The beginning of January is a good time to summarize the previous year. Of course, in early 2021, the key theme everywhere in such summaries is the coronavirus, the fight against it and the related social and economic perturbations that have been absorbing public attention since at least March. However, let us try to rise above this fog of more or less credible reports, denials, explanations and theories - including conspiracies - and look at the world from the point of view of the global situation.

The end of World War I in 1918 brought Europe and the world a whole new political and economic reality. Monarchies have fallen, many nations regained independence, but a new ideological threat has also arisen, which would bring a new war in the near future. That threat was communism and fascism. The borders between countries have shifted or were shaped anew, but the population in most cases stayed where they were. In the new demographic reality, the situation of national minorities, including the Polish minority in Germany and the German minority in Poland, was an important problem to be solved.

The Polish diaspora in America was very politically active, and so numerous Polish journalists, lawyers, politicians, doctors, Polish priests, nuns and Polish community activists created an efficient pro-Polish lobbying. It was in 1966 that the idea arose for the American Post Office to print a Millennium stamp. The idea was not to be limited only to the Polish circles, but it was probably the first global idea to issue an American postage stamp with the Polish emblem of the Second Polish Republic crowned with a Catholic cross. The graphic design was commissioned to the Polish artist Edmund Lewandowski, born in Milwaukee

Unfortunately, we will not be able to celebrate the hundred-year jubilee of one of the greatest personalities of Polish science. We report with sadness that on Wednesday, December 16, 2020, at the age of 99, professor Wacław Szybalski, an outstanding researcher, a true genius of molecular genetics, called the "king of genetics", repeatedly mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize, honorary doctor of many universities, passed away. In prof. Wacław Szybalski, we say farewell to an excellent specialist in genetics and molecular medicine, and to the father of the so-called synthetic biology. He was a world-class scientist, mentor, educator, model for many Polish researchers, and - at the same time - a great Pole and an active patriot.

No religious or national holiday has the magic, mystery and reverie that Christmas does. Especially for us, Polish emigrants, these holidays are full of nostalgia, reflection, regret, what crushes our hearts, and longing that drives us to Poland, to the family huts...

In Poland, Christmas Eve, December 24, is considered the most special night of the year. It is a night on which, according to legend, even animals speak with a human voice. The tradition of celebrating Christmas Eve is inherently associated with an official supper held within the closest family circle, during which only vegetarian dishes are consumed.

In the United States, unlike in Poland, Christmas customs are not cultivated on such a large scale. But it should be emphasized that they are present in the December Holiday culture in many regions of North America.

In August of 1944, on the fourth day of the Warsaw Uprising, a German bullet pierced the forehead of one of the soldiers fighting in the Theatre Square. The dead insurgent was 23 years old. History would have probably erased this death from our memory, as it was done in the case of thousands of unknown defenders of Warsaw. This one name would not have upset the enormous balance of human losses, bad it not belonged to a soldier who was one of the most outstanding poets of the, war' s younger generation, in whom his contemporaries saw Słowacki’s successor…

This terrible 2020, which has brought drastic changes and a restrictions on our freedom, is ending. The pandemic has shattered many ambitious plans. There was to be a retreat from globalization and a decisive expansion of the middle class in the Western world. However, it happened quite differently, and this fact forces us, all independent thinkers, to reflect. The pandemic has shown us that most politicians have failed the test of serving their nations.

A Wisconsin Air National Guard fighter jet crashed in a sparsely populated, heavily wooded area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula around 8 p.m. on the night of Tuesday, December 8. The pilot was considered missing until Thursday afternoon, and a massive search was under way by the U.S. Coast Guard, local emergency responders, military personnel, and others, according to multiple sources. Sadly, the pilot has been declared dead late Thursday afternoon.

A few weeks ago, I wrote the text: German "New Deal", Will It Be the End of the Three Seas Initiative? Let me just remind you that the German Minister of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer presented the concept of a new order in transatlantic relations between the USA and Germany. This deal clearly subordinates Germany to America, in return for giving Germany a free hand in European affairs and maintaining the political and strategic order in this part of the world.

China and 14 other countries, but without the United States, have agreed to create the largest trading bloc in the world, covering almost a third of all global economic activity and population.

I am not a big supporter of the President of the Polish American Congress (Kongress Polonii Amerykańskiej, KPA), Frank Spula, but it is worth appreciating his contribution and commitment on the part of President Donald Trump in this election campaign, but let's start from the beginning. In the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump met in Chicago with the KPA activists at the explicit invitation of chief Frank Spula. During this meeting, Trump promised to increase Poland's security and to waive visas for Poles.

The outbreak of World War I raised great hopes for regaining independence among Poles scattered all over the world. They have been preparing for this historical event since the loss of independence. Each generation has played a part in this struggle, each has made mistakes and has its own vision of the future. However, it can be safely stated that the use of a favorable historical moment was possible thanks to the collaboration of outstanding leaders, their leadership talents, dedication and patriotism and awareness of all social groups.

JAN FRANCISZEK SMULSKI - an outstanding patriot, champion of the Polish cause towards the US President Wilson, close associate of Jan Ignacy Paderewski and Roman Dmowski, an organizer of financial aid for the reborn Poland, an emigrant initiator of key undertakings for the Independent. Lawyer, journalist, publisher, politician and, very importantly, the first Polish millionaire and banker in Chicago.

The Biden campaign Central European Coalition attacked President Trump for supposedly damaging NATO by threatening withdrawal, alienation of NATO allies and emboldening Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Biden claims that this endangers freedom in Central Europe and is at stake in this election.

During World War I, the political direction for Polish emigration was simple - Poles should co-operate with the Entente [countries]. After many meetings with government officials, special hopes were placed on the Canadian government, which agreed to accept a group of Falcons into the Toronto military school. On January 1, 1917, 23 candidate officers secretly arrived in Toronto. On May 21, 1917, they received officer ranks. The top five became instructors at the Cadet School in Cambridge Springs.

On April 15, 1915, the co-founder and the second honorary president, after Sienkiewicz, of the General Rescue Committee in Switzerland, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, came to the United States.

He was welcomed in New York by representatives of the Polish emigration and clergy, including the famous Polish banker, publisher, American and Polish diaspora politician, Jan Franciszek Smulski, who made a very positive impression on Paderewski and was himself fascinated by the personality of the great artist.

On October 28, 2020, Andreas Kluth's article entitled "Germany Is Ready to Offer America a New Deal". In his text, Kluth presents the proposal of the German Minister of Defense - Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer - a new order in transatlantic relations.

It is worth remembering that the Munich Agreement was signed 82 years ago and if we carefully analyze this German deal, it may turn out that we may have a new Chamberlain in the form of the US president announcing to the Americans: "Peace for Our Time."

On March 4, 1944, a preparatory conference for the establishment of the Polish American Congress (Kongres Polonii Amerykańskiej, KPA) was held in Chicago, attended by representatives of the entire spectrum of Polish diaspora, along with the clergy and chief editors of the Polish diaspora press. At this meeting, Karol Rozmarek gave a charismatic speech, uttering the historic words: “Today, the defense of Poland is our most sacred and most important duty. It is up to us whether this defense will be just a patriotic phrase, or whether it will be a real defense for which the Polish diaspora in America will not have to be ashamed of it in the future."

There are only a few days left until the presidential election in the United States. The American and world press are not in favor of Donald Trump's re-election. American secret services monitor the influence of third countries on the presidential campaign. China, Russia and Iran are mentioned here. And on October 27, 2020, an extensive interview with President Obama's key adviser and now close associate Ben Rhodes was published on German T-Online. The possibility of re-election of Donald Trump keeps former President Barack Obama awake at night.