Life / Whats gay life in Poland? [140]

Benek's right. Things are similar in most of the world (some of the east Asian countries have a different way of looking at sexuality, but not all of them).

The biggest factor in Poland is the strenghth of the family - excellent in nearly every way, not so good if there's potential for conflict.

Work / "Ethnicity" form - Polish Europeans? [77]

I think that's only in the US, and in any case, I've never been to Caucasia.

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

The biggest mall (Arkadia) usually gets 18000 customers a day, now it's more than triple that, and it's really hard to get a cab this week.

Shopping madness!

UK, Ireland / Polish towns/cities/villages twinned with UK ones [30]

Gdynia - Plymouth

They have a lot in common really.

I'm surprised my home town is twinned with Gliwice! But then again, when I was there last I heard a lot of Polish being spoken and the local airport seems to mostly serve flights from Poland.

History / Secret Society/Secret Police in Poland [47]


The first lodge in Poland was founded in 1721 in Warsaw, though there were almost certainly Polish members who joined abroad before that date. One problem is that most membership records from the old days haven't survived, and that due to geography, most great buildings in Poland were built from brick. There are some extremely old buildings in Kraków with masons' marks on, but no records exist to shed more light on their origins.

Life / A Polish Priest lying about freemasons [57]


I must be going to the wrong lodge!

But seriously, there are a lot of priests in Poland, not all of whom are particularly worldly wise (remote village school to provincial seminary to remote village parish where people hang on their every word) and they do indeed come out with some nonsense from time to time. But not all.

When the best known and loved figure within Polish masonry died a year ago his (very big) funeral was attended by a Roman Catholic Bishop in an official capacity. Most masons here are Catholic to one degree or another. There are a huge number of Catholics in Poland and Catholicism is, as its name suggests, universal. Therefore it contains people of the highest level of common sense as well as the most credulous.

I do wish that some, and I'm thinking about a certain radio station, were a little slower to condemn things thatothers do and a little quicker to examine their own actions. Also that those people who make a living publishing books containing the most ludicrous allegations about freemasonry (a man called Stanisław Kraijski writes some spectacular drivel for the Polish-language market claiming among other things that the YMCA is a masonic 'front' - and he's often on the radio fanning the flames of misinformation) would find something a bit worthier to write about.

Life / Banks in Poland - Any good recommendations [30]

I use Nordea Bank, which is Swedish-owned and has a few branches in Warsaw. I changed to them 3 years ago after having endless problems with Citibank.

They're quite friendly, and the internet service is good.

Life / Grafitti in Warsaw [44]


unfortunately it's art on somebody else's canvas, selected by bravado rather than artistic merit and the viewing public have no choice but to wander through the gallery.

Where I live, in an expensive district of Warsaw, every wall that isn't protected is covered in scrawled grafitti. Even though the penalties for doing it in poland are high (up to 5 years in gaol and the cost of repainting the building). I used to sometimes, on boring tram journeys, close my eyes then open them again and start counting the seconds until I saw some grafitti. In Warsaw I never got as far as 10.

The crazy thing is, in 10 years in Poland, I've never seen anybody actually doing it, even though some of the more complex scrawls must take some time...

UK, Ireland / I'm making a TV show about Polish food and culture in the UK - help? [4]

Try the Polish Cultural Centre in Leeds. They have a restaurant (private, I think) that's been going for years, even when the ingredients are hard to find. Most of the customers are 2nd and 3rd generation British and don't always speak Polish. But they do still go to the restaurant.

News / "EU Politicians Angered By Polish Chemical Castration Plan" [45]

Unfortunately, there's some evidence that it doesn't work - in fact it can make paedophiles worse. The type of paedophile who gets their kicks by hurting children are apparently made even worse by chemical or physical castration.

It would be a dangerous move and probably achieve the opposite effect to that intended.

News / Adult movie producers looking for 'actresses' in Poland or just a weirdo? [120]

People who make porno films don't usually have any problems getting 'actresses'. That guy just sounds like a creep.

Life / AMERICAN-STYLE SLOB CHIC IN POLAND? [24]

Poland is the land of baseball caps and beer from the can. Nothing new, and I'm not sure how American that is - seems to be standard attire in east/central Eurtope. Also popular here now are rather garish tracksuits and sneakers. It's a shame because they don't suit 90% of the people who wear them.

One good thing in PL is that older people still dress very well.

Life / Nasty polish guys in Bialystok [36]

I found Białystock a bit menacing too. Lots of young men with no money and nothing to do. Warsaw seems to be better in that respect.

News / "EU Politicians Angered By Polish Chemical Castration Plan" [45]


usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnists/wickham/2001-09-04-wickham.htm
springerlink.com/content/1k2075t17003v275/

News / "EU Politicians Angered By Polish Chemical Castration Plan" [45]


Unfortunately the tracking idea would need a big change of law in Poland, due to very strong privacy laws. Newspapers can't even print the surnames of people convicted - they can only say, for example Jan K, or ks Piotr Z.

Also the rules about who can work with children are extremely primitive. In UK when the system of checks was introduced there were massive delays and a few sad mistakes. In Poland all that is needed is a Certyficat Niekaralnosci (and not always that!!), which can unfortunately be obtained in small towns by bribery.

It would be a good idea to have a Europe-wide (if not worldwide) system though, due to increased mobility of workers, perhaps based on the American system, perhaps a combination of that and the UK system. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. In the UK, they can say that a paedophile lives in your area, but they very rarely name them. This has led to people being attacked by lowlife, just for being a bit weird, while the real paedophile goes unnoticed. Some say the US system forces them to go underground. There must be a system that's foolproof.

News / "EU Politicians Angered By Polish Chemical Castration Plan" [45]

I think you're largely right. But there has to be some kind of system. There was that awful story (findable on the internet I suppose) about the guy from Poland who came to work in the UK. For his job he needed a police check and they accepted a Certyfikat Niekaralnoscią from his local police station in Poland. He raped 2 (or maybe 3 - I forget) women. It turned out he'd been in prison in Poland for rape, and got the Certyfikat by bribing somebody here.

There must be a way to stop this. Reminds me of that paedophile from Canada who was arrested in Thailand working as a teacher.

No method can ever be foolproof, but with computerised records we have a chance to make a good one.

Life / Internet cowboys in Poland - Internet Providers [15]

Avoid Sferia's wireless service. It is dire. I'm looking for a new provider, don't want a TPSA landline, and can't do it via the cable. There must be something available.

Life / Euro Lotto £100,000,000 - Can you play in poland? [7]

If you win the £100,000,000, whatever you do, don't let the Polish authorities find out. Gambling winnings aren't always tax free here.

My fee for this advice is 1%.

News / "EU Politicians Angered By Polish Chemical Castration Plan" [45]


Interesting! Rather than a one word gainsaying, perhaps you can show a link about this. Other than the infamous Tomczak and Rywin of course. All I ever see is Marek W or Slawomir Z. Even the notorious cases about the paedophile choirmaster in Poznan, the 'renowned' child psychologist in Warsaw and the predatory priest in Dworzec Centralny only seemed to publicise their initials.

History / Polish - Soviet Brotherhood in Arms. [35]

Rightly or wrongly, there were Poles and Russians who fought together, and still people alive whose loved ones are commemorated by the memorial. It should stay, even though it looks Soviet and tasteless.

News / "EU Politicians Angered By Polish Chemical Castration Plan" [45]


The Krollop case is so well known that it became publicised. Who is Dariusz P, convicted in a shocking case in my city this year. Try and get his surname. And the Krollop and Samson cases had all but finished before their full names got to the internet!

Life / Internet cowboys in Poland - Internet Providers [15]

I had blue connect and it wasn't so great - they use the same bases stations as the Era phone network which takes priority - not so great if you live next to Lazienki Park, as I do. Netia might be a good idea, though there are some problems in this building. It might be worth waiting until TPSA recable the block.

Orange has a mobile service which sounds interesting though.

Life / Katowice: what do you think? [42]

For the past 9 years I've been visiting every few weeks for business. Sure it isn't Venice, but the people are friendly, the shops and bars are cheap, and as the centre of a conurbation, there's a really bustling feel with everything one could need. And the people there (and service in shops, hotels etc) are somehow pleasanter and nicer than in most of Poland. The analogy that someone made to Leeds has some truth. Similar ambience, though Katowice has a much bigger centre and fewer sprawling suburbs.

Worth trying some of the other cities in the Upper-Silesia Metropolitan Area. Each has its own distinct character.

History / Scotland and Poland. Mutual connections since 1576 [45]

According to friends, Machulski and Machalski are indeed from Scottish roots.

Have a look on Wikipedia about 'Wymysorys' = Wymysorys

Sadly, almost nobody in Poland seems interested in preserving it.

News / What is the future of Catholic church in Poland. [154]


Oh for Flip's sake, the EU, the Vatican and Freemasonry (an entirely non-political society) are not, not, not plotting anything. Nor are little bug-eyed green aliens.

As for the Church in Poland, it still remains a strong force, especially in rural areas, though urban mass attendance has fell, especially among city dwellers and the better educated. Most people here are happy to send their kids to Church schools if they can afford it.

News / What is the future of Catholic church in Poland. [154]


This is slowly happening already. At the moment people are healthily cynical about the moral teaching, next, the generation who lived so long with communism will die out, and slowly people will start to question and reject the core mythology of Christianity.

News / What is the future of Catholic church in Poland. [154]


I didn't say that, or mention my own beliefs. Not that one can reject something that has never been proven to exist...


I didn't say that either. There is however a core mythology of Christianity, including a creation story, a deluge, a pregnant virgin and a dead person coming back to life.


I made my own mind up.


.

I have a masters in Theology.


Prove to me that such an entity exists


What makes you think that history will judge religion well?


Given the horrors inflicted on the world in the name of religion, wouldn't that be such a bad thing. And how can one turn ones face from something if not even his/her believers can prove his/her existence.


Isn't it time more people started thinking for themselves. A transcendental entity would be a great thing to have, and very comforting, but so far unprovable.

News / What is the future of Catholic church in Poland. [154]


I however do. And as for your 'left media' comment, don't the left have a right to their opinion too. So often people attribute an non-ontological viewpoint to people's political stance whereas in reality their world-view derives from a more sophisticated dialectic?

News / Should rape carry a life sentence in Poland? [146]


A lower crime rate or a lower reporting rate? There's so much paperwork here involved in reporting a petty crime and much less personal insurance that people often don't bother, and anyway, the Polish police are best avoided.

And in any case, the rapist Jakub Tomczak, who this thread is/was about brutally attacked the lady in question and left her for dead. She was in hospital for over a year, has permanent brain damage and now uses a wheelchair. But in 12 years (probably not 9 - under the treaty which allows prisoners to serve their sentence in their home country, the sentence must be served in full unless a court in the country which gave the sentence decides otherwise) he'll be out and free to do it again. No matter that a court system considered among the fairest and most reliable in the world gave him not one but two life sentences.

Let's hope he's permanently excluded from the UK.

"His victim has already spoken of her anger at discovering he will serve the remainder of his sentence in Poland.

The woman, who is confined to a wheelchair, said she was serving a “living prison sentence” from the injuries Tomczak inflicted on her, while he was able to move back home.

History / Scotland and Poland. Mutual connections since 1576 [45]

What's that got to do with the price of fish? Where do Jewish people come into the equation?

I smell anti-semitism...