News / New cross war in Warsaw [530]

Mafketis, for the LAST time, I am discussing the harm and merit of the cross being there. I don't give a jot about those religious freaks or others that are just championing a cause because they are otherwise losers in life. Look at what SeanBM said above. He's got the idea! It's NOT about the people in that space, it's about the cross being there and it doesn't really present an obstacle.

They MUST accept the will of the people. Geez, Poland was one of the champions of democracy years ago. Then the police will have to treat them as fanatics and disperse them.

Don't make out that the state can do nothing here, they very much can. Babcias can do nothing in the face of guys who weigh around 250lbs, wielding batons.

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

Oh yeah, you'll find them sneaking up on you and they are RIGHT there when you turn round. No concept of respect for the space of others. Then they start ordering when you are halfway through your order.

News / New cross war in Warsaw [530]

I think the point that many are missing here is that it was a NATIONAL tragedy. As such, it is for the people to decide as a collective whole. It will linger for quite some time longer until a referendum comes along. Then NOBODY can contest it as it will be the will of the people. What, you think EU citizens are gonna get referendums for a federal states of Europe and the like? Forget it! If, by some miracle they do, it will go to a second, third, fourth and fifth vote or until it gets pushed through. Face it guys, referendums are now for this kind of thing. Kommie would be making a crucial gesture to the people that he knows what democracy is.

Life / 55 minutes to write a ticket ("mandat karny")? [28]

Maybe he got more pay for making it last longer? ;)

Seriously though, that's absurd! I think it's because many haven't got the idea that life goes beyond paperwork and also the notion of respecting peoples' time. Fine, you were speeding but most people do it. As long as you weren't putting others in harm's way. Doing time is for jail, not sitting and answering mundane questions. The Poles will make for great partners in the inquisitive and intrusive NWO ;) ;)

Delph, it's a speeding ticket for crying out loud. I guarantee you that you'd show a few signs of irritation beyond the half-hour point. This is not the detention of a terrorist we are talking about here.

Food / Why is it that some Polish people refuse to eat anything that is not Polish? [120]

Aphro, at least we have a steady supply of lamb that doesn't cost an arm and a leg :)

Good beef? Eh, Aberdeen Angus is probably the best in the world. Ask anybody in the meat selling business in America. I've also tried Kobe gyu (beef) and it was impressive. Still Aberdeen Angus gets the nod ahead of it.

Try some fish from the North Sea or the Moray Firth. Since when has fish not been good food? It's healthy and good for the brain :)

As for soups, Poland can hardly claim to be much better though I still put Poland as European champion. We are 2nd. Try Baxters soups or Cullen Skink :)

Try potato-based dishes like stovies. Go to Crawfords Bakery and you'll see all kinds of cheap and tasty dishes like that.

And yes, Scots in big cities have ready access to all manner of cuisine and aren't afraid to experiment :)

UK, Ireland / The slow, whiny death of British Christianity [86]

They still have a 25% belief rate, Pol3. You are implying that they are somehow less as people for not believing. So what if they drink a lot of beer? Most Slavs and everyone else do too.

I've made my point on the thread. Scotland is a different animal.

News / New cross war in Warsaw [530]

I heard that the City Guard were being used, LOL. This from a VERY reliable source.

Handbags can be thrown quite far and you never know what those mohair berety carry inside.

News / New cross war in Warsaw [530]

Presidential property? So Lech's former stamping ground then :) Secured by whom? It is the police who tend to patrol public areas ;) ;)

Conservation area? Even better. They can preserve their culture :)

No planning permission? Yet it still hasn't been removed ;)

UK, Ireland / The slow, whiny death of British Christianity [86]

Plk123, Britain has 3 countries. Scotland is around 2/3 Christian so your level of non-believers is too high in the context of my country. With the massive influx of Poles and Lithuanians, that number could be even higher.

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

Only when Beckham kicks them off ;)

Anyway, let's stay on topic. They are a law unto themselves those guys.

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

Don't expect politeness here,
youtube.com/watch?v=gU3fFEJvB5E&feature=related

There are many more where that came from. This is a subculture of virtually every country that plays football, with the possible exception of Japan as I never heard about J League fights.

But PiS aren't in power, delph ;) ;)

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

I don't think it's solely confined to yuppies but PO is encouraging them with their lower taxes for high earners. Those people who want to make a quick buck are about as impolite as they come.

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

We should always remember that we are guests here but we also have standards to abide by, often determined through years of conditioning. Compromise becomes key but when rules are as blatantly unreasonable as you showed, war, we should take a stand. We can grin and bear it perhaps (it lies within tolerance) but the infuriating thing is their rigidity in following the letter of the law to an absolute tee. For those versed in civil disobedience, it is their duty to challenge :)

Language / "do I" usage in a question? [50]

True, jeśli or jeżeli are more like the 1st conditional in English (the open conditional) and are used for making statements. Czy is a question marker.

Language / "do I" usage in a question? [50]

If should be combined with a negative to make it like whether, e.g I don't know if he'll come. It isn't always the case that if = whether.

Language / "do I" usage in a question? [50]

Exactly! See post 22 of mine above too, chaza.

Language / "do I" usage in a question? [50]

Polish is more flexible when it comes to tag/tail questions. We match the auxiliaries together (do/don't, does/doesn't, can/can't etc etc) whereas they have words like czy, prawda, tak i nie. It requires less precision in Polish. Polish students often confuse do and does (then again, so do native speakers, lol)

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

You shall ;) ;)

Happeningu looks more Japanese :) Chizu (for cheese, smile for the camera).

Sorry, those words look ridiculous but thanks for the LOL :)

It just so 'happens' that this one fits but many don't. Try it out!

Language / "do I" usage in a question? [50]

The first 2 are the same. Czy is like whether and expresses a doubt.

The last one is, 'I was wondering, did you get my message?' (to a male from a female)

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

Look at my point above regarding making it easier for Poles to use. Polish incorporation is generally of a different character as you have conjugations to contend with. How does w Matrixie look? Not that good! It has to be made more practical.

Take the word menu. We have no problems using it. Meni is easier for Poles to use.

The point is that it matters more for Poles to have the right endings :)

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

I was joking when I said one that rows, true as it is. I know that Rover was a brand name of bicycle but we didn't use it like we used Hoover's invention to mean hoover. Again, you took it and modified it. Happening isn't modified and that's what I'm saying.

I acknowledge and see the changes as you do. It makes me laugh when Poles ask me what kiosk is in English, like it's a Polish word.

Life / Why Aren't The Shops in Poland Open on Sundays? [82]

I bet it was a beef sandwich :)

Och, we can learn to live like Ethiopians have to do for most of their lives. Spare a thought for those that are starving through famine, who have governments that couldn't manage a pi*s-up in a brewery and have little hope.

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

Lanch, WEEkend in Polish, often weekEND in English :) RAdio is not like our raydio. Rower, one who rows? LOL Tenis is tennis :) What's the point, btw? I mentioned Poglish above and borrowing is natural. I'm not disagreeing here.

We borrowed and incorporated, I told you. English is a highly evolutionary language and just look at the anger of Le Academie Francaise as evidence of how we overborrowed.

That doesn't make it right, mafketis. I had this discussion with my PhD student last Thursday. They were toying with Polish endings and decided that it would be more natural to modify it to a more Polish way, thus more recognisable, e.g instead of Matrix, it was Matriks. It is more easily changed to w Matriksie :) :) Poles would find it more workable too. Shorter words like taxi tend to stay as they are. He works for one of the leading publishers in Europe.

You see, I don't think enough Polish native speakers use it at all. You are overstating the point in a classic case of hyperbole.

There are sometimes occasions when no word in our own language accurately describes/encapsulates the nuance nicely so we borrow :) You are right on that point!

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

Let's start with diacritical marks like ż, ć, ź, ą, ę and ś. Do you see any? I don't. It is an English word from NYC. Not in the slightest Polish but only borrowed without any modification. That's odd!

The English attribute is Jamie Oliver, a chef, who borrowed it from Hindi :) Britain, unless you hadn't noticed, is far more multicultural and evolves more than Polish does :)

Rather limited, yes, as borrowed words from another language can be :)

Life / Why Aren't The Shops in Poland Open on Sundays? [82]

Stu, how many times? They are closed for 2 reasons which I've stated above. Jesus would have wanted us to celebrate a religious holiday with Christian symbols. We can buy those symbols where? Tada, yes, in shops :)

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

Yes but it's not a "fully-fledged Polish word", is it? That's what I was contesting. It doesn't have Polish attributes and I've never heard it used here.

Life / Why Aren't The Shops in Poland Open on Sundays? [82]

It is centrally relevant to the thread, Stu. It has a religious dimension as well as a military one so don't be telling me it has no relevance. Compared to the mudslinging above, it's right on the mark.

So, being a Catholic holiday too, wouldn't Jesus have wanted a link to Christian symbols to take precedence over those that kill? If you can't see that question as being RIGHT at the heart of the matter, you are nothing short of a moron! Sorry, sad but true!

Sunday is a traditionally Christian day and one of rest. Let me guess, you can't see that either, Pan Struż?

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

That link didn't work, Magda. It is a word from 1959. It is not Polish and doesn't have any Polish features.

Life / Why Aren't The Shops in Poland Open on Sundays? [82]

Convex answered you for me, Stu :)

Nobody has answered my Jesus question. Would he prefer people to buy fish, bread and wine (Christian symbols) or honour those that kill for corrupt political organisations like NATO? Come on, let's hear it!

Food / Why is it that some Polish people refuse to eat anything that is not Polish? [120]

They tend to take pride in good service :) There is a Vietnamese place where my wife works in Zabrze. They have excellent spring rolls and go out of their way to get them to you quickly. My wife loves them. She does experiment a wee bittie :)