History / Anyone know 88 Helena Wolinska masterminding execution of Gen Fieldorf? [15]


It was accepted (diplomatic recognition etc) by the UK and US governments.

That doesn't make it right, but it does make it legal.

And I can't help wondering, what would John Paul II have done in this situation.?

Probably something about forgiveness and mercy.

Work / Independent English teacher in Poland [4]

Valmoe1 is right.

It's worth ringing round schools - they have either full-time vacancies or odd lessons here and there that they want to fill.

One problem with private lessons is that one tends to lead to another, so you have to find the first few.

Don't wrry about levels - except outside the capital, in the boondocks, most are high level anyway, and it's perfectly possible to do absolute beginners, just a specific skill. Try 'English File' as a course book - it gives it all on a plate.

Life / are sending and recieving sms free on all polish networks? [7]

Not free, but very cheap on most tariffs. Some deals give a certain number 'free' each month but most don't.

Life / are sending and recieving sms free on all polish networks? [7]

In China?? Wow! Don't really understand your post though.....

But the cost of the sms should be exactly the same regardless of which country somebody is sending a text to. Calls of course are not so advantageously priced.

Life / Arriving Gniew - Few Questions [5]

A very pretty place! I spent a week there on business a few years ago, and must say that of the 15 restaurants only a couple are worth visiting, and you'll be glad of a trip to Gdańsk.

It does look nice, the people, as I remember them, were OK, but by the end of the week I was going a bit stir crazy with 'gniew' (look the word up in a dictionary!!!!

Life / Polish dentists - good and cheap? [84]

Most Polish dentists are great - mine is wonderful (as you can see from my teeth in the avatar picture), but like anything else, the more expensive ones in any given town tend to be the better ones.

And some of the best ones have so many patients that they are busy all the time.

Life / Help with getting a NIP....nightmare! [16]

Indeed.

Worth remembering that some employers (language schools are notorious for this) say they can't pay you until you have a NIP, but this is a downright lie. They can pay your wage before you receive the NIP provided they have your name, address in Poland (registered or not), date of birth, parents' names and passport number.

Life / Help with getting a NIP....nightmare! [16]

Bubbawoo is right, they should. Many language schools put the takings into a high interest deposit account and therefore want to keepthe cash there for as long as possible.

The one I work for is OK, and they not only arrange a NIP for new arrivals, but they also pay even before it arrives (it can take a while to wait for).

History / History of Poland which was "absorbed" by Russia [9]

There's a street (actually a roundabout) in Warsaw called 'Rondo Zeslancow Syberyjskich" or 'Siberian Exiles' Roundabout'.

I'm not sure if this refers to the WW2 deportations or earlier political punishments. Siberian Exiles or Siberian Deportees seems an appropriate description. I think the medal that the Polish Government is giving to survivors of that terrible time refers to them as Siberian Exiles.

Oops, just realised this should be in the other thread and it soon will be.

News / The most useless things in Poland [140]

The President and his supporters.

Life / Freemasons in Poland [41]

Mattie and Shelley are quite right. Though the 'secret handshake' stuff is a bit overrated - masons don't go around doing that sort of stuff in the hope of meeting another mason - it would be a bit frowned on. Only a few wear rings, and some (including me) wear a discreet lapel pin. There's a Polish TV presenter who wears a large aquare and compasses on his jacket, visible to the viewers but that's highly untypical. It isn't secret, just meant to be discreet, and the time spent in lodge is a kind of freedom from the outside world, where peopel who often lead very pressured lives can truly relax.

Forget the 'Albert Pike' and 'P2' stuff. Utter rot. Not that P2 was a masonic lodge for most of its existance due to being expelled or that the name 'Albert Pike' is known outside the fevered minds of conspiracy theorists.

Freemasonry is a system of morality and a way of looking at life. It's quite popular in Poland, and has existed since at least the eighteenth century. Adam Mickiewicz was a member. The craft was banned during the communist era, but has been growing extremely healthily since, with about 20 lodges of different sorts around Poland, most in the capital.

Have a look at wolnomularstwo.pl and see what it's really like.


From whence to whither? ;-)))) (Not that that particular form is used within Polish FM)


And if you want to leave, you just send a letter saying so.

Life / Freemasons in Poland [41]

Most don't want to. But some do, and are wished well and usually stay friends.

In the middle ages, the trade secrets of the stonemasons were the basis of many people's livelihood so it was perhaps harder to leave in those days, but we stopped killing people for betraying the correct way to build a cathedral many hundreds of years ago.


in four figures!!

Life / Freemasons in Poland [41]

If you're in Poland, try wolnomularstwo.pl and you can make contact with somebody who'll be pleased to have a chat. In most other places, your local lodge will be listed in the phone book, or try googling 'freemasonry' and the name of the town or county you're in.

Sometimes there are open meetings. I think there's one tomorrow in Warsaw, but I'm not sure if it's completely open or by invitation only.

Another way, probably the best way is to speak to somebody who you know is a mason - they're usually happy to answer questions.

If you decide to proceed, you have to write a letter asking to join - this is essential as members must join of their own free will. The next part of the procedure varies a lot from place to place. I only know how it goes here in Poland. You will meet with various people, usually four individual meetings which last several hours each, and have to discuss your outlook on certain topics. Then you will be invited to a lodge, blindfolded (so you can't see who is in the lodge - your neighbour, boss, mother-in-law etc could be there!), and asked certain questions based on your responses to the interviews. The lodge will then vote. If the vote is positive, you will be given a date for initiation. At any stage, you can back out, or they can decide to not to continue.

Life / Freemasons in Poland [41]


No problem!

I should say that in Britain and the US it's a bit less 'cloak and dagger' and they don't generally do the blindfolded Q & A session. I think they only do one interview too, by a kind of committee. Especially in the US there are more and more open days, and in Britain, they'll often invite you to the lodge's bar after a meeting to get to know people. In the US they don't usually have a bar, but often have big social functions, hog roasts, pot luck suppers etc.


The eternal question, that only answers itself after you've joined. All that stuff about getting off speeding tickets etc is nonsense - the benefits are very hard to describe.

A lot to do with self-development.

News / A Pole to start the HIV AIDS epidemic? [52]

The medical services here aren't that bad, and considering the level of funding, they do really very well. That includes medical care for people with HIV, which compares well to services in the rest of Europe.

I'm sceptical about the figures though, not least due to recording methods and the large private sector within medicine, which may mask the real totals.

And Poland is most definitely not a third world country. It is a middle-income country and developing fast.

History / Chicago Public Radio on *Polish* concentration camps [62]


Quite. 'A concentration camp in Poland' might be a tactful alternative given the feelings about this, but I wouldn't hold out much hope that things will change soon.

And, inwrocław, I think that you can make a valid comparison between the Auschwitz Memorial and Malbork Castle. Both are internationally known sites, both built by Germans, both in Poland and both attracting thousands of visitors annually.

History / Chicago Public Radio on *Polish* concentration camps [62]


Maybe send them a strawberry...

Life / Does Gadu Gadu cancel/reassign your id or account if you dont use it for a while? [17]

They don't say what the limit is, but they do assign unused numbers. Some people register many times until they get a number they like and then ignore the rest!

History / Chicago Public Radio on *Polish* concentration camps [62]

Read it again - it specifically mentions atrocities, torture and deaths. I spotted that bit first time..... And it was certainly the first concentration camp in Europe.

But since it's in Belarus, those who believe Auschwitz to be a 'Polish concentration camp' should call it a Belarussian concentration camp, and those who conside Auschwitz to be a 'German concentration camp should call Bereza-Kartuszka a Polish concentration camp. Unfortunate, but that's the way it is.

Having read the wikipedia stuff and other sources, I have but one question. Why did the Poles behave like that, tp their own people and others? Why?

Life / Whats gay life in Poland? [140]


Is that still open? There's a new one nearer to Gdańsk (Przymorze) that seems a bit better...

Work / ABOUT POLISH WORKERS [28]

Like any nationality, some people are hardworking, even very, and some people will take the p***. Poles are no different.

It looks like the guy you've got is swinging the lead, and should be treated like any other person who does so!

Life / Whats gay life in Poland? [140]

I forget the name. Not sure if it's still open, it was new in the summer, but may have been a flash in the pan. There are a few others in Sopot: sixty9, Niebieski Kot (been going for a while - allways empty when we've been), and one called Enterpub, which is apparently quite good.

There's also a new one in Gdańsk starówka.

Life / Is there Christmas shopping madness in Poland? [8]

The shops in warsaw were jammed to bursting point this weekend!

Life / Whats gay life in Poland? [140]

It might have been 'Pikiet'. A small place that I remember through an alcoholic fug...

Life / New skyscraper in Warsaw... [58]

It looks impressive though - and I heard the flats were sold out straight away!

Life / Whats gay life in Poland? [140]

Not bad if you're gay either :-)))

Life / Whats gay life in Poland? [140]


In fact, yes, since I'm not a Pole (by birth anyway!) and I have a fine solution.

Your only option is to find somebody else who will willingly work behind bars, in pizza restaurants, call centres, security firms; and all for minimum wage.

With the only proviso that that when you find such a nationality, you won't moan about tham either. I expect you'll have to look for quite some time!

UK, Ireland / Anti-Polish sentiment of England [253]

Worth reading the original statement very carefully.

News / Weak US dollar in Poland and other countries... [180]

The smart money seems to think that the dollar will recover somewhat. I found this today, while I was checking: waluty.onet.pl/1437025,artykul.html

I'm thinking that as all those million+ Poles return to Poland for Christmas and start changing their pounds to złotych, it might be time for a bit of pound trading, since there always seems to be a hiccup around Christmas, and will probably be a bit more so this year.

Life / What is the attitude of Poles in Poland to émigré Poles? [15]


Some people feel a bit awkward about them. Although it isn't at all easy for them to 'return' (many conditions have to be satisfied), in some small towns, the town council has bought (modest) houses for them to live in which can irritate their neighbours. I don't think there's open hostility, since just abou everybody believes they should all be able to come back, but the communities they came from, often in Eastern Poland tend to be quite poor places, and many were deported from towns and villages that are now in Belarus. Those people get a rough deal, since it's hard to say where they should go in Poland and of course the generation who were deported along with their parents are now elderly.

Poles from the Ukraine tend not to be hassled if they outstay their visas, especially if they have Polish names and speak the Polish as a mother tongue.