July 15, 2012

ALONG THE AXIS OF GOOD:

Poles honor Reagan, John Paul II with new statue (VANESSA GERA, 7/14/12, Associated Press)

Polish officials unveiled a statue of former President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II on Saturday, honoring two men widely credited in this Eastern European country with helping to topple communism 23 years ago.

The statue was unveiled in Gdansk, the birthplace of Lech Walesa's Solidarity movement, in the presence of about 120 former Solidarity activists, many of whom were imprisoned in the 1980s for their roles in organizing or taking part in strikes against the communist regime.

The bronze statue, erected in the lush seaside President Ronald Reagan Park, is a slightly larger-than-life rendering of the two late leaders. It was inspired by an Associated Press photograph taken in 1987 on John Paul's second pontifical visit to the U.S.

People look at a new statue of former President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II that was unveiled in Gdansk, Poland, on Saturday, July 14, 2012. The statue honors the two men whom many Poles credit with helping to topple communism. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)People look at a new statue of ...FILE - This Sept. 10, 1987 file photo shows President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II talking as they walk during a visit by the pope to the United States. Polish officials have unveiled a statue of former President Ronald Reagan and John Paul II, honoring two men whom many Poles credit with helping to topple communism in Gdansk on Saturday July 14, 2012. The bronze statue, is a slightly larger than life rendering of the two late leaders. It is based on this Associated Press photograph taken in 1987 on John Paul's second pontifical visit to the U.S. (AP Photo/Scott Stewart, File)
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Posted by at July 15, 2012 6:47 AM
  

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