Law / A bank that suits my priorities? [6]


Generally speaking, You might find that there are promotions to avoid monthly/yearly fees, but you'll still be hit with huge fees for cash withdrawals/etc.


It's just not how they work in Poland, unfortunately.


What's the difference? Debit cards are normally free to issue, free to use and free to withdraw cash - it would be unheard of here (or in Europe in general) to use a credit card for day to day stuff.


Yes. Transfers are the way how much business is done here - I don't use my debit card for any regular payments for gas, administration fees, etc.

Law / Car Insurance in Poland (A/C) [32]

You'd be nailed for driving without insurance, surely?

Travel / Obtaining a Visa for Russia in Poland (Warsaw or Krakow) [2]


Yes. If you aren't registered as a long term temporary resident (or better) - then you can't obtain a Russian visa in Poland.


You're cutting it fine!

You'll have to deal with it through Berlin - the best hope in this case is to get one of the agencies there to deal with it.

UK, Ireland / Poles leave Britain to return to Poland [89]


Hopefully people like you will stay in North America well away from Poland.

UK, Ireland / Poles becoming British subjects [39]


I wouldn't be so sure. Poles politically are far more likely to vote for the Tories in terms of social views.

Don't forget that the Tories were secretly loving the accession of Poland to the EU - lots of cheap labour, after all.

UK, Ireland / The Irish, the biggest tax evaders ever [21]


I'd love to know how people are getting these mortgages that you claim, given that we all know how strict the Polish lenders are.

News / Józef Szaniawski, - Tragic death of patriot from Poland [12]


Some?

Please provide sources. They don't have to be reliable, but showing that people are actually talking about it in Poland would be a start.

News / Who controls Gazeta Wyborcza?? [216]


Polonius, for the 25th time, please provide a single reliable source for the following two claims :


Being foreign has nothing to do with it. If what you say has any merit at all, someone somewhere would have written about it.

The fact that you haven't provided a single source to back up those two claims suggests that you really did just make it up in your head and you're now desperately trying to change the topic.

History / What do nations of the world owe to Poland and Polish people? [58]

Communism for you - they were handed everything on a plate regardless of how much effort they put in, and they think they still deserve it.

Very common among the moustache generation.

News / Who controls Gazeta Wyborcza?? [216]


Read the claims again :


No-one said anything about Catholicism, and the links that Polonius provided made it clear that the two people in question were Polish.


So you cannot actually provide a single source to your claim, except that it's spoken about within a small group in Polish society? That's hardly reliable. The fact that you've progressed to the point of admitting that it's just an "in-joke" really does suggest that you don't actually have any proof for your claim.

News / Who controls Gazeta Wyborcza?? [216]


Ah, the usual get-out clause.

Tell you what - if you could even provide a published source, that would be a start.

Law / Rights of a consumer when dealing with faulty goods in Poland? [65]

Mullerriceman - don't go using the directive. It doesn't have any legal basis whatsoever - you need to use the relevant law which transposed the directive into Polish law.

Although to be fair...I suppose the average manager wouldn't have a clue about the differences between directives and laws ;)

News / Who controls Gazeta Wyborcza?? [216]

We're asking for a single reliable source to the following two claims :


Perhaps you'd like to try instead? Polonius clearly has failed at the 23rd time of asking.

News / Who controls Gazeta Wyborcza?? [216]

But like all good PiS voters, he knows the truth but he won't tell us how or where he found out about the truth.

News / 1.3% birth rate = Poland's slow death [221]


For someone who goes on so much about the Church, one would think that you might have heard of a girl called "Eve".

Law / A bank that suits my priorities? [6]

It's worth pointing out that in Poland, the opposite is true with debit cards - they come with usually no fees and no usage fees (except abroad), while credit cards usually come loaded with all sorts of fees.

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


An interesting question - is there any data at all on the sales of pre-1990 flats?

Law / Car Insurance in Poland (A/C) [32]


Exactly :)

A much, much better system. The only drawback is that you get morons driving fast cars under their parents names.

News / 1.3% birth rate = Poland's slow death [221]


If you knew anything about such people, they have it ingrained into the mentality. They're not going to stop battering the wife just because someone tells them "no".

UK, Ireland / Poles becoming British subjects [39]


Quite sensible. A UK passport opens up some doors that a Polish passport won't - while the Polish passport gives benefits such as cheaper visas for Russia/Belarus.


Yet - real Poles chose to do so. Could it be that they're more well informed than you are?

News / Who controls Gazeta Wyborcza?? [216]


You already linked us to Wikipedia, which told us that both individuals were Polish.


But you say it's common knowledge, so surely someone somewhere has written about these incredible claims you made?

It is strange that someone living thousands of miles away claims to know something that Poles don't know about.

Genealogy / Poles born under Russian control - are we Russian? [29]


Indeed, I have a friend that's the product of one such marriage :)

News / Who controls Gazeta Wyborcza?? [216]


If it's common knowledge, why hasn't one single reliable source written about it?


You're the one that made the now-legendary claim :


It's hardly common knowledge if not one reliable source has written about it

Anyway, for the 21st time - could you please provide a single reliable source for these claims?

USA, Canada / Who is better informed, the expat or the Polonia crowd? [144]


No, but at least they breathe the same air.


Your lot has been saying that for years now. Don't forget that the only thing on offer by your Dear Leader is spend, spend, spend.


Thing is, they don't view it as their country. That's where all the IV RP stuff comes in - they want the 3rd Republic to fall. It's treasonous at best.


That 30% will never be enough nowadays - the other 70% will make sure of it. Someone like Palikot will never, ever allow PiS near power - for his own vote would collapse (and he would be seen as a betrayer) in the process. Likewise with the SLD - there's just no way that they could risk PiS launching more witchhunts against them. And the PSL vote - which is middle class rural is hardly going to be happy with the prospect of letting in a wreckless spending PiS government.

For all the posturing and claiming that the Government is going to fall - there is really no sign of it on the surface. They seem to be endlessly hoping that some PO parliamentary votes will go their way - totally forgetting that RP are sitting in the wings waiting to prop up the government in exchange for some social concessions.

For all their rhetoric, they still haven't seemed to figure out that negative politics don't work in Poland.


Sorry, but the latest election results don't agree. In the last Sejm election, Kaczynski only got 25% of the overseas vote - which was even less than the share of the PiS vote nationally. Tusk got 40% on the other hand, entirely in line with what PO got.

All the results are showing that overseas voters are rejecting Kaczynski and PiS as a whole. The USA vote is not in line with voters elsewhere - no doubt because they're completely misled by the joke of Polonia media.


I suspect the bank was laughing at Ukrainian-Americans, wasn't it?

USA, Canada / Who is better informed, the expat or the Polonia crowd? [144]

Des illustrates wonderfully why the US polonia should never, ever be allowed to vote.

Law / Rights of the Foreign consumer in Poland [5]


Well yes, they're obliged to. But bear in mind that directives are to achieve a desired conclusion (such as 2 year warranties) - how they achieve it is left to the individual member State.


Well, that's the best way. Trying to use foreign legal systems for a Polish problem is always going to be problematic.

Life / Political correctness in Poland [210]

Oh, there were scandals here too. The only difference is that these were individual scandals rather than systematic.

It's worth pointing out that in many places (as Davies himself documented) - the local priest and the local Party boss often carved up things between them.

USA, Canada / Who is better informed, the expat or the Polonia crowd? [144]

Then if they're so worried about it, they should stay. Patriotic people, by definition, love their country - so why would they ever want to leave?

Anyway, it would take a considerable amount of demographic change to really alter anything. England is still heavily Conservative - immigration has changed nothing, really.


Leave them be - the UK voting figures are entirely in line with what happened in Poland. The huge queues seen in London in 2007 certainly were representative of the mood among young people!

It is strange to me that someone could be pro-PiS and yet willingly move to a country which is far more socially liberal. Then again, the UK doesn't ban drinking of Tyskie outside...


I need to double check, but I think the law on citizenship puts a stop to many of the Polonia, due to the requirement of requiring a State Certificate in the Polish Language. It must surely apply to citizenship by descent as well as by naturalisation, surely?

USA, Canada / Who is better informed, the expat or the Polonia crowd? [144]


The US Polonia will never return - they might come over and insult us here, but they'll never return permanently. Life is too different here - how often have we seen them tell us how we should be living? PiS could never change Poland to the extent that they would want - especially as many of them claim to be against Obama's policies.


They often haven't got a clue about Polish politics. During the last Presidential election, I read some Polonia garbage newspapers there - and they were claiming that Kaczynski was the "Conservative" candidate. Yet - as we all know - he's a huge socialist and not economically conservative at all. As for "patriotic" people - given that the definition of patriotic is to love your country - the PiS government certainly didn't love Poland, for they turned it into a international laughing stock at the time.

They really should just keep their nose out of Polish affairs. They're long gone and won't be coming back.

New Zealand has it right with the 2 year abroad rule - any longer, and no vote for you.

(also worth pointing out - PO won solidly everywhere else in the world, even among the armed forces)

News / Who controls Gazeta Wyborcza?? [216]

A link to any newspaper in Poland that is actually published would be a start!

Or perhaps his claim is just so ridiculous that even Gazeta Polska and the ilk won't go there?