Żałoba narodowa (National Mourning)

I don't ever say this, but recently I have felt a lack of media in my life. Well, maybe more accurately I feel a lack of media in my own language to explain to me in English the important things that are happening in Poland. An example: a military plane crashed down Wednesday in the northwest of Poland, killing all 20 officers on board. I didn't hear about the incident until Thursday evening from a Polish friend.

The online Polish media has a wealth of information and special reports surrounding the tragedy, but I came upon a stunning lack of material when I searched various English-language outlets. The International Herald Tribune had the most comprehensive explanation, but I had to do some scouring of their website. CNN's mention is pitifully small and remains un-updated. The crash didn't make my top BBC headlines. Get over Davos, people.

So right now, Poland is finishing a two-day period of national mourning. It is just kind of scary to think that something as big as this can go almost unmentioned in the media abroad.

W katastrofie zginęło dwudziestu żołnierzy. Przyczyny tragedii nie są znane. Prezydent poinformował, że formalnie decyzja o żałobie narodowej zostanie podpisana po jego dzisiejszym powrocie z Chorwacji do Warszawy, ponieważ do tej decyzji musi być kontrasygnata premiera. Wiadomo już jednak, że żałoba będzie obowiązywała albo od godz. 20 w czwartek, albo od piątku przez trzy dni.