Love / Why are Polish girls constantly ill? [166]

I totally agree with English Poznan. Polish Babcias are over protective of kids when young, which doesn't allow them to develop any resistance to minor affections. Plus the people, or at least the ladies, are not adapted to the latitude of their countries; never seen so many women craving for sunshine than in Poland! All this explains why Polish ladies have a life expectancy 6 years lower than in the UK or Germany, and 8 years lower than in Iceland! (see Youth in Europe report by Eurostat on epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/product_details/publication?p_product_code=KS-78-09-920)

News / Euro Elections 4th June - Who will you vote for ? [110]

Dear Lesser

You seem surprised that anyone would bother (and succeed!) to check the facts and sources rather than believe them at face value.. Seems a little strange to me but probably only natural for someone who is ready to believe at face value anything that is aired by polskie radio (remember that its brother, polish public TV is headed by a LPR politician, is that what you call mainstream?).

I am currently travelling and outside of Poland but will be back in the country this week end.. I will then post the soundtrack of the interview (and await eagerly your apology which will no doubt follow!) and answer your two questions.. I am sure that after this "free" education lesser will become greater! And btw, no, it's neither polish, nor german, nor russian for me.. Keep guessing!!

News / FRENCH SNUB POLISH WAR EFFORT [50]


Just your average politician then...

News / Libertas - what chances does the new party have in Poland? In Europe? [23]


Where did you hear that, lesser, again on Polskie Radio through a translator? Your avatar says it all...

Language / Overuse of the words 'po prostu', esp among females [41]

Here are a few others I find irritating:

no, tak..
Wlasnie
Oczywiscie (sorry for the spelling!)
strazsny i okropny
prosze Pana (often used before expressing a condescending view, like in" you really don't get it, mate")

and in english (oops sorry american..):

dude
like

and my all times worst

Hi guys (especially when adressed to a group including females !!)

News / Polish media and journalists: plain incompetent or just unreliable? [7]


You want an example plk? Just take my hand and we'll go together and have a read of post 56 on thread "Euro Elections 4th June - Who will you vote for ?" Good enough for you or you need more?

PS By the way, I also enjoy farting in the wind. I suppose you ask cos you prefer the "closed room" scenario for longer lasting effect..

News / Will economic crisis hit Poland? [38]


depends what your mean.. If you think that profits will be lower in 2009 or 2010 compared to the record years of 2007 & 2008, then yes. If you mean that banks will have to be rescued by the government like in the US or Western Europe then no


You're right


Wrong.. The 10 most important multinationals in Poland are Metro, Arcelor-Mittal, Fiat, J Martins (Biedronka), BP, Makro, VW, Tesco, PTC and Carrefour (source: deloitte Rzeczpospolita Top 500 by 2007 turnover). 60% are distributors (the ones in italics) who cannot delocalize to Ukraine if they want to sell to Poles. It would also be difficult for BP (distribution of fuel in POland) and PTC (Era) to move away. The two who could be at risk are VW and Fiat, but the presence of the latter predates 1990...

Language / IS POLISH LANGUAGE'S VULGARALISATION MEDIA-DRIVEN? [23]

That's quite normal, swear words in your native language always fell more offensive than in any other language learnt afterwards...

News / Will economic crisis hit Poland? [38]

i think Poland will end the year with a growth between -0.5% and +1%.. Banks have not done here the same mistakes than in the US or UK, indebtness per capita or related to GDP is much lower than in the US or UK, and the economy is much less dependent on exports than its neighbours( exports represent 35% of GDP in Poland vs 70% in Czech republic for example). Only real negative is the real estate lending in FX, which could become a problem if the PLN weakens further..

News / Euro Elections 4th June - Who will you vote for ? [110]


Sorry Lesser to have taken a little time to revert, but I only just received from Polskie radio the soundtrack of the original interview in english without the polish voiceover translation..

Here is what Barroso said exactly:

I of course respect all political preferences if they are democratic and of course I'm particularly close to those who are proeuropean

Now, doesn't this have a different meaning than:

Ale podkreślam: oczywiście, szanuję wszystkie polityczne wybory, jeśli są, oczywiście, demokratyczne i proeuropejskie.

or from its so called "translation":

However I underline: Obviously I respect all political choices, unless of course it is democratic and pro-European.

Incompetent translator or deliberate attempt at misquoting? I let you judge..

UK, Ireland / Another girl from Poland murdered in uk [63]

according to the police, could be her boyfriend,a Mr Griffin, who is being hunted down

Also, quite bizarre, the name of the murdered lady was previoussly mentioned on this forum,see thread "What makes Polish girls tick - or is it just women in general....:-)", post #19...

News / Euro Elections 4th June - Who will you vote for ? [110]


Of course, Barroso did not say what is quoted above in polish and presented as an "original version"! Do you believe the guy really did an interview in Polish?? In fact, either the translation is rubbish or the journalist has deliberately misquoted what Barroso said. Having in my business being exposed first hand to polish journalists, I would say both are possible, because ethical standards among them are very low, and they don't hesitate to fabricate false quotes to fill their articles.

Here below you can find a genuine quote of what Barroso really said in the original (english!) language

"you must choose the members of parliament that reflect your views on how to tackle the challenges we face, because what Europe does will affect you and your daily life."

And yes, I do believe that the existence of the EU makes life better for many of us.. Policy examples? Schengen rules..

News / Euro Elections 4th June - Who will you vote for ? [110]

I am quite amazed to see that on a forum re Poland where many of the participants are either non Poles living in Poland or Polish people living outside of Poland, most of the votes seem to be going to anti European parties.. After all, were it not for Europe, there would not be many polish people in the Uk or many foreigners in Poland (I came here for the first time in 1985, and trust me, the entry process in Poland was altogether very different!). I suppose this shows the depth of disillusionment with EU as it is today..

News / Euro Elections 4th June - Who will you vote for ? [110]


But I thought that was the twin brothers' PiS?

Life / Questions about IKEA in Poznan [20]


I am surprised too. I did a comparison between Ikea in Paris (Evry) and Ikea in Warsaw (Targowek) and the former was cheaper by around 40%.. Mind you, that was about 3 years ago and at the time 1€ = 3.80 PLN..

Life / Polish men in shorts with sandals and socks.. [63]

Exactly, I am sure there are plenty of reasons (comfort/convenience) to wear the combo but it just doesn't look right (unless you are looking of course for the Mr Bean style..). As far as I am concerned, I prefer not to wear sandals at all, it is just too "flower power"..

Life / Polish men in shorts with sandals and socks.. [63]


Sadie Ann, you have 100% of my votes


Have you ever seen Italians wearing sandals(that is since the Roman army!!)

Life / Wonderful Poland.......but the attitude of Polish people [150]


Utter rubbish.. The Brits are one of the most tolerant nations on earth (you might also want to call it indifference, but who cares, it's the result that counts.). It is one of the european countries where the far right (BNP ) has been getting consistantly the lowest share votes (although MPs are doing their best to boost them with all the expense fiddling in Parliament). Compare to Germany, France, Poland or even Belgium.. and no, I am not a Brit!

Life / Polish men in shorts with sandals and socks.. [63]

Yup, but fashion has moved on since...

Life / Polish men in shorts with sandals and socks.. [63]


Thanks Sadie Ann, I wholeheartedly agree. I would even go so far as to suggest that sandals too (with or without socks) are off limits...

Life / Polish men in shorts with sandals and socks.. [63]


Americans can be spotted a mile away, just by their size (especially in Florida and Southern states!!)

Life / Polish men in shorts with sandals and socks.. [63]

HI ShelleyS

Can you post the picture? A good laugh is always better shared!

Life / TP - Telekomunikacja Polska SA (phone/Internet company in Poland) [19]


This has to be a joke.. I had to deal with TP when they were Polish (both pre 1990 and post 1990) and customer service was 100 times worse than today (although today is still far from ideal to be fair..) Foreign ownership of polish companies has generally improved customer service by leaps and bounds.. As a proof, just benchmark againt the 100% pure polish service you get when you deal with the administration..

Love / Help, Polish men are very complicated! [51]


Yes , indeed it is, maybe not all men but most, especially with the older generation (say 30 and over), so in my opinion, kissing hands is probably just a sign of politeness.. How old is he? The only way to really find out is indeed to ask him out..

And by the way, yes, Polish men are generally much more courteous to women than in many other countries (holding doors, helping ladies to put on their coat and so on..) and I am not Polish!!

Travel / Is it possible to hire a car long-term in Poland? [8]

Most carmakers selling in Poland provide leasing or long term rental offers through specifically set up companies or via partnerships with financial firms. Check their internet site (eg ford.pl, peugeot.pl..) and you will find all the details

Love / Where did you meet your Polish other half? [33]

Met her in Tunisia, a looooooong time ago...

Travel / Is it possible to hire a car long-term in Poland? [8]

Car leasing is quite common in Poland

Travel / Ukraine / Poland border travel [12]

Went six months ago by car. Lovely city, beautiful architecture, good and cheap opera house. Stayed 2 nights at Leopolis, very nice but quite expensive. Long wait at the border (3, 5 hours each way!). Overall prices are a bit cheaper than Poland (good exchanges rates at Kantors in the city)