RADIO MARYJA. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports on "Poland's Problem with the Ultrareligious." A conservative, antisemitic priest named Father Tadeusz Rydzyk has been stirring up opposition to Poland's attempt to join the European Union, and the Polish government has decided to do something about it, namely, go after his popular radio station for tax evasion.

Rydzyk has at least 5 million listeners (he claims to have 15 million). The parties he supported in the last local elections in Poland did pretty well (33%, more than the ruling socialists got). According to the NZZ, the government has recently been investigating claims that the station has been making a profit and hiding behind its status as a religious -- and tax-exempt -- organization.

Radio Free Europe has a good article on the station, and Germany's tageszeitung has an August article claiming that the Polish Church threatened to withdraw financial support for the station, but the NZZ claims that the Church and the station have patched things up. The BBC has an article from early October that you can read here. There's some tanatlizing stuff on Radio Maryja's website, including a funny-looking graphic with a map of the U.S., but you'll have to work on your Polish to figure out what the text says. If you know Polish, you might want to e-mail the station and tell them to fire their web-designer. Better yet, leave them to it.