UK, Ireland / Daniel Pelka murder: Polish mother and stepfather face life sentences [96]

A child showing obvious signs from physical abuse which got progressively worse month after month does not compare in any manner to a parent wanting their child to be taught by a different teacher.

The only role cultural differences could possibly have played into this horrific and sickening crime would be if others who could and should have done something to intervene were stupid enough to believe that it must be cultural for a Polish child to drastically lose weight, stop growing compared to his peers, and look for food among rubbish. Like I already said some Polish migrants are accepted in their new surrounding while others are not. So I don't doubt there were those who looked upon Daniel's deteriorating condition and didn't care either way simply because he came from a Polish family. Just another "bloody foreigner" who doesn't belong in Britain, eh?


Where's your source for these statistics?

What point are you trying to make with this information anyway? Are you suggesting that the convicts Luczak and Krezolek should have been given a lighter sentence because their despicable crimes against Daniel somehow pale in comparison to the volume of child trafficking in other parts of the world?

UK, Ireland / Daniel Pelka murder: Polish mother and stepfather face life sentences [96]


All the more reason then for police, teachers, social workers, neighbors, friends, work colleagues and other parents to have connected the dots as to why a 4 year old child was frequently showing bruises, displaying desperate behavior, and wasting away before their own eyes.

It's a sad state of affairs that Britain can only muster collective concern when a cat gets stuck up in a tree or when a wealthy celeb files for divorce.


But you raised the issue of cultural difference.

UK, Ireland / Daniel Pelka murder: Polish mother and stepfather face life sentences [96]


Yes, and some Polish migrants are welcomed in their new communities while others are met with hostility or indifference. In any event Daniel was living and attending school in Coventry. He was very much a part of the community.


Yes, but the evidence and testimonies used in the trial had nothing to do with cultural differences. There were three police visits to the home. Teachers noticed bruises on exposed parts of his body. Month after month Daniel continued to emaciate (likened to a "bag of bones" and concentration camp victim) even though he was also observed stealing scraps from other children's lunch boxes and worse rummaging through bins around the school for food.

When does common sense kick in?

UK, Ireland / Daniel Pelka murder: Polish mother and stepfather face life sentences [96]

The true measure of civility in any society is how well it looks after its most vulnerable.

Britain failed Daniel.

History / Poland is a Catholic country [177]

Did you read your cohort's original comment? Here, I'll help you out.


Who cares if I used a Welsh term. Are you going to tell us no one in the UK have ever used regional terms and expressions with each other? LOL.

You should stick to your world of Zionism because you are as much the spokesperson for Britain as you would like to think you are for Poland.

History / Poland is a Catholic country [177]


More than you could possibly fathom boyo.


Anyone who knows anything about Britain and Polish migration wouldn't need to make such qualified statements about it. Anyway, people find their gods in all sorts of places. For some it is at the bottom of a bottle of booze they just emptied. For others it's at a school's admissions office. And for many more its the seeds of discontent I've mentioned already which have been sown at every level of British society. Tony Blair's conversion and the presence of Poles practicing their Catholicism openly would indeed have an influence on those UK persons who desired to become or return to Catholicism but lacked the role models in society to help them commit to going through with it.

Before his conversion his wife's Catholicism was criticized by Protestant and secular people in Britain as the reason she had so many children. It is quite odd that on one hand Britain will boast of its openness, tolerance and diversity and yet on the other it is still unthinkable that in the 21st century an elected Prime Minister could be a Catholic and so has to wait to leave office before practicing a private matter of faith other than Protestantism. Odder still the very head of the CoE and members of her family have no problems following protocol and dawning black lace to show deference when they are granted an audience with a pope.



Camilla happily following protocol to show respect towards a pope.

Considering your postings one would have thought you were firmly rosy red in your politics. Are you tellings us you never voted New Labour? Shocking! Well, not really. There are plenty of people in Britain who never run out of breath proclaiming their liberal convictions and credentials in public but then at the polling stations once the curtains are drawn shut they vote with their wallets and heavily tick the box for Conservative Party each and every time. I don't see why you mention Scotland since it is a marginalized part of the UK. It never carries the nation in any election and if it actually declared independence tomorrow no one south of the border would ever notice.


Many of Scotland former monarchs were Roman Catholics; Mary Queen of Scots being one of the most well known.

Back in earlier centuries, much like today's immigration patterns, there were many different migrant groups to Scotland, which included Poles, who helped Catholicism to re-emerge there:


Source: wiki/Roman_Catholicism_in_Scotland

You may think it is far fetched that anyone in Scotland would use religion as a source for identity. But if more and more votes are needed to make independence viable then appeals will be made to show that Scotland historical has always been different from England and the rest of the United Kingdom. And religion is an obvious way to do this. And if it so happens that the Vatican were to endorse or go further and recognize an independent Scotland you can bet it would be used as political capital by separatists.


If you actually attended a regular mass at either a CoE or RC church you would find there is very little difference to the services they carry out. And this shows a lack of imagination on the CoE's part even though they broke away from Rome centuries ago and so have had plenty of time to come up with their own script and costumes to wear. Pass a CoE or RC church today, ancient or modern, and you usually still have to stop and look at the sign out front to tell you which one it belongs to.

For those Catholics who pray to the figure called Mary that's their business and it isn't wide spread within or without of the RCC. I see it for what it is: market segmentation. Besides, for Protestant or agnostic feminists who want some spirituality in their lives but would rather throw themselves off a cliff before worshiping a male figure then Mary of Nazareth makes an excellent idol for them to project their thoughts, words and feelings at.


Dare to think.

I'll refer you to the Posting Guidelines below about insulting others here on PF. Apart from that your rant hasn't contributed to this thread.

History / Poland is a Catholic country [177]

There are over half a million Poles now residing Britain and this is on top of the scores who settled in the UK following WWII. With so many more British now aware of Polish history and culture either indirectly through the media or directly from having Polish neighbors, colleagues or partners it is very reasonable that more and more would switch their allegiance from Protestantism to Catholicism or shake off their agnosticism.

Tony Blair may not wear his religion on his sleeve but the British press certainly made a big deal about his conversion back in 2007. It still gets a mention from time to time all these years later. For many lapsed or closet Catholics in Britain his high-level political and public profile (and significantly increasing personal wealth) would certainly make him an inspiration for others. Heck, even New Labour disciples of Tony Blair may have become Catholics in a modern act of disestablishmentarianism as well as to stay "cool like Tony" since Brown lead the party to self-destruction. I can see separatists in Scotland also becoming Catholics just for the sake of hammering together something of a Scottish identity in which to hang their Tam o' Shanters off of. Religion has usually served a central role for ethnic identification.

And with all the fuss that has been made over homosexuals and women entering and rising in the ranks of the CoE then increasing exposure to Catholics and celebrity conversions would certainly spur those "traditionalists" in the CoE to find safe harbor in the RCC. There is little liturgical difference between the CoE and RCC anyway.

All in all I'd say Tony Blair's conversion along with the tandem rise in the Polish population in Britain made the soil fertile for Catholicism to sprout anew.

History / Poland is a Catholic country [177]


WYD 2013 in Rio drew millions. So if anything such sizable gatherings are great for local businesses and government coffers.

From the WYD 2013 photo above you can make out a Polish flag to the left of center. You'll see it once you move your eyes away from the SEVEN large Union Jacks on the right which are proudly flapping in the breeze for this event. I wonder if Britain's increasing Catholicism is a result of its Polonization over the years or was it Tony Blair who made it fashionable to be RC once again?

Love / Which is better option? Any Indian - Polish couple experience [20]


Tolerance is very different from acceptance. You'll find that even in countries with the most heterogeneous populations there is always an underlying tension. You portray London as the paragon of integration. But this would be to ignore the reality of the situation of "sundown segregation" which you can read more about here:

telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/9831912/I-feel-like-a-stranger-where-I-live.html

Not only is "white flight" an ongoing problem in London and other areas of the UK but the British press is frequently forced to report (albeit very grudgingly) on Asian sex gangs and their specific targeting of white often underage girls around the United Kingdom.

As far as mixed couples go you can gauge the establishment's position in many different European countries which still have monarchies. Many who call themselves and are recognized as royalty may be willing to marry a commoner but none have yet crossed the Rubicon and married outside their own race. So what do you think this signals to those in the rest of society over whom they rule or will rule in the future?

I think you will find many communities and even entire countries around the world are socially conservative and not just Poland. Perhaps you are familiar with the Jewish term "marrying-out". But this isn't something limited to Jews. On several occasions now I've heard accounts given by non-whites of their conflicted feelings and even anger when their sons or daughters bring home a partner who is from another race or from a different religion.

Love / Which is better option? Any Indian - Polish couple experience [20]


You are so right. Polish society's attitude to relationships is the polar opposite to India. Take courtship rituals for example:

"In 2005, two youths poured acid on Laxmi while she was waiting for a bus at Khan market, New Delhi, because she had refused to marry one of them. Her face and body were left disfigured."

Source: The Guardian, 18 July 2013, India's acid attack survivors welcome rules to help stop rise in assaults
guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/jul/18/india-acid-attack-survivors-compensation

UK, Ireland / WHAT IS IT ABOUT POLISH PEOPLE THAT MAKES THEM THINK THAT UK WANTS THEM? [309]


Britain and France entered a pact with Poland that they would declare war on Germany if Germany invaded Poland. This was because the British and French did not believe the Germans would stop with their expansion once they annexed the Sudetenland and then the rest of Czechoslovakia.

Their suspicions proved correct when the Nazis invaded Poland.

Britain kept its word and declared war on Germany.

Maybe you wouldn't feel so much misplaced anger and resentment towards Poles if you took the time to study the facts. There are plenty of resources (print and video) which you can search for online that will help educate you.

Good luck to you; you need it.

Law / Polish Visa Questions from an American Student [3]

If your school has such an agreement then shouldn't there be advisors on your campus who are responsible for this program and could give you all the information you need before you leave?

The American Embassy in Warsaw directs it citizens who have questions about traveling and living in Poland to the Polish Embassy in Washington DC.

Their respective links are here: poland.usembassy.gov/poland/visa_requirements.html

and here: polandembassy.org

News / Poland -- an Indonesian's eye view [7]

A very poorly written article which jumped all over the place. The term "scattered brained" would be an apt description.

The author starts out by mocking the Polish flag by describing it as an "upside down" version of her own. As if the Indonesian flag (itself adopted only in 1945) is the standard upon which other flags are to be judged.

Of the 19 paragraphs written over 40% of them were dedicated exclusively to discussing the 20th Century history of the Jews in Poland. This article would definitely be Zionist approved since it had plenty to say about the fate of the Jews during WWII but made absolutely zero mention about the 2 million plus Poles who perished on top of the at least 1.5 million Poles deported by the Nazis and sent into forced labor. Oh sure there was a passing reference to Warsaw being virtually wiped off the map (again no civilian casualties mentioned) but the writer immediately moved the focus to the former Jewish Ghetto.

According to this writer Poland merely "fell" under communist control. But what of the Katyń massacre? What of the millions of Poles displaced and sent into Siberian exile and certain death under the Bolshevik jackboot? What of the thousands of political prisoners and scores killed under Marshall Law? Not one single word about any of this.

And early on she dismissed Lech Wałęsa as having "limited relevance to those growing up in the 1990s and 21st century."

Well if according to her younger Poles of today are so disinterested in events and figures in their own history from as recently as the 1980's then she is completely out of her empty head if she thinks they are going to genuinely care about Jewish history from 70 years ago.

Life / Immigration in Poland and being surrounded by a monoculture? [134]


Ok. How about 2 million immigrants? It's only about 5% of the current population and this influx should take Poland up to the magical 40 million mark.

What incentives do you think Poland should use to ensure they don't all settle only in a few of the major cities which is a typical pattern for many immigrants to any new country? After all this can lead to overcrowding and a spike in costs for goods in services for locals who have lived there their entire lives. Yet you can't invite people to become part of your country and then tell them where to live. It can be quite a balancing act.

Also, what do you think is needed to preserve the unique cultural identities of the new immigrant groups? They do deserve to honor and celebrate their roots and keep their own traditions alive. There is little point in having a population in Poland which looks physically diverse but linguistically and culturally they all become fully Polonised.

I'm sure you would agree that the enrichment the immigrants bring would be lost in a generation or two unless you took active steps to sustain it either through language and cultural studies for each new born generation or by keeping immigration at levels of constant replenishment. But then you could possibly risk showing a preference for certain immigrants from one region of the world over another.

Life / Immigration in Poland and being surrounded by a monoculture? [134]


Yes, I'm all for free trade and foreign capital investment. The more the better and places like Singapore and Switzerland are proof that you can create an intelligent and skilled workforce along with high standard of living by investing in your own people rather than importing labor on the cheap.


Uncontrolled immigration benefits no one. But this goes back to my earlier question regarding how much immigration do you think is needed to effect change on a national scale in Poland?

Also, don't you think luring doctors and scientists away from their home countries deprives those societies to use these skills for their own development? Should only Europe and North America have a middle class? Considering that many countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America have much large populations I'd say the West isn't simply skimming off excess skilled labor from these other regions. Rather, the West is more often than not taking the cream of the crop from those places who actually need them the most.

Life / Immigration in Poland and being surrounded by a monoculture? [134]


Yes on a personal level it can for some people. But does this always translate to a national level and how many new immigrants would be required to make this felt nationally?


Some Asian countries like China, Singapore and South Korea have had very dynamic economies over the past several decades but this also has much to do with investment being made by both their sovereign governments as well as foreign investment (virtually all in capital and hardly ever any labor which comes from the West).

However, others like Japan, Indonesia and Thailand have gone through many cycles of boom and bust. I often read that India is an up and coming global player but it never seems to get there. Australia, as an Asian country, has also attracted much immigration from its neighbors but it's economy has never been a juggernaut either. Despite it's population size and own natural resources it still lags economically behind much smaller countries like Italy, Germany and Japan.

As far as your other point regarding skills this would be more a problem with education within Poland if it cannot produce enough competent graduates in science, medicine and technology. If that's the case then how will immigrants to Poland and especially their offspring benefit when they have no choice but to use the existing Polish system of education? Will they drive educational reform that native Poles are unable to accomplish themselves or will the answer always be to bring in more immigrants?

Life / Immigration in Poland and being surrounded by a monoculture? [134]


Like what? Do you have any examples?

History / The smallest Poland ever? [115]

Exploding birthrates in mainly third world/developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America have many contributing factors.

Such places are largely male dominated societies along with low levels or no education for their women. Unlike their Western counterparts there is no social stigma attached to them for having many children especially if they are still young themselves.

The cost of living is much lower so there isn't any real penalty for having many children.

These countries also receive billions in Western aid to keep their unsustainable populations from turning into a real humanitarian crisis even if their life spans are still lower than in other parts of the world.

Nevertheless many of these children once they reach their teens or young adulthood migrate to North America and Europe where they will largely find some type of work or be able to obtain some sort of benefits which is still a lot more than what they had back in their homelands and this helps to take some of the pressure off their massive populations.

And so the cycle repeats itself.

News / American firearms collector squares off with Poland over rare World War II gun [5]

The article said he bought the rifle from another collector and claimed he did so legally. If Gasior knew enough about the rarity of the Maroszek rifle then at some point he should have known whether or not possessing it was infringing Polish law. He should have approached the Polish government or a museum and sought an amicable repatriation of the rifle. It would have been an honorable thing for him to do and he could have cleared the slate, possibly with a granting of immunity or a reduced fine, if indeed he had owned it illegally. But he tried to sell it on and instead had his house raided and the gun confiscated.

News / American SM-3 ballistic missile site in Poland by 2018 [86]

Only deranged Zionists see Iran as a threat and America joins the cacophony because it is has become a vassal of Israel due to political corruption at the highest levels. The 2012 UN vote recognizing the State of Palestine is proof that virtually all of America's allies don't support Israel.

Life / Expat, immigrant, foreigner. Not all foreigners in Poland are expats. [84]


To borrow from the terms often used on PF by some posters themselves I'd say such persons would be correctly classified as "paper" or "plastic" Poles.

News / Adolf Hitler is still a citizen of Szczecin [15]


Oh? That's so fascinating. I'm sure there will be rioting all across Poland over this. By the way when will you be running a story about how Elvis Presley is still alive and living on Mars?

News / Negative Polish stereotypes in US 'changing for the better' [20]


You are absolutely correct. This thread appears to be nothing more than yet another anti-Polonia piñata strung up by the OP so he and his fellow attention-starved malcontents can bash and prance around it.

The OP needs to post defendable examples how he personally gives Poland and PF a good reputation on the internet because it certainly isn't apparent.

Genealogy / Create gene bank of Slavic and therefore Polish people? [44]

This is a similar problem currently facing a particular sect in Israel. Rather than a gene bank they are allowing brides from "Eastern Europe" only to mate with their men so they do not die out:


Source: washingtonpost

It makes one wonder why they prefer white brides and not brides from elsewhere in the Middle East or Africa since Israel is geographically and culturally closer to them than to Europe.

If such a gene bank were created for Slavs there are a whole host of issues which could arise which are not favorable. For instance, how can you guarantee the authenticity of the samples? One concern about recipients of human sperm and egg from third parties is that plastic surgery and other cosmetic applications can mask inherited flaws in appearance of the donors. Also, some genetic abnormalities skip generations.

In the same context fertility donations can be taken from people currently living in Poland, Ukraine, etc. but the donors could be Tatar, Armenian, Jewish or even some immigrant resident or visiting student from another part of the world. I realize you would expect a better screening process in place beforehand but errors are always made either unintentionally or on purpose.

If you had Slavic donors another question which would arise is what would the world look like if you were to "resurrect" a dying culture? Who would do this resurrecting? Would those resurrected be given guarantees and benefits in society or would they be created for a life of servitude? If they came from a genetic pool of Slavs that is not to say the future of current or historical Slavic countries would still be that way. Some other culture could have come along and replaced them or the lands may one day be uninhabitable. In the article I shared about the Samaritans the women from Russia and Ukraine are expected to abandon their heritage.

The best way to preserve any culture is to ensure broad economic prosperity of citizens along with effective border controls.

History / How I blew a 6 figure grant for my charity because of my appreciation of Polish history... [77]

A monetary donation from a Polonophobic bigot would have as much ethical value as looted artworks or blood diamonds.

Your charity may have had a short-term financial loss but certainly not a moral loss.

Life / Is it a 'big deal' to wish Happy Easter in Poland? [29]


Exactly. Every year the same annoying things like Pesach, Chanukah, Yom Kippur, and Rosh Hashana. Get rid of it all.

News / Poland's population on the rise [24]

The article was very brief and gave little detail.

It would be interesting to know if more and more couples just had one child or if existing parents of at least one child decided to have another. Again, beneficial economic changes in Poland would be conducive to having one or more child. Some couples put their careers before family. Others may have reached where they want to be financially and decided to have children before the proverbial biological clock ran out.

News / Poland's population on the rise [24]

Poland's economy has done very well compared to it's neighbors in the past several years. The population rise is not surprising as couples would feel more secure about their future and having the means to raise children.

Travel / Any Halal Restaurants in Krakow? [34]


In your profile you describe yourself as "Dubai Expatriate".

It's not clear if you are an Emirati or a foreigner living in Dubai.

In any case here is a published account regarding foreigners living in Dubai which you are free to confirm or refute:


Source: justlanded

So what the hell is going on in Dubai? It seems to me you are perfectly fine with foreigners being literally kept in permanent second class status (yes status not citizenship) in Dubai where they are valued only for their labor until they become old or infirm. Then it is time for them to go and be replaced by another foreigner on a temporary work permit.