History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

Developed in terms of thriving industry, solid infrastructure and open trade with other countries perhaps??

Was Balcerowicz on a par with Adam Smith? ;0 ;)

News / Polish minority abroad and minorities in Poland [71]

Isn't that the case in most countries, lesser? Do you really believe that local politics work well in most countries?

What form is this 'discrimination' taking?

News / Polish minority abroad and minorities in Poland [71]

Were guns pointed at their heads to vote?

UK, Ireland / England, Dirty, Expensive and a dangerous place to live? [205]

England is expensive for sure. Dirty? Maybe in parts, it's no Singapore.

Dangerous? For some, yes.

Life / The strangest things in Poland [468]

Seanny BM for reviving this thread. I thought about it earlier as I was trampling through the old threads. Coincidence for sure.

Life / "K*rwa"-why do young Poles find this word so cool ? [67]

Give some Serbian swear words and let's see how they compare with Polish, Crow.

Dawaj, kurwa, dawaj ;) ;)

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

Poland before WWII was full of spirit, Piłsudki really fired up the hearts of the masses until him untimely death in 1935. It was a country seeking to redefine itself after having been put back on the map in 1918.

Now, we have Tusk who is doing some good things ( I hear). Still, it's a neutral government in terms of effect and many Poles went back to the UK after finding nothing here.

Modern Poland has more appeal in some ways but some Poles would benefit from seeing how it was in the interwar years.

Life / How not to offend your Polish host who makes too much food? [18]

You just have to politely decline. It's the same in parts of Scotland too.

Life / Thunderstorms in Poland [44]

There's thunder outside even now. This thunder knows no end.

I loved the tornado video. The gormless buffoons waited and then charged on into it, LOL.

Life / Why do a lot of Polish people stare and why is good personal hygeine shunned? [108]

Here we have MagdalenaG, who doesn't speak Polish and isn't even female. We have a transvestite in our midst.

Hygiene is not that bad here at all.

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

Yes but you are missing one very simple point. Poland has always looked outwith for support (Dmowski and Piłsudski both did it). In this case, from Belarus and, to a lesser extent, from Ukraine. Many historians overplayed the Jewish communistic element but it was there.

Poland also likes charismatic leaders. They could have replaced the likes of Bolowski (KPP) with another, sparking a resurgence in communistic sentiment.

There was potential there, Sokrates, and that's what I was trying to say. All it needed was one concerted movement.

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

I'd tend to agree with you, Salomon, but Poland was hardly ever truly free, now was it?

Polish politics isn't entirely predictable and communism may have taken hold without the Russians. Communism was not a super new phenomenon at that time.

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

Salomon, you seem to educated enough, you should know that there were strong voices in Poland that wanted communism but just not as advocated and imposed by Russia. Just read up on Gomułka, he was the guy that spearheaded that movement towards a Polish vision of communism, sth more akin to socialism.

Yes, communism was imposed by force but many politicians were sympathetic to the communistic movement. You must remember that the reign of Cyrankiewicz lasted sth like 24 years. That's far longer than any US president or, I think, British PM. He definitely had communistic leanings and was friendly with the respective parties.

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

Sokrates, it took 44 years and a lot of work. An eyeblink it wasn't. Gomułka was a communist but just wanted communism suitable for Poland. The same with Cyrankiewicz. He denounced the communist party at one time and then wholeheartedly supported it.

You can't deny that many Poles were happy to be offered full employment and some other things that communism brought.

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

I was talking about more recent times. Communists have played a part of the national fabric for quite some time in Poland. Look even as close as 1999 when Kwaśniewski was in. He was off saluting Ukrainian communists with vodka shot after vodka shot.

Look in 2009, you will find some too.

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

Communism and disinformation went hand-in-hand. Just look at the need to clutch onto power, they will distort and fabricate at the drop of a hat. When I read Scottish history, for example, I was mindful of the tendency to glorify things and twist the real impact.

For all the ambitions of the likes of Piłsudski and Dmowski, they were largely ineffectual in acheiving their objectives due to external factors. Nonetheless, their efforts were greatly appreciated and rightly so.

Work / Culinary jobs and places to learn Polish?? [18]

Well, everyone has to start somewhere. There is a pecking order and he will have to work his way up. The idea 'lucky break' is diminishing in many places.

Life / Why do a lot of Polish people stare and why is good personal hygeine shunned? [108]

Gotta enjoy those dirty moments ;)

UK, Ireland / Have you moved from Poland to Britain? [9]

Poles who haven't been abroad like to know what Britain has that Poland doesn't. When asked, I simply replied, 'swine flu'. They seemed to like that answer.

Work / Culinary jobs and places to learn Polish?? [18]

As a cooker, you will be an inanimate object, confined to a static life with no prospects and always having to cool down after having the heat turned up on you.

As a cook, well now, that's a different story ;) ;)

It depends on the restaurant you work in. 1500PLN would be quite good for Silesia. In a top-class restaurant in Warsaw, it would depend on your reputation.

Life / Why do a lot of Polish people stare and why is good personal hygeine shunned? [108]

Or they simply lack a routine that most normal people have.

News / Polish priest publishes sex guide [97]

Well, Protestants tend to follow scriptures more. Some even controversially maintain that Catholicism isn't even Christianity. Some wackos out there.

Life / Why do a lot of Polish people stare and why is good personal hygeine shunned? [108]

Don't have enough money to run God's given water from the taps and squirt on a cheapish deodorant, that's nonsense. It's all about priorities and, more importantly, consideration of other people.

Life / Why do a lot of Polish people stare and why is good personal hygeine shunned? [108]

Staring and not washing every day are just wrong. There is nothing homo about gelling your hair either. It has a purpose and has nothing to do with sexual orientation.

News / I love Poland because... (in 10 words or less) [182]

The sausages in Poland are much better, sapphire

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

Exactly, Ironside. Completely subdued. The Byrne speech of 1956 didn't help either.

Against the wall? Nah, we don't need to see that again.

I meant that some Poles would still like to expand and take back parts of Ukraine and Lithuania.

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

Salomon, talk is cheap. Look at the ME peace process as the prime example. You had all the academics ruminating and politicians blowing air but the truth of the matter was that higher powers would always dictate the course of events.

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

Maybe they thought the Non-Aggression Pact would hold. That would have been naive though.

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

Building in central Gliwice are full of holes and are crumbling too.

Ironside, you sound imperialistic. Nathan is Ukrainian. It's not his fault that Poland couldn't get its act together politically. Poland needs to know what it wants more. Polish history has shown how many blow with the breeze, like leaves. Look at Gomułka, he was very popular and quickly lost it.

Many can't even admit that communist sentiment came from within, albeit not of the type that Russia envisaged and promoted. Look at Cyrankiewicz for example. Russia offered Poles hope, some of their proposals were attractive at that time. It was sth like the hope that Hitler seemed to offer Germans. Full employment was the main pull, coupled with the cessation of the war.

History / Poland before WWII or Poland now what would you choose? [390]

Try renovating some buildings here first, type in Gliwice ghetto to Youtube.