History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

Yes, BB. Many from Upper Silesia say that they need a passport to travel to Sosnowiec. People from there are 'particular' ;)

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

Silesians need a separate passport to get to Sosnowiec, pawian. It is not Silesia ;) ;)

Travel / My (short) Poland experiences - bad luck? [142]

Well, you edited so you were obviously confident of your changes, so ok ;)

I don't think the OP's anthem for Poland will be Shiny Happy People by REM ;)

Travel / My (short) Poland experiences - bad luck? [142]

For their English :) It was a small typo, m is right beside n. You did criticise/critique ;) (teach, not learn)

Anyway, back on track. They were observations, noreen, not gossip. Poles can come across as gloomy but that's just the way of many here. It makes finding the exceptions all the better :)

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

Not everyone is cut out to be a miner, BB ;) There's your answer :)

Travel / My (short) Poland experiences - bad luck? [142]

The frowns didn't happen overnight, noreen ;)

Gossiping?? Where?

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

Pawian has a point here, BB. Gierek wasn't the best of leaders but he improved the standard of living for many miners. Check the wealth ratings for voivoidships and regions back then and you will see.

Travel / My (short) Poland experiences - bad luck? [142]

Chavs spawn chavs, it's one aspect of the culture. I can just imagine Zeti out with her ned/chav detectors and guns :)

Life / Any treatment centres for homos in Poland? [455]

I don't see where you are going with the Tourette's thing, Sasha, please treat it separately as it bears no relevance to homosexuality. As a deceased, no ;)

Treatment for what, that's the point? It's their wiring if you will. I couldn't be gay if I tried as it just isn't in my genetic constitution. What's so hard to understand about that? Who cares what interest groups say? Please analyse on merit and available facts.

The ambit is wide, we agree :)

There are many ways of being rebellious and pulling your kegs down for a man and letting him stick his sharpened pencil in you is just going against your natural ways unless, of course, you are truly gay. Your argument really doesn't stand up to any scrutiny for a very simple reason. Who are those boys showing their rebellion to if they are getting boned by another guy behind closed doors? Benefits? Oh, I'll be sure to take a pair of high heels and lipstick with me when I go the DSS next time. I'll act all camp. On second thoughts, I won't as there are no benefits to be had. What are you talking about, Sasha? Clutching at straws with that one.

"Nothing can be said for now for sure"??? You seem to have taken a different position from your very own words, Sasha. Which medical society, Bigots R Us? Father Rydzyk's own one? No medical society worth its salt would take that position, sorry. Boys having to prostitute themselves, more of a woman's thing as we know, says more about society and lack of job creation than anything else. I really can't imagine many boys making that choice easily at all. Come to think of it, how do you know? Have you seen it or is it just another fantasy/illusion which you conjured up for the sake of argument?

Fiat Maluchs were given to dead brown people???? You know, my dad once drank that extra-strong Russian vodka (90%) and he was knocked for six. With statements like giving cars to dead brown people (I must have been the ginger red kind of person you had in mind, LOL), I wonder about you. With all due respect, you didn't answer the question on the legislative issue at all. You neatly sidestepped it but it was a stab in the heart, right? A real choker I presume!

Not at all. They clearly have delusions, gays don't. They make a conscious choice with informed consent. Do those mentally ill people do that? NO. Are you saying that gays are delusional and mentally ill? That's the comparison you were making all too clearly and I reject it. They are just guys with a different sexual orientation, period!

If they are not themselves, then who are they? Borrowing a life from sb else? LOL

I brought the debate down? My best arguing isn't above but, then again, it doesn't need to be. A few Slavic guys are closet gays and just can't live with it due to the repressive conditioning that's inbuilt. Fags are getting more expensive, Sasha, but don't you worry yourself now. They are still only 10PLN :)

Travel / My (short) Poland experiences - bad luck? [142]

Like it or not, they are part of the culture, Zeti. Just like neds and chavs are part of British culture. There are more than enough of them for them to constitute a part of the culture. Sad but true!

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

Let the generation representatives do their thing. I know Poles in Lower Silesia with German passports and they are easy to get due to old ties. They tend to want to learn German and interact with Germans. There is relative harmony :)

Travel / My (short) Poland experiences - bad luck? [142]

Hmm....I've never seen any man limit the drinking of a woman here. Men are generally more bellicose and tend to help themselves when drunk and this is the same anywhere. Women can discreetly pour themselves sth and nothing is said. I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just saying that I haven't seen that. Don't you know that getting a woman drunk has benefits? ;) ;)

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

Ah well, there is interaction as it stands. I was chatting to a Polish guy who has lived a lot of his life in Dusseldorf. He doesn't feel the need to win anything back. The right of passage and right to own land are enough :)

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

BB, the League of Nations ruled on it as far back as 1921. They denied you access to most of the coalfields and, well, war yields such results. Polonization?? The majority of Germans voted for Hitler and there must be those that suffer as a result. It's analogous to the situation of Serbs in Bosnia. They got murdered by the locals there. However, after WWI, it happened by official authorities recognising the change. If you can accept Kosovo's independence, you can accept that.

Travel / My (short) Poland experiences - bad luck? [142]

So much dog sh*t, Zeti? That's right, blame the dogs why don't you? ;) ;)

Teffle, look for Polish hospitality. That'll change your mind a little. The streets can be dreary. I was in Zabrze today and the faces were like they were on death row for the most part. However, I went off to see my parents-in-law and they are instantly uplifting. They look after me like one of their own and her whole family has helped in numerous ways. In that way, and in a few others, they are like the Japanese. Poles and Japanese have a healthy respect and I can see why. Oh, to qualify what I said, they are that way when you get to know them. Otherwise they may be suspicious or sceptical but these things take time. As the HP motto goes, 'the best things come to those who wait'. Short trips give you snapshots, of which yours are pretty darn accurate.

However, one thing. Sexism? Their joking aside, where did you see it?

Travel / My (short) Poland experiences - bad luck? [142]

I completely agree with the OP, Teffle. The silence is deafening at times. My mum could never function in such an environment but she'd have to grin and bear it. I'm similar too but I've lived in Japan where they are decidedly more stony-faced and, well, poker-faced really. It hasn't stopped them from being virtually the model of technological progress! I learned, largely through living in a quiet town there, and even before in Scotland, to find my own inner life and could ignore that which was around me. Many Poles are as many Poles are. Scots tend to be more optimistic but still, the enthusiasm level in many places in Aberdeen often made me depressed if I thought about it too much. They are not much better at times.

Maybe you should talk about the cities and towns and NOT the villages, Teffle ;) ;) ;)

Anyway, in conclusion, I agree with what you said. There is a nothingness to the place but there are hidden gems. I'm lucky enough to have met them. Can you get blood out of a stone? You know, I think I might just have managed ;) ;)

Oh, edit time. As ever, Wildrover is spot on (WB too as it happens). Just as black/death/heavy metal unites Slavic people FAR FAR better than any politicians will, bikers have the same. It's an institution and they all nod at one another on the streets. It's the same in Scotland. These people can rise above it all (często mają w dupie, i dobrze w tym przypadku).

Teffle, where did you spend most time, may I ask?

Life / Any treatment centres for homos in Poland? [455]

I didn't take him up on that, Davie, but it did strike me as weird that he'd say that. Is this the same Sasha, the likeable Russian fellow? He's well wide of the mark here. I wonder how his comrade, CK, would react to this comments :)

Rationality will trump emotions in this debate. They don't like gays, fine, that's their perogative. However, saying they are ill and need treatment is just wrong.

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

That really makes a difference in Britain as we have often valued our pub lunch culture. People should not be priced out. That's one thing I really miss about Scotland, the pub lunches. I guess that prices have soared which places me in a decent position as I only have 1 a year given my current status. Scampi would be nice :)

Life / How can Polish immigrants complain about other immigrants? [65]

Nott, in what ways do they complain?

Life / Any treatment centres for homos in Poland? [455]

Because sth doesn't bring socially desirable outcomes, it doesn't make it an illness but an inconvenience, Sasha. I too believe it is desirable to have a mother and a father but people will do as people will do and be as they will be.

Homosexuality is a condition of nature. Tell me this, why do most people go to the doctor for heavy flu, acne or fever and NOT for being homosexual?

You are in poor mental health, Sasha (well, not YOU personally). Those people are still ill and therefore have an illness, just a mental illness so your argument doesn't fly. Health has a broader ambit than you are giving it.

Gays can often be flamboyant types and therefore want to show. How many people with those diseases you mentioned want to show off their Tourette's? I mean, come on! Gays feel they are showing love through exhibitionism, rightly or wrongly. Other diseases show death. Do you see now?

Sasha, be my guest if you want to play the hypothetical game. We could have fun with it. The facts are as the facts are. There are few gays in almost any country you choose, relative to the overall population. Some have more than others and act accordingly in terms of education and social provision.

So, the hypothetical game. If many people were to wake up and realise that we all descended from Africa, how would they feel? If homosexuality should be perceived as an illness, why have virtually all countries not legislated on the issue to call it as such?

I could go on. Ill people often know that there is sth wrong with them. Gay people don't feel this. Many value their health like any other and that's what makes them normal.

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

Try not to look too carefully. When I go back to Scotland, I'm there for my family, the memories and the infinitely wider range of food/drink there. Whatever goes on around me, goes on around me.

Life / Any treatment centres for homos in Poland? [455]

What, you are not aware of common knowledge that being homosexual is an illness? ;) ;) How old are you man? ;) ;)

Joking aside, your words make perfect sense, Matt32 :)

Genealogy / Nawrot surname source (Jewish converts to Catholicisim?) [7]

I know two different Nawrots here. One is a Tatar, I think. The other is a bouncer here :)

Life / Pictures of Poles [Everyday Life in Poland] [100]

Better watch it, rather ;)

Any photos to post, Zeti? Polish everyday life might surprise foreigners.

Life / Pictures of Poles [Everyday Life in Poland] [100]

That would be inappropriate. She looks 16 but I think she is 18 or 19. No no, everyday life is what is needed here and that certainly wasn't typical of shops and streets ;) ;)

Pawian has some good photos but in another thread somewhere.

News / Global politics and consequences for Poland; Would you like to know more? [24]

Glaca, it helped MANY Poles find work in the UK and agencies allow Polish workers to skip the queue. Yes, there is undercutting but educated Poles can avoid all that. I try not to play the blame game but Tusk has done very little in the sphere of job creation. He has, however, given some incentives for people to start their own businesses.

Glaca, please mention geopolitics and not functional issues of the EU. Thanks!!

News / Global politics and consequences for Poland; Would you like to know more? [24]

Blame your own government for that! Unemployment was very high before your accession to the EU. Communism was effective in terms of granting full employment. However, the transition to an open market was a hard one. Besides, having 1/38 of your population away has a tendency to distort the figures.

News / Global politics and consequences for Poland; Would you like to know more? [24]

Excuse me? What do you mean 'have to'? The EU is a help, not a hindrance to Poland in terms of grants and funds. We are discussing geopolitics here which can be a cagey affair.

News / Global politics and consequences for Poland; Would you like to know more? [24]

I'll give you my bank account details and we can talk ;) ;)

I like the third point you made. Putin was aware of the pulling effect of America on all Polish lead personnel, regardless of party affiliation. He then took his chance and PO are off down the road of closer ties.

How do you envisage cooperation being extended, Crow?

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

Well the thread is dead then, BB. I know nobody is asking for it.