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Posts by mafketis  

Joined: 31 Mar 2008 / Male ♂
Warnings: 1 - O
Last Post: 24 Nov 2024
Threads: Total: 38 / In This Archive: 19
Posts: Total: 11008 / In This Archive: 4201
From: tez nie
Speaks Polish?: tak
Interests: tez nie

Displayed posts: 4220 / page 22 of 141
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mafketis   
4 Nov 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

They were willing to wave their reparation claims as a consequence

Poland received some of the best German lands in lieu of monetary reparations, stamping their feet now and wanting more makes the country look like a bad faith bargainer.
mafketis   
3 Nov 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

.even if you look...say...500 years into the future?

Well the chances that something like a monoculture could arise, but I like language and cultural differences.

And what happens 500 years from now is irrelevant.
mafketis   
3 Nov 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

impeding true multi-cultural communication.

True multi-cultural communication is impossible because it requires common ground and there simply isn't enough common ground around the world to serve as a basis for communication.

What people usually mean by multi-cultural communication is a racially, ethnically diverse monoculture (like Star Trek, a fantasy, an appealing fantasy but a fantasy nonetheless)
mafketis   
31 Oct 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Hey, if they weren't complaining..... that means they like it.

As a few have noted, a disproportionate number of the Merkeljugend are not quite right in the head... so this is the type of thing that happens when you let a bunch of borderline people from repressive authoritarian cultures and overstimulate them in an advanced liberal culture.
mafketis   
31 Oct 2018
Language / Learn individual words or sentences? Best approach? (Polish learners) [6]

A lot depends on what your first language is, what foreign languages you know, how long you've been studying, how you've been studying etc in other words a lot of information you haven't given us.

Two methods that are very good for putting vocabulary into your longterm memory.

Do grammatical exercises by hand (and by memory). so if you're asked to turn the following sentence into the plural

Okno jest brudne.

you close the book and write out your answer by hand from memory and only move on when you can write

Okna są brudne. without any mistakes (it doesn't hurt to do the same thing with the original sentence.

The idea is to give your short term memory regular workouts with Polish words (and the changes they undergo). For that matter doing the same with simple texts (writing each sentence by hand from memory moving on from one only when you can write it correctly from memory.

You want to put words into your longterm memory but you can't do that by just wanting to, the way to do that is by using your shortterm memory a lot.

Another idea is to read things out loud, don't worry if you don't understand but 4 or 5 times a week read something out loud for 5 minutes or so. This is easy with Polish since spelling can be easily decoded.

Those are both very effective in any context for learning a foreign language.
mafketis   
30 Oct 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

...do you have a link for me?

It's on his twitter feed. twitter.com/andrewhammel1

His take on the refugee crisis was easily the most insightful. He resisted the hyperbole about the end of Germany etc but the government took on a major burden that will be paid by taxpayers for generations. He got a lot of flack in the beginning but all of his gloomy predictions panned out. It was clear from the beginning that a large percentage of arrivals would resist integration (and many would fail to integrate in any meaningful way even if they wanted to) and that a large percentage of them were clearly not right in the head (he had a post, since deleted, that explained their over representation among the 2015 arrivals).

2015 being the one big exception as Merkel used her "Kanzler Vorrecht"

What about her decision to stop using nuclear power in Germany after Fukushima? What's the background (and current situation) on that?
mafketis   
30 Oct 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Nearly ALL of Ms. Merkel's actions to date have been predicated on trying to "rectify" her nation's often unspeakable recent past

Nah, I like Andrew Hammel's take - she's a caretaker who lasted so long by never saying anything interesting or pushing any interesting policy and who's most notable style was not doing anything. Her big decisions were all reactive in nature and once she's gone it will be as if she had never been (and German government is designed so that the no matter who is Chancellor the important decisions are made by judges and functionaries).
mafketis   
28 Oct 2018
News / German legal discrimination against Polish speakers [209]

.I fail to see how Poland profited?

Cause you don't live here and see the physical effects in every direction....

EU funds have made massive improvements to infrastructure in ways big and small. You might not think it's worth it but it's a real contribution that has made life here more pleasant (though I suppose you're against life being more pleasant....)

The EU has lots of flaws (and they may end up bringing it down) but it also is responsible for lots of good things.
mafketis   
28 Oct 2018
News / German legal discrimination against Polish speakers [209]

Economists would never allowed Greece in, they wouldn't had fallen for that book cooking...

They didn't fall for it, they _knew_ they were lying but they wanted that big roll out so they ignored it. I knew Greece was lying (and recall many saying as such at the time) but these economic geniuses were fooled? I'm not buying it. They knew and they didn't care.
mafketis   
28 Oct 2018
News / German legal discrimination against Polish speakers [209]

it's a good thing for manufacturing and banking economies, but without transfers and a common fiscal policy there was no way for it to succeed in southern service economies.

Instead of stability it's dragged those countries into eternal recession (how much growth has Italy had since it joined the Euro?)
A small northern Euro might have worked, but a big tent Euro effectively dooms the south to eternal poverty until there is a common fiscal policy (which would reduce the south to de facto economic colonies of the north to be exploited for cheap labor and cheap vacations and no further economic development)
mafketis   
25 Oct 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

a nation of old people living in poverty by 2050.

The old capitalistic model of needing constant growth is broken and dysfunctional as the world is largely entering a post-scarcity phase. The new challenge is to figure out a way to make economies work with fewer and older people.

Europe is terribly overcrowded already, a smaller population means more elbow room and more nice nature. There's no need to keep jamming new worker bees into the hive....
mafketis   
25 Oct 2018
Work / Men in child care (creches/nurseries/kindergartens) in Poland [17]

And priests....?

Sexual abuse is hardly limited to the RC church, it's extensive in Orthodox Jewish schools as well as madrassas (also horrific physical abuse is common in the latter).

Let's not discriminate, let's spread our scorn out equally....
mafketis   
25 Oct 2018
Work / Men in child care (creches/nurseries/kindergartens) in Poland [17]

I can think of a few reasons for not many men working with pre-school kids

One of course is sex differences, not absolute but distributional, on average, more women are more interested in small children then men are (men might be very involved with their own children but find the idea of being around other people's kids..... not so interesting.

Fear of scandal and/or sex hysteria (not so relevant in Poland but very much a concern in some countries). Hysteria can rise up based on pretty much nothing at all and a man around children is going to be the object of intense suspicion.

Parental concern, many parents might be concerned about unrelated grown men spending time with their small children (see point above).

So a small potential pool is made smaller by reasonable concerns...

both male and female teachers to provide a balanced upbringing

well that's why there used to be so much stigma against unwed mothers, the safest adult model for a child is the father and grandfathers
mafketis   
24 Oct 2018
News / Polish Independence Day March in Warsaw. Is it going to be the biggest march yet? [1530]

Well "ojczyzna" seems related to ojciec and not matka (matczyzna means something very different...)

On the other hand, Poland is usually personified as a mother "Matko-Polsko"

Similarly there's 'język ojczysty' rather than matczyny (though there is 'mowa matczyna' for 'motherese')

Motherland and fatherland both exist in English but for me (American) have different connotations, you protect the motherland and serve the fatherland (if that makes sense....)
mafketis   
22 Oct 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

What word would you use to describe the beach situation here?

youtube.com/watch?22=&v=KK-0DbOG3zk

If there's dehumanization it's from the migrants themselves, surrendering all principles dignity for a chance at what they think is an easier life by claiming asylum they certainly don't qualify for.
mafketis   
21 Oct 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Merkel didn't let starve refugees on the Autobahn

That was entirely her decision and if Germans support it, then they can pay for it. Poland was not asked and the Polish population feels no need to support her decision financially.
mafketis   
20 Oct 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Firstly he was Italian

Yeah, that is kind of a downside, at least he was a northern Italian and not a guido.

he murdered (or is responsible for) and/or enslaved all native american societies

you really no nothing of history, do you?

Isn't it just like celebrating Hitler's birthday?

Not quite, but when you get down to it all humanity is descended from those who committed genocide (no ethnic group that's innocent.... survives). He was a bvstard but he's our bas+ard, so what are you gonna do, eh? Gedouddahere, you!
mafketis   
20 Oct 2018
Travel / So I went to Warsaw - my thoughts after visiting Poland [88]

I never go into any shop "with my troubles". You are that pain in the ass guy

Yes, someone speaking broken Polish wanting low paid retail workers to solve his problems for him.... AND to smile and be friendly while doing so.

I go to stores to buy something, I say hello and thank you and and goodbye I'm always at least civil... and that's enough. The kindest, most polite thing I can do to retail workers is to let them get on with their jobs without expecting them to put on a kabuki show of friendliness that neither of us feels.
mafketis   
20 Oct 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Merkel has exceeded the 10 year rule yet?

As September 2015.... (or look around for liable successors.... it's not for nothing she's sometimes compared to a black widow)
mafketis   
20 Oct 2018
News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

most fail leader of this century.

A prime example of my ten year rule, no one should serve as an active head of state for more than ten years (give or take two). It's impossible for a leader to stay in touch with the real needs of the citizenry living in that bubble. More advanced countries should adopt term limits to make being the active head of state a shameful third world practice.

The most disastrous leaders (or most disastrous decisions by leaders) are well after the 10 year mark - 10 years as executive head of state? What a tinpot banana republic idea....

The more indispensible a leader seems the better the evidence that they need to leave - part of being an effective leader is grooming competent people to take your place. If a leader has no likely successors then they're too focused on simply retaining power at all costs (to be paid by the public)
mafketis   
20 Oct 2018
News / How will BREXIT affect the immigrants in UK and Poland. [1114]

It is a fraud, only 37% of the place voted to leave, this has been described as a majority

And an even lower pecentage voted to remain. What's your point? Typically only those who actually vote are counted in election results.
mafketis   
19 Oct 2018
News / How will BREXIT affect the immigrants in UK and Poland. [1114]

The ' immigrants came took my job' catchphrase soundbite was used every stinking day by all the frauds.

First, within the EU there is no such thing as 'immigration' there just isn't. there is the 'free movement of peoples' one of the four freedoms.

Why frauds? Polish (and other accession country) migrants were used by British employers to keep wages down, rather similar to the way that Ukrainians are being used in Poland now. Trying to pretend that migrants don't push down wages for the semi-skilled working class is daft.

You can still argue that labor-related migration is a net plus for a society's economy (especially toward the right end of the economic bell curve), but stop trying to pretend there aren't some pretty steep social costs on the left side of the curve.
mafketis   
19 Oct 2018
News / How will BREXIT affect the immigrants in UK and Poland. [1114]

You're talking about bureaucratic negotiations while I'm talking about public perception. The harder the Brexit landing then the worse for the EU as it will be very easy to blame bad results on EU inflexibility (no matter what you think the reality is).

Brexit was a warning (which the EU has ignored) and a challenge (for imaginative and creative solutions) which the EU is failing.

I actually support the EU but not one that's involved in never-ending ever closer union. What percentage of EU citizens want ever closer union (and ever more nitpicky regulations created far from the reality of those who have to deal with them?)
mafketis   
19 Oct 2018
News / How will BREXIT affect the immigrants in UK and Poland. [1114]

The eu doesnt need the uk at all

But assuming the persona of a punitive monolith won't help it either...

Technically the EU doesn't much need the 2004 and after accession countries beyond trying to secure property protection so that Germany could incorporate them into its supply chain without worrying about sticky fingers of government officials or threats of nationalization (the fear of EU elites is not really nationalism as such but a potential wave of nationalization of western assets - nationalism is a fig leaf for financial concerns)
mafketis   
19 Oct 2018
News / How will BREXIT affect the immigrants in UK and Poland. [1114]

against a Norway style solution right?

That's why I said "similar to" rather than "Norwegian". A big problem with the EU is that after getting so big it's lost flexibility. Let's see some flexibility and imagination rather than just the constant "it has to be entirely our way" from the EU

I repeat, the harder the Brexit the worse for the EU.
mafketis   
18 Oct 2018
News / How will BREXIT affect the immigrants in UK and Poland. [1114]

And comments by the French government last night,saying that in future British nationals will need visas to visit France

I've been saying since 2016 that the worse Brexit is for the UK the worse for the EU as well and that trying to negotiate as soft a landing as possible (evolving to a status similar to that of Norway or Switzerland) is the best option.

What country full of sane people would support an angry, vengeful EU run by France and Germany?

I detect no real love for the EU in Poland at present, the attitudes are positive but in an instrumental and shallow manner. Even those who really dislike the current government are unimpressed by the EU's actions against it and the harder Brexit is the more attitudes are liable to... not harden, but simple become disengaged (the way they disengaged from communism in the 1950s)