History / Poles executed in Warsaw '1939-44' [112]


I thought that I know a lot about the German occupation of Warsaw during WWII, but recently I was told about the thing I never read or heard of. Since both my parents are dead now I have nobody to ask.

Germans to terrorize population were driving people to be executed (I am assuming in the open trucks) around the town. They were dressed up in what I was told were paper sacks (not to waste normal clothing as they were to be shot anyway).

Does anyone knows about any of this, I was told that that was a "normal" procedure.
To you "Ozi Dan": I was named for one of the officers in my fathers AK unit who was captured, tortured and killed in 1943, his name (or pseudonim) was Jan Chamreto (or Szamreto).

USA, Canada / POLISH AMERICANS AND THE 2008 US ELECTION [79]

Did you ever had any. Two entrenched "parties", one needs a magnifying glass to distinguish between them. The whole American electoral system, is a dumbed down personality contest played on the TV. Would it be a simple test (literacy) required there would be no voters. Two franchises highjacked the system from the begining, political system as designed by Madison is set up to protect ownership. Education system (from the grade schools to top universties) serves to train workers not thinkers. Despite that there are exceptionally gifted people (Chomsky, and to the lesser exend Nader) nobody knows they exist. The only rational solution is to ignore it, participation only legitimizes this sham.

All of the sudden the medical coverage became the discussed issue, the reason is that it became too expensive for emloyers to provide coverage they promised to their workers (and retarees) when tines were good. Now the big guys decided that it would be to their advantage to share the cost with the rest of the population. The present top moron and his cronies purposely drain treasury so even the most basic social programs are being eliminated.

On the top of it Iraq quagmire no matter who wins no way out of it. Welcome to the new word, when there were Soviets everything was simple. Big business would not dare to invest anywhere else for threat of rebellion and possible nationalization of assets. Now it is safe to go anywhere, now US workers are competing with the whole world, expect wages to match skills worldwide.

You guys in the US should not be talking about elections but running away, some of you are fortunate to be able to claim Polish citizenship, although Poland is more and more like the US. New Zealand looks better.

Life / To all of you who are Polish - where did you learn English? [64]


It is most likely the best way for children.
Another is to limit your language requirements, hands, grunts, and cussing help a lot. There is always ubiquitous f**k which is always very helpful.

Failing that check yourself to prison (pick the country you want to learn the language of). Admission is not easy, but not impossible. Make sure to commit crime giving you sentence suffiniently long to master your skills. Do not let people to fool you, you will need at least 3 years (I will recommend 5). Also choose the place where prisons are bearable. See the world and make new friends. Good luck on the new way of life and keep in touch.

Work / Polish Labor Is Scarce as Workers Go West [60]

It should be expected for people to go to places where they consider to be able to have better life. Unfortunately first to go are young, with the most drive, and valuable skills. It is a great loss for any nation and it is in the interest of the ppulation to prevent that. The problem is how. Up to 1990 there was a fearsom border, quite efficient but unpopular.

Myself I do not think that cleaning toilets or gutting fish is a degrading job. For what I know it pays better than doing it in Poland. I hope that Poles who do it do not plan to make a carriere out of it, unless they lack abilities. After all we are all paid for what we are able to do, if the job requires perfect command of the foreign language, then non native speaker will be handicapped. I know some who were Polish lawyers and worked as laborers, knowing full well that their education was not applicable in the other country.

I myself live in Poland. To entice people to come back to Poland would not be easy as now they will have to make brake with their new country, friends and way of life. In Poland pay, weather, infrastructure are lousy on the top of it damn expensive as well. For what I hear working conditions and treatment are not very pleasant. As much as I hate to see young leaving it is nearly impossible to find arguments to keep them in.

Keeping that in mind I will curtail spending on education unless EU will subsidize it since they will leave as soon as opportunity arises. What we will be left with is dumb and poor, just as Germans wanted in 1939.

USA, Canada / POLISH AMERICANS AND THE 2008 US ELECTION [79]

With age I realized that there is a beauty in acceptance of stats quo and cowardice. I learned to carve myself a space and ignore the rest. I try to be helpful toward my friends and family. I try to be honest in my personal dealings. Expecting little from others assures that I am not often disapointed. I am not considered to be selfish but in essence I am.

Life / The Change in the Role of Women in the Polish Society [32]


I seriously doubt that you had ever been to Poland (except for 3day guided tour). I usually restrain myself from insulting people at this forum, but you are pushing it. Like in many countries deeply effected by wars, revolutions, and other conflicts women had to assume essential roles in the society, men were unreliable (being soldiers) and likely to be killed. It was specially true after WWII when the ratio of sexes was skewed enormously (of ages 25 to 55 statistics for 1945 ratio was 100/120). Medical and law professions were dominated by women. In post WWII most trolley car drivers as well as heavy equipment operators were women (there were not many bus drivers only because of lack of power steering). I never noticed anyone being surprised having a woman boss. In 1960s there were universities addmission preferences given to men. It makes my laugh to see American women asserting their position in the US society, Polish women are tired of being important. They usually yearn to be housewifes they had no chance of being. Read US newspapers from the pre women lib times(1960) and see jokes about Russian women being engineers, doctors, and kombain operators.

USA, Canada / POLISH AMERICANS AND THE 2008 US ELECTION [79]


You are very right, I am not American, but for what I know no red blooded Joe will vote for a black nor for a woman. Clinton, however gifted, if elected president will do her best to prove that she is tougher than any man, thats why she is still running while having no chance, and this in itself could be very dangerous would she be a president. The reason she still hangs in is to prepare for the next one proving how risilient and tough she is.

Unless McCain stops taking Prozac and blows up, he is your next.

USA, Canada / POLISH AMERICANS AND THE 2008 US ELECTION [79]

I am sorry for you fellows, but until you will have a real choice I will not participate in this farce. Participation itself legitimizes the process. Distinction without the difference is what describes your parties and consquently candidates. US population is by design kept politically ignorant. Someone here was writing about college education: American colleges produce skilled workers and not intelectuals, thats what trade schools in other countries are for. It does not matter how many years of schooling they have they still end up to be intellectually undeveloped. I was once involved (1978) in selling a quite complicated processing machine to the US, machine operated in Europe by high school graduate required college degreed American operator. You fellows are working too hard and too many hours, being too tired to think it dulls your wits. Surprisingly there are some in the US who still use their noodles, Chomsky for one, his existance seems to be a secret.

USA, Canada / POLISH AMERICANS AND THE 2008 US ELECTION [79]

I am sorry Crow, but we in Poland were overwhelmed with our own problems for generations and as you can observe very few Poles on this forum tend to be concerned with Polish let alone with panslavic matters. Majority of participants here are Americans (as such with less than rudimentary political knowledge, talk shows is where they get their news from). The other problem is that Poles have historical animosity toward Russians (and lesser toward Czechs). Thus you will not find here receptive audience.

All the best bratko

History / WAS WAŁĘSA A SECRET POLICE COLLABORATOR? [26]

There are no sacred cows. If there was a secret it is already out, on the other hand populus always want new sensations. I think tha it is in our interest to investigate this matter openly. I am not sure if that will be of help, you Americans know this wery well as a John Kennedy assasination conspiracy comes up again and again.

USA, Canada / POLISH AMERICANS AND THE 2008 US ELECTION [79]


Surprises me, when I talk with people living in the US that not one heard Chomsky on a radio. Boston could be unique in this regard, or it is because he lives there It seems that man who was from 1990 to 1997 the sixth most quoted person in the world (first was Carl Marx, second was Jesus) is the best kept secret in his own land. In any other place in the world he would be considered a national treasure. He writes quite a bit about media "feedom" and elections as well, highly recommended. Try John Dewey as well.

Its most likely becouse of my poor English, but I missed a gist of your line about toilet paper. If it was to mean that in 1978 we did not have a toilet paper, yes we did not have it and it was not because we did not wanted it. We were lacking many sometimes essential things then, but what we had it was many friends at a lots of time. Looking back I would not change my youth with my son's "opulent" one. My friends are ones from my elementary school times and we still talk and meet more often than weekly and spend vacations together, and its been like that for over 50 years. My son is envious and notices that he does not have friends who are that close.

News / Peres: Poland one of Israel's greatest EU allies [30]


Regard the comment about "friendship" as a gesture of politeness toward the host. Instead we should wait for a substance. Polish military is doing Israels bidding by being one of the occupiers of Iraq and Afganistan (itself revolting for a country which suffered so much in hands of foreign occupiers). While the civilized world is against Israels apartheid in the Palestine, Jewish state scraping a barrel for supporters. Whenever I had any talk with Jewish people, while they personally were nonoffensive, they did not hide hostility toward Poles in general. It has tremendous effect on Poles personal lifes in countries where Jews hold positions of power or/and significnt influence. Presently Poland finds itself in the position when Jewish state needs our support (now and in the foreseable future) before rushing into friendship I would like to see what the other party can offer. I would not take an answer that Israel has no influence on Jews living in countries outside Israel.

News / RADICAL PRO-COMMUNSIT PORTAL CLOSED DOWN IN POLAND [7]


Thats by itself in antidemocratic. Both ideologies, so thoroughly discredited in Poland, will not find many adherents and can be discussed openly.
Unless authorities realized the danger of discussing openly ideology (communism) which in its essence is identical to the Catholicism when stripped of its superficial trappings.


I will suggest to open these files to the general public. Let people to defend themselves, if accused, using these very documents. Will this files ruin peoples lives, undoubtedly, but how many lives were ruined by ones who cooperated. Such an act will free many from unjust suspicion. Would it bring down some heroes, let society be a judge.

USA, Canada / POLISH AMERICANS AND THE 2008 US ELECTION [79]


Interesting how linguistic discoveries find application in many other seemingly unrelated fields. You mentioned computer science, Chomsky's theory is used in medicine as well. Ibelieve he is about 80 now and I hope he will last for a long time.