on the time he’s able to spend at home But the idea that his team could save a lot of lives in a conflict makes it worthwhile Hal Foster is a freelance journalist based in Moldova Image: Polish Warrant Officer Mariusz Maronski (left) took a break from his decontamination duties at NATO’s Anakonda 2018 exercise at the Drwasko Pomorskie Training Area in northwestern Po-land in November 2018 to chat with First Lt the public affairs officer of Poland’s Military Training Center for Foreign Operations Sign up to receive expert analysis from our community on the most important global issues © 2025 Atlantic CouncilAll rights reserved If refreshing the page doesn't resolve the issue you could try clearing the sites browser cache 2022Get email notification for articles from Ofer Aderet FollowOct 2 2022POLAND – At the beginning of the summer an unusual photo was posted in several Facebook groups dealing with the history of Poland: an abandoned synagogue in the city of Jaroslaw in southeastern Poland A brief inquiry revealed that the building has an asking price of 2.8 million zlotys (about 2.05 million shekels changed his first name — not an unusual thing for performers — but his motive for doing so was different than most the morning after NBC aired his first guest performance on Law & Order was his eighth-grade religion teacher — and longtime friend — Father Ronald D’Antonio Over coffee and bagels in the church rectory Matynia updated Father D’Antonio about his decade-long acting career — from his lead role in the St Athanasius production of “Casey at the Bat,” to his portrayal of mixed martial arts trainer Ricky Nowak on the Jan he became self-conscious when classmates teased him about his given name came from the Latin word “Ignis,” or “fire.” But when he entered Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge you’ve got such a cool name.’ So Ignacyo was a name that I chose for myself.” Matynia is the only child of Zebe and Doris Matynia and lived in Florida and Tennessee before settling in Bensonhurst Matynia was in the sixth grade when he was assigned the lead role in a play his teacher His mother helped him make his baseball uniform costume from an old shirt he felt a transformation into another person — a character — that he never forgot Matynia enrolled at the State University of New York After hearing him make a class presentation so he dropped out of school and found an acting coach he got acting jobs at small theaters and in video production projects His breakout starring role was in the Lifetime feature “My Nightmare Landlord” in 2020 In 2021 he had the lead role in “Break Every Chain,” an award-winning faith-based feature film It’s the true story of a police officer who struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder He currently stars in the NTD original show “A Good Cop.” His performances have also appeared on several networks and streaming services including Netflix Athanasius Academy has produced many excellent graduates very proud of everything that he’s done,” Father D’Antonio said I taught him to pre- pare him for Confirmation young adults who go in and out of your lives “I’ve seen his enthusiasm for what he does and what he does to communicate his ideas,” the priest added “That is something that’s really refreshing especially after what I saw last night (on SVU).” “There are definitely a multitude of things that I got from going to Catholic school and being around Christians constantly,” he said “My Catholicism has definitely given me a stronger sense of empathy “I was raised around people who put forgiveness on a pedestal who put turning the other cheek on a pedestal and who work at being humble and meek,” he added “That’s kind of the foundation for who a good person should be.” Your email will be used to send you The Tablet newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy. More info Create your free account or log in to continue reading The Tablet is the newspaper of the Diocese of Brooklyn, serving Brooklyn and Queens since 1908.© 2025 DeSales Media Group, Inc. Website by 345 Design ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " Dla Twojego bezpieczeństwa oraz gwarancji poprawności działania strony Targów Kielce zalecamy zmianę przeglądarki na jedną z poniższych: Google Chrome Kielce's favourable location in the heart of Poland makes it a perfect venue for exhibitions and conferences Not only is this a splendid place for domestic companies but also for companies from the neighbouring countries Targi Kielce has proven to be a leading city-forming factor – Targi Kielce's business activity has largely contributed to the development of the City's and the Świętokrzyskie Region's trade fair-related and business-tourism infrastructure In addition to the new hotel facilities (guests calling in Kielce have at their disposal almost 7,442 beds in 2** to 5** hotels) taxi corporations and transport services companies have also proliferated.  The Grono Targowe Kielce [Kielce Expo Cluster] operates in conjunction with  Targi Kielce This is the first Europe's expo cluster which associates 88 Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship based commercial entities Targi Kielce is owned by the city of Kielce The local authorities have been dedicated to economic and industrial development of the region The investment portfolio encompasses enhancement of research and development infrastructure modernisation of municipal and regional transport systems The region has also seen the implementation of wide-scale schemes designed to amplify the local market's potentials as an investment area and tourist destination Development of modern economy is also enhanced and fuelled with the Świętokrzyskie Innovativeness and Technology Transfer Centre and the entrepreneurial incubator - the Technology Park This institution associates a few dozens of companies –they are actively involved in innovative technology and solution implementation into various business and industry sectors One of the region's biggest companies are:- Kolporter Kielce Group SA - Celsa Huta Ostrowiec LLC - Cersanit SA Kielce Capital Group - Pilkington SA  Sandomierz - Polish Building Materials Depots' Group Busko-Zdroj - Połaniec Power Plant - Electrabel Poland Group - Lafarge Cement SA Cement Małogoszcz - NSK Bearings Poland SA Kielce Kielce is also an important centre of cultural life Every year Kielce hosts a whole array of events which attract thousands from all corners of the country The city's three theatres are widely known and highly regarded in Poland  and abroad The city's cultural potential is enhanced with the activity of  The Stefan Żeromski Theatre The Theatre's spectacles have earned numerous awards of prestigious festivals The Kielce Dance Theatre and Puppet and Actor Theatre "Kubuś" also enjoy a broad-scale recognition.      The important cultural facilities of the Świętokrzyskie Region include Oskar Kolberg Philharmonic Kielce Culture Centre and numerous museums and art galleries Kielce's architecture is dominated with sacral and historical monuments such as the Krakow Bishops' Palace the Kielce's oldest Church of Saint Wojciech [Adalbert] or the Cathedral Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumption.                           Sienkiewicza Street is one of Kielce inhabitants' favourite places Sienkiewicza is where the historic character blends with the present-day commercial functions this is also the city's cultural life's focal point.  Sienkiewicza promenade has been pronounced Poland's most popular street – the winner of “Your Travels” Tourist Magazine's plebiscite Kielce also dynamically develops as sports centre The number of sports facilities increases every year The city is the home for one of the most cutting-edge football stadiums the 9 sports halls including the Legions Hall which can seat 4,200 spectators  as well as the Athletics Stadium The city also boasts most successful sports clubs -  VIVE Tauron Kielce - the Polish champions handball team the Polish Cup winner and the participant of the Champions League The city's great advantage are rich and diversified green areas squares and scenic hiking trails and bicycle paths Kielce abound with numerous tourist attractions recreation and relaxation facilities and opportunities In Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship there are as many as the 7 professional ski resorts including the two ski-slopes located in the city of Kielce.  The pistes are equipped with professional chair lifts