History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [900]

It's definitely a fact that 25 Polish RAF pilots received invitations to march in the 1946 Victory Parade.

Life / Fellow expats: Polish people compared to Czechs/Slovaks? [23]

I only see one post by him, does he have another user name?? He sounds a bit young and daft which is fine if he's twenty-something. I doubt anybody would punch him in Ireland. If somebody is a bit 'up themselves' they generally either wind him up big time for the craic or just ignore him.

Life / Fellow expats: Polish people compared to Czechs/Slovaks? [23]


Ireland?? We're very friendly and we have a high tolerance level for weirdos :)) We call them 'characters' and they are beloved by all. Obnoxious ones, maybe not so much, but the OP doesn't sound that bad to me. Why is everybody having such a go at him?

Real Estate / Expatriate mortgages + Property in Poland [24]

To be honest, if your wife's sister wants to cash in her share and you wife can't afford to buy it without a loan and can't secure one, then the pair of them will have to lump it. Even if your wife could get a loan, do you really want to take on a sizeable debt for a property you'll never use or live on, just for sentimentality. If the sister can sort out a buyer off her own bat, great - and your wife will have to accept that part of the land may go out of family ownership.

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [900]


I remember seeing that interview with him which was filmed in the 1980s and he struck me as a very sad, lonely character, though he defended Communism to the hilt. He could hardly do otherwise of course.

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [900]

Also Left to the Wolves - Irish Victims of Stalinist Terror by Barry McLoughlin.


I think I know to whom you refer. Is that the one who made it back to England sometime in the 1950s and his experience was hushed up the government?

Also I'm sure I remember in The Gulag Archipelago Solzhenitsyn refers to a British army officer, still in uniform who was very bemused to find himself on a train to the Gulag but was quite confident that it was all a mistake and would soon be sorted out, poor guy.

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [900]


I don't know about Harry's grandparents but a few unfortunate Brits (and indeed Irish) ended up in the Gulags as a result of being naive enough to buy into the ideal of Communism as presented by Soviet propaganda. Having upped sticks and trotted off to Russia to live out the dream, they paid a hefty price for their foolishness.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

There's the Jewish Museum in London, founded in 1932 and still going strong. It combines a museum of Jewish life chronicling the history of the Jewish population of the East End which was a real Jewish stronghold and was amalgamated with the Jewish Military Museum a few years ago. They have a pretty comprehensive collection.

jewishmuseum.org.uk/Collections

There's another Jewish Museum in Manchester where there was a sizeable Jewish population at one time. Not sure about nowadays.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


Absolutely true. Slavery was practised in pretty much every culture you can name. It may have died out by the Middle Ages in many but it's in all our histories - even my beloved Ireland, though admittedly that was about 1,500 years ago!

Classifieds / School Project - interview for Polish culture [4]

Studentus, you probably won't get many responses on this forum as most members are either not Polish or if they are, don't actually live there. Unless you speak Polish and can post on a Polish speaking forum you are unlikely to be able to get the kind of information you need anywhere on the net, directly from respondents. Also your questions are very open-ended and require people to write mini-essays about quite abstract subjects such as their feelings about 'life'. Few people have time or inclination to go into that kind of detail.

I have a feeling you're a nursing or healthcare student?? Search google for results of surveys that have already been conducted by reputable organisations. One source that could prove useful is the European Union as Poland is a member and the EU conducts regular research into its different members. Another good source is the Pew Research Centre which has done a lot of surveys on attitudes in Poland. It would also be a good idea to present your final project with a brief outline of how the Polish healthcare system is structured and how it developed over the years since the end of Communism.

Your main problem with using existing research will be that your questions are very wide ranging and you would have to read a vast number of surveys and material to find the answers so you may need to narrow them down a bit.

To get you started here's a survey conducted by the European Union into safety and quality of patient care in Poland:

ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/patient_safety/docs/ebs_411_factsheet_pl_en.pdf

And below, this report is about the EU as a whole but has many charts showing information for all countries in the EU including Poland. It's also good because you can see how Poland compares to other EU countries. There is a very interesting section on 'self-perceived health'. The EU average of those who perceive themselves to be in bad or very bad health is 9.5%. In Poland the figure is over 14%.

ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/6856423/KS-05-14-073-EN-N/742aee45-4085-4dac-9e2e-9ed7e9501f23

Anyway, best of luck with your project!

News / Poland's Party of Law and Justice (PiS) reconstruction [38]


It's partly about the EU but mostly about the elections and making sure they get back into government so that they can carry on with JK's plans. Remember JK's vision of 20 years in power for PIS.

As far as relations with the EU goes, I would say Orban is giving a bit of advice from the sidelines. He knows exactly how far one can push the boundaries and get away with it and just when to pull back and appear more cooperative. PIS generally doesn't, because their ideology is far more impassioned and emotional then Orban's who is merely power hungry. Orban will be increasingly involved in running Poland as the two governments have formed an unofficial alliance and have placed themselves in a position where they need each other in order to carry on their present policies. It's a symbiotic relationship between them.

Life / Costs of living in Bialystok [17]


Did you look at the list of requirements the OP has?? There is no way that 6,000 zl would cover that. Absolutely no way.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]

The new electoral reform law I mentioned in a previous post, also looks set to pass. It was approved by the lower house of the Sejm today. It's pretty scary stuff, giving PIS huge control over elections in Poland. Read the details here:

ft.com/content/f3e1a81a-e19c-11e7-8f9f-de1c2175f5ce

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


The present proceedings are the result of a vote by Poland's fellow member states, not the dictates of a single individual.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]

According to one of Juncker's officials, Juncker is trying to talk to Morawiecki about the new laws and has said that if they still go through, Article 7 will be triggered. If the changes are postponed until January he says 'we will see'. In fact, I believe that the talks have failed and it's going ahead next week.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


Ok duck is safely in the oven - so.........do away with it and replace it with what? Verdicts cannot simply be passed, they have to be passed basedon something and that something is the law. What you're proposing is closer to anarchy than democracy.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]

Gumi, that's not really very realistic. Most members of the electorate are not even very clear about the functions of the different courts let alone how to go about selecting judges. Selection of judges requires knowledge of the world of law at in intimate level where one can determine the suitability of candidates. The 'closed' nature of the legal profession is unfortunately something that goes with the territory and is a necessary evil. I don't see how you think that the present government being solely responsible for the selection of Supreme Court Judges is 'representative' in any way. It's simply replacing one form of nepotism with another. Also you're failing to see the implications in terms of the role of the Supreme Court who, amongst other things, oversees elections in Poland..........anyway, a duck awaits roasting, otherwise my poor husband will have no din dins! Bye for now :))

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]

The Polish court reform encompasses all branches of the judiciary but most importantly it affects the Supreme Court. At least 40% of presently serving Supreme Court judges including the President of the Supreme Court who is the most senior member of the bench, will be instantly dismissed. This kind of overnight sacking of judges is unheard of in a democracy. Add it to the restrictions placed on the Constitutional Court last year and you have a judiciary with which the government is messing in a wholesale manner.


No, that's different of course. I'm duty bound to spread a bit of Irish fairy dust around the world :)

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]

Well anybody who fails to be 'loyal' to Poland by Irony's thinking, for example those Polish MEPs who voted for Article 7. By that definition a Polish national who chooses to leave Poland permanently and take up residence in a foreign land, going into self-imposed exile would be a traitor. So yes, Ironside should have himself arrested and detained as quickly as possible before he undermines the Polish state any further :))

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]

Let's hope you have a force field round yours then or you may be in danger from my honeyed words :))

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


I know, it beggars belief doesn't it? What he's basically saying is that anyone in opposition to the government is 'guilty' presumably of treason!! One party state is clearly the reasoning behind that.

Law / Want to divorce wife - Need Help (married in Poland) [9]

Dominic is right. Remember the old saying," spoiling the ship for a ha'p worth of tar". This is not just about money. I looked back at your old threads and you have two kids. It is crucial that you have a lawyer in order to ensure that you get a fair deal regarding access to your children. And in the future, if their mother makes it difficult for you to speak to them, see them etc. then you may well have to take her to court over it so costs could well be an ongoing part of your life. Any money you spend now on your divorce proceedings will be a good investment in the long term. Best of luck with it.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


Was reading a bit more of the Venice Commission's opinion- "some elements of the reform have a striking resemblance to the institutions which existed in the Soviet Union and its satellites." The European Commission is meeting next week to discuss the situation.

News / Beata Szydło - the best Polish politician, world's politicians could learn from her [80]


Because JK needs to back down on some of his virulently anti-EU stuff without losing face. Changing PM is the only way to do that. Did you notice how Morawiecki said that Poland will now respect the EU ruling regarding logging even on the same day as the Minister for the Environment says the opposite??? JK is worried that public opinion will begin to turn against PIS if Poland starts having to pay fines etc. He's also very worried by the recent resolution which began the process of triggering Article 7. He reckons Morawiecki has the experience and understanding of the 'western' way of thinking which will enable him to negotiate more effectively with the EU and try to get relations back on a better footing.

Only yesterday Verhofstadt urged his fellow MEPs to hurry up and get the proposal finished in order to get on with the next stage of Article 7. That was in response to the fine levied on TVN. There is no doubt that a lot of lobbying is being done behind the scenes in the European Parliament to get everyone on board with that unanimous vote needed to effectively disable Poland. PIS is foolish indeed to rely on Orban. He will serve his own interests in the end and his interests are best served by continuing to milk the EU for everything he can get. He likes to keep a foot in both camps but if it comes down to it, he will side with his fellow MEPs especially if the other Slavic nations vote for sanctions/suspended voting rights in the same way as they voted in favour of the resolution regarding rule of law.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


Yes, last December means December of last year. Here's a link to the Beeb (BBC):

bbc.com/news/world-europe-42316307

Tip of the iceberg Ziem, tip of the forthcoming iceberg.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


And here's an example:

TVN have been fined 1.48 million PLN for their coverage of the opposition party demonstrations last December. The National Broadcasting Council ruled that the coverage by TVN's 24-hour news channel broke the law because it showed opposition politicians encouraging people to join the protests thereby "promoting illegal activities and encouraging behaviour that threatens security". All members of the NBC were either appointed by PIS or by Duda.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


Totally agree. Irish abroad cannot vote unless they are on the electoral register in Ireland and physically come to Ireland to cast their vote. Brits abroad lose their right to vote once they've lived abroad for 15 years.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]

Now that's interesting. I would say that should have some conditions attached. I mean is it right that somebody who has perhaps lived for twenty or thirty years in another country and who is resident and domiciled abroad should have a say in the government of a country where they don't live? But that's for another thread.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


Yes but to vote you surely need to be on the electoral register for which purpose you have to live in the country. I don't believe that Poles living in America can vote in Polish elections. Maybe somebody could clear that one up?

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]

If you're referring to Lisbon, changes were made to the proposal to reflect the concerns that caused people to vote no. That's why we have opt-outs that Poland doesn't.