Life / A rant about "patriotism" in today's Poland [60]


A Polish patriot would know that "basic English" no longer cuts it in today's labour market. Employers are demanding real skills in English and other languages - and they are demanding it now. It's only going to get worse as the years go on - more and more people will speak English well - and even the worst private university degrees include English studies.


English will be spoken even more in ten to twenty years. In fact, the way things are going, within 5 years - it's going to be impossible to get a white collar job without knowledge of English and a second foreign language. Many companies are working solely in English, and as the moustache generation of workers retires - the new generation will take over and expect English even more.

Chinese hasn't got a chance for one simple reason - they don't care about it being spoken. Do you see any evidence of the Chinese pouring money into people learning it? I certainly don't.

News / Poland Parliamentary elections 2015 [1060]


And many of them talk about being patriotic!


Oh yes. Common near the borders - I know places like Slubice have issues with this fake retirement.

News / Poland Parliamentary elections 2015 [1060]


Interesting, interesting. The miners will, of course, go crazy - but a pro-family package will mean PiS are powerless to protest - they'll have to leave it to Solidarity.

Even the PiS electorate aren't too keen on miners as far as I can tell - especially if Tusk portrays them as a "privileged elite taking away from the average man".

News / Is Jarosław Kaczyński the new Lech Wałęsa? [74]


Could you perhaps explain how they keep people down?

The incredibly socialist programme planned by PiS would certainly keep me down - ZUS contributions are high enough as it is!

Work / Is it possible to get work in Warsaw that pays under the table? [7]


Hey, I resent that!

I drink outside because I feel like an alcoholic drinking at home ;)

(drinking at a friend's place is fine, but booze just tastes dreadful at home)

Life / A rant about "patriotism" in today's Poland [60]


Yawn. Teaching children English while it's expected by employers these days is anything but "absurd".


Except these languages aren't being used in business - English is. I have friends that conduct business with China regularly, and all communication is done in English. Chinese is meaningless - Poland (nor any country in Europe) is set up to produce enough Chinese speaking graduates, so China has to learn English - and they're doing it well.


Given that employers are demanding English as an almost mandatory requirement for simple jobs, to suggest that it's "absurd" to learn it can only be the rantings of an unpatriotic guy who doesn't have the interests of Polish children at heart. Either that, or he's afraid of competition.


Indeed, let's name some more. He could help elderly neighbours with their shopping, he could offer to pack their bags in the supermarkets, he could do some repairs for them, he could wash their windows. The list is endless.

What is it with this forum attracting American "patriots" who don't live in Poland and who have no intention of actually helping beyond sending a few shoeboxes full of crap?

Work / Is it possible to get work in Warsaw that pays under the table? [7]

Not really - those jobs would surely go to those 'in the know'.

Life / Poland monthly bills costs advice [17]


I've seen bills of 850zl in a block that was run by a private administration company. It's a worthy warning that if there's a pre-1990 block run by such a company - stay well clear. The one I saw had very questionable bills - my flat is a similar size, yet the bills are half that.


Yep - a high up retail banking ex-student of mine predicted a bloodbath on the Polish banking market last year, and it looks like it's coming true.


That second one doesn't seem to be universal, we only have the price per square metre and nothing else.


Don't trust it at the moment. The ESL market is seeing the effects of the crisis - schools are cutting salaries and group numbers are smaller. 3800 net seems incredibly high for a small town - so I would have my doubts about that.

Life / A rant about "patriotism" in today's Poland [60]

If you're so disgusted, turn off the computer, go outside and be a patriot.

By "be a patriot", I mean go out and do good for the country. Go help old people, go teach children English, go clean the streets of dog **** - the lot.

UK, Ireland / Polish in Uk are some of the hardest working and nice people [37]

The attitudes found in backwards villages are anything but central Europe.

News / Is Jarosław Kaczyński the new Lech Wałęsa? [74]

Does anyone believe for a second that Glinski is another but another Marcinkiewicz - someone to win an election and then be dropped shortly afterwards?

News / Poland Parliamentary elections 2015 [1060]

Worth pointing out that the Senate in Poland is a rubber stamp more or less - it serves little to no useful purpose in daily politics. It had a purpose post-1989, but these days, it's pretty much redundant. It can't be compared to the US Senate at all.

UK, Ireland / Polish in Uk are some of the hardest working and nice people [37]


Half blue, half brown. Anyone who lives here knows that.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]


I think the psyche of sellers in Poland is absolutely insane - probably caused by a very inexperienced market.

I already know that when the time comes to sell, if I can get the price I paid (adjusted for inflation) - I'll be happy.

Law / Official statistics sites related to Poland? [3]

statistics.gov.uk/hub/index.html
stat.gov.pl/gus

Both of these are the official ones for the UK and Poland - enjoy! :)

I also enjoy this - pkw.gov.pl - it's the Polish electoral commission site, and you can find out about Polish elections in minute detail. It's what I use when quoting electoral stuff on here - it gives ward-by-ward breakdowns of who voted for what, as well as giving full international results.

News / Beer and cycling - it's time for Poles to act [46]


Not when the same situation exists in many other countries throughout the world. I've been reading about it for the last while, and the same punishments exist in America for instance - licence revoked and jailtime.

The BBC already made a fool out of themselves with Sol's comments about coffins, after all.

Seems to be that if you're doing what the typical Polish village drunk does (swaying all over the road, etc) - then you'll get nicked in the UK too.

News / Beer and cycling - it's time for Poles to act [46]


Actually - I've just found out that there are laws against it in England/Wales too. And has been since 1988 - section 30 of the Road Traffic Act, or if you want to get more interesting - it was outlawed under the 1872 Licencing Act. It seems that it can be punished with jail time, too.

Perhaps the BBC should start with England before complaining about Poland?

News / Beer and cycling - it's time for Poles to act [46]


At least with me - I give them a wide berth and don't attempt to squeeze past them in just one lane. My golden rule - if they don't have room to fall off, don't overtake.


Cycle lanes are starting to come - when I'm next there, I'll take pictures of a cracking set up in a place near Poznan that has around 15km of the things alongside (but not joined to) the main road. I'm hugely in favour of them - the law could then be relaxed slightly to only prohibit drunken cycling on the roads.


I think it's because the threat of losing your licence is far more severe than the threat of being fined.

The real problem, of course - is that those drunks who already lose their licence couldn't care less about the presence of a licence or not, they still drink. I'm not so convinced that the BBC article isn't a bit sensationalist - it could very well be that many of these drunks are actually in prison for having been caught drink driving and then caught drink cycling too. If you've been banned for drink/something, a second offence - well - most people would agree that prison should follow.

If you're serious about taking it further, I'd try and find out why people have been sent to prison in the first place - I'm not sure that people are going for first time offences.

News / Beer and cycling - it's time for Poles to act [46]


Except I'm a social democrat who believes firmly in the right of freedom of action provided your actions don't infringe upon other people's freedom. Don't compare to the UK - you only rarely get drunken idiots cycling between villages there. In Poland? It's rife, and the idiots have no concept of taking back roads. I could take you to one piece of road where doing 90km/h is normal and allowed - and it's also normal to spot one or two idiots cycling there, clearly drunk and waving around the place.


Actually - from what I know about this (having watched a report about it on BBC not so long ago) - the real thing is that only these village drunks are going to jail. Anyone that can afford a lawyer and can put up a reasonable defence will settle for their licence being taken away (or fined) - but they're also not usually found cycling on main roads between villages too.

Are you sure about that 20 years figure, by the way? I thought the law was changed under the 2001-2005 SLD government?

The law wouldn't make sense in Western countries - but it does in a specifically Polish context.


I love my driving licence and have a passion for driving on mountain roads - I'm not going to risk it for the sake of pride :) Their machines are calibrated - over the counter alkomat things aren't. Honestly - why wouldn't you?

(surely, as a leftie, you would be against the conservative attitude of ***** everyone else, I'm allright"?)

News / Beer and cycling - it's time for Poles to act [46]


I don't drive the morning after beers before. If I want to, I do the responsible thing and nip over to the local police station and get my breath tested. They're very good in Poland and will test you quite happily for booze - it's actually in law that they must test you upon request. Then again, I'm not some middle aged macho idiot who thinks that all Poles are stupid and that I can do what I want. It's their law and their decision.


Oh look, another one of those TEFL bores who thinks that he's here to change the world. Let's not forget that he wasn't actually good enough to do anything in the UK.

Good luck to you if you think that mouthing off to the police in Poland is going to result in anything other than a good hiding.

News / Beer and cycling - it's time for Poles to act [46]


No, the idiot is someone who drinks and then cycles a bike. I used to be able to cycle at 25mph - if I hit someone at that speed, it was going to hurt them.


Between villages? 90km/h, legally.


50km/h during the day, 60km/h at night. I'm willing to bet you a considerable sum of money that you can't stop a car in 10 feet at even 40km/h.


Not always. A cyclist who swerves onto the road causing the driver to also swerve straight into a tree or a ditch can quite easily cause trouble. The law was made for exactly that reason - too many people riding bikes while absolutely wasted.


What? Don't try and insult me, little man. I ride a bike almost as much as I drive - and I don't do either when drunk.

Gotta love these foreigners who come over here and start trying to tell the locals how to live their lives. The locals don't want to have to deal with scraping dead drunks off the floor, or deal with the trauma to drivers who have hit one of these drunks.


I'm sure you have. Experience tells me that if you were actually caught by the Polish police, you'd be panicking and demanding to phone the embassy.

News / Beer and cycling - it's time for Poles to act [46]

I for one totally support it. Anyone who drives a car in Poland is all too aware of the average 50-something drunkard who cycles on the main road between villages. I nearly hit one such drunk bastard one night - he was cycling in the total darkness, no lights, nothing - I saw him, moved over, and he swerved quite severely to the left as I approached him. I was very close to throwing him in the ditch by the side of the road.


Go ahead. I wonder how long you'll last in Poland if you try and "disobey" them.

Please, tell me - what's the difference between a drunk driver causing an accident and a drunk cyclist?

News / Poland Parliamentary elections 2015 [1060]


It's an interesting theory, but I suspect that as long as the opinion polls are in his favour, he'll go for re-election again in 2015. That'll take him through to 2018 - ready to resign and prepare for a run at the Presidency in 2020. Of course, it depends on Europe too - if he's wanted there, he'll go earlier.

The next leader of PO is an interesting question - Sikorski is popular, but don't forget that he lost the Presidential Primary to Komorowski by quite a margin and was widely seen to have lost the debate that they had. I could easily see a female leader - Kopacz, for instance.

News / PiS-PSL-LPR? [23]

They did it to themselves by lurching suddenly away from that centrist image that won them the 2005 election to begin with. Trying to blame the media is rubbish - going into coalition with the thug Lepper and the dodgy Giertych really did PiS no favours at all. Once Kaczynski got rid of Marcinkiewicz, they were all but doomed.

I know quite a few people who supported the pre-election 2005 PiS but who opposed what they became. These people are now all PO voters.


Certainly. There's not much difference between them economically, and both the SLD and PO accept the status quo when it comes to social affairs. They also hold pretty similar views on foreign affairs. Were it not for history, the two would be logical coalition partners.

News / Poland Parliamentary elections 2015 [1060]


Basically - the PM is elected by a vote of confidence in the Sejm, after being nominated to the post by the President. What happens in practice is that when it looks like someone has assembled enough parliamentary support - they go to the President and he nominates them to the post. They must then win a vote of confidence in the Sejm to be appointed (formally) as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers - who then appoints the other ministers as appropriate.

In terms of power, the Prime Minister is the most powerful person in the country. The Presidential role is largely ceremonial with some symbolic powers, such as being able to propose legislation and being able to veto legislation, as well as exercising the usual stuff like being Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and so on.

The PM can be removed at any time through a device known as a "constructive vote of no confidence" - this means that he can be removed IF the Sejm also votes at the same time to appoint a successor. No successor means no change of PM. Pawian will know better than me, but I think this is what also happens when the PM resigns.

With the previous President, the problem was that the Constitution was badly written in the respect of foreign affairs. It didn't spell out clearly that the President's role was ceremonial rather than executive - so Lech Kaczynski attempted to intervene in foreign affairs, much to the frustration of the Government.

UK, Ireland / Learning English but after reading comments in DM I feel it's no use [59]

No, neither of them have lived in an English speaking country - they've just both got one thing in common - they almost never watch Polish TV - they watch English language TV constantly. Both of them are huge film/TV geeks as well.

It is hard to imagine, yes - but we did a test with them and they made several native speakers believe them. Quite odd, but there you go.

UK, Ireland / Learning English but after reading comments in DM I feel it's no use [59]


Actually - I don't agree. I have two friends in Poznan who (if they don't tell people) are convincingly American despite being Polish. The only thing that you can catch them out on is specialist vocabulary - but then again, many native speakers wouldn't know specialist vocabulary too.

UK, Ireland / Another load of Insults to the British [10]

Thought you were a bit quietly, Hudders.

What have you been doing - inventing? creating? or just sitting on the internet in your council flat, collecting your dole and contributing nothing to the UK?

Work / Minimum basic salary in Poland [96]


It's 2012 Milky, not 2009.


Hardly. My friend has just rented a one bedroom apartment in the centre of Poznan for just over 1000zl a month.

Not everyone stays at home like you.

Work / Minimum basic salary in Poland [96]


User contributed data is never factual. I prefer GUS, personally.