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Posts by Trevek  

Joined: 21 May 2008 / Male ♂
Last Post: 12 Jun 2016
Threads: Total: 25 / In This Archive: 17
Posts: Total: 1699 / In This Archive: 1176
From: Olsztyn
Speaks Polish?: not a lot
Interests: varied

Displayed posts: 1193 / page 23 of 40
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Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
Genealogy / Mixed-Blood Poles in America (Do we count?) [118]

I remember being a small kid and meeting a black man in London and I was surprised that he spoke English with such a definite London accent, it appeared like a dubbing.

lol, it's a bit like the Irish-speaking Chinese guy in a take-away in Galway.

What if, like many Indians, you were called Pakistani?

But is that because they are Indian muslims, Pakistani people of the Indian subcontinent or just Hindu/Christian brown skinned people who others thought were from Pakistan? often, in old literature, someone is defined as a nationality based on something like their faith, so Muslims are often referred to as "Turks", even tho' they weren't from Turkey.

You can be just as much a white Zambian as you can a black Irish but generally people with less melanin in their skin originate from Europe.

I was thinking of something like this when I saw "Who do you think you are?" a couple of weeks ago. There was a British actor whose family, on his mothers side, had been involved in India for several generations, as members of the Raj and British army. Eventually it turned out he had an Indian, or mixed race, ancestor. But I was wondering if his family could be called 'Indian' just because they had been based in the country for so many years, even though they were white British colonialists.
Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
Genealogy / Mixed-Blood Poles in America (Do we count?) [118]

'Asian' and 'African' are continents with many countries.
"Scottish, Irish, Polish etc" are countries on the European continent.

OK, but what if I said, "Indian" or "Chinese"?

I understand, although I stand to be corrected, that in US the term "Asian" is almost wholly used for Chinese, japanese, Korean etc, whereas in Britain it would also refer to Indian, Pakistani etc.

That said, I have never heard the term "Euro-American" as opposed to "Afro-American" (probably only a matter of time).
Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

Poland made grave mistake for let Germany to overrun Western Slavic territories. Its biggest sin of Poland

A bit ironic when you think Lubeck (the pearl of the Hanse) was colonized by Slavs at the expense of the Saxons, who Charlemagne was a bit annoyed with.
Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

Compare that to 14 Millions and whole towns...

That's numbers (I don't mean that in a non-human way). It was still deportations.

Hey, I'm not saying the post-45 deportations were right, just showing how nationalist mythologies have their roots in earlier actions.
Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

And at least as these territories had been under german rule the Pole wer allowed flourish there, not expelled like the Germans under polish rule!

Not at all?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_deportations

query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9507E4DF1E38E033A2575AC2A9679C94679FD7CF
Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

What Hanse towns went voluntarily to Poland???

I suggest this refers to Hanse towns joining forces with Polish/Lithuanian commonwealth against the Teutonic Order, as part of dispute over trade.

Bismark, a speech by the man himself. interesting reading: h-net.org/~german/gtext/kaiserreich/speech.html

an excerpt: "When I think about the reasons for this, there comes to mind the Catholic department [of the Prussian government] which, until its abolition by my direct intervention as minister-president, possessed the character of a Polonizing organ inside the Prussian administration. (Unrest in the Center Party and among the Poles). Under the direction of Herr Kraetzig--I hope he lives still, it had become an institute of a few great Polish families, in whose service these officials pushed Polonization in all the contested German-Polish districts. That is why it became necessary for me to agree to the abolition of this department. And this is actually the reason I generally concurred in the Kulturkampf. [5] From my personal point of view, there would have been no Kulturkampf. (Vigorous contradictions from the Center Party.) Yes, gentlemen, say what you will. I leave you to your doubts. There will be a few who will believe me, but I am rather indifferent as to whether anyone believes me. Yet, for anyone who wants to be informed, it is necessary for me to give my personal opinion.

The person who drew me into the Kulturkampf was Herr Kraetzig, the chairman of the Catholic department, which was formed in the Prussian bureaucracy to protect the rights of the king and the church. However, it developed under the king's authority and seal an exclusive activity in the direction of protecting the rights of the Roman church as well as Polish machinations against the king. And for that reason it had to be dissolved. ("Aha!" from the Center Party and the Poles.)
Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
Language / I teach English to some Polish people - how to explain them tenses? [33]

WHAT SANE PERSON NEEDS TWO DIFFERENT PAST TENSES?? If it was in the past, it was in the past! Period. Say about silly English fads...

I once had a Chinese guy ask me why English had past tenses. "Why you say, 'I went to shop yesterday'?"

I couldn't understand what he wanted to know. He repeated, "Why you say, 'I WENT to shop YESTERDAY'?"

"Why, what would you say in Chinese?"

"I go to shop... I go to shop today, I go to shop tomorrow, I go to shop yesterday".
Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
Genealogy / Mixed-Blood Poles in America (Do we count?) [118]

The illigal Mexican aliens are claiming that right for their ANCHOR babies. Causing a lot of anger in America.

Ah, Ireland had a similar situation recently, with a rise in non-europeans having kids and claiming Irish nationality for them.
Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
Language / I teach English to some Polish people - how to explain them tenses? [33]

I have done it yet = Mam to już zrobione. (in standard Polish it'd be 'Zrobiłem to już')

Sorry, wouldn't that sound better as "I haven't done it yet" or "I've just done it"?

I had presperf explained simply as "past tense without a past time reference".

I prefer "when the action has finished but the time hasn't"

So: "Someone has broken the window" the breaking part is finished but the window is still broken.

"Someone broke the window". The window is repaired

Obviously, this is when the time reference isn't used.

"I've written this today" today hasn't finished.

"I wrote this this morning" today is still valid but 'this morning' has finished.
Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
Genealogy / Mixed-Blood Poles in America (Do we count?) [118]

This is an interesting discussion.

What interests me is the matter of white being a larger problem than 'colour'. Someone who is 3rd/4th generation 'white' probably has a harder time being taken seriously than someone who is 'non-white'. I mean, as a white person, there is no sign that I am Scottish, Irish, Polish etc if I don't speak the language etc. However, being 'yellow', brown, black etc it is automatically taken that someone is 'Asian', 'African' etc.

Another thing I find interesting is that as a English-Scottish half-breed, I am often told I'm not Scottish because I wasn't born there or don't have an accent. However, at one time there used to be established Scottish communities across the globe and those born into them were considered Scottish even if they'd never been to Scotland.

(Not that) Long ago, nationality was more based on ethnicity.
Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
History / Poland - Scotland, the untold story... [75]

There are some names on this list for "Elbing".

electricscotland.com/history/prussia/part3-3.htm

I believe it was a Hanse town before Gdansk.

I'm another one in a long line of Aberdonians who came here :)

There's a book by a guy called Dobson.

which lists names of Scots who travelled to Poland. He lists 4 Alexander Chalmers' (and a few other Chalmers). Mainly from Aberdeenshire.
Trevek   
27 Aug 2010
History / Dutchmen in Polish history ! [17]

A few more links

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pas%C5%82%C4%99k
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mannerist_structures_in_Northern_ Poland
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avi_Sch%C3%B6nfeld
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dantzig
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krzysztof_Arciszewski
Trevek   
26 Aug 2010
History / Poland - Scotland, the untold story... [75]

How good is your Polish Trevek?

Not great. I do have a few contacts who are researching this stuff too.

My wife does the occasional translation for me.

We taught them their ways :)

Indeed. There's a great wee book called "Agents of Change" about 19th Century Scots brought over by Polish szlachta to help reform the farming and factory systems.

amazon.com/Agents-Change-Scots-Poland-1800-1918/dp/1862320810

You're just creating a bad circle and teaching the youngsters that it's ok to move abroad to find a better "life". Most of the cases they wont find anything at all, and if they do find something it wont be anything that they were educated for in Poland.

Interesting, because that is what many Scots did in Poland. A large number emigrated and found success, a lot didn't and many died. Still, it is interesting hearing an American speak like this when this is a country built on migrants energy and 'pioneer spirit' (I'm not having a dig, I'm serious).

The problem in Poland is that many people cannot find jobs which they have been educated for and even if they do, the pay is appalling. I was offered a job (20 hours p/w) in a state school and the pay was not even 4 Euroes an hour as a 'beginning' teacher. In UK or Ireland I could get around twice that working in McD's. My daily bus fare would be about an hour's wages.

Like they wont struggle in the UK? you ain't even paying them fair wages...

They get paid at least a minimum wage. In fact, it is now the British who 'aint even paid a decent wage' because the migrant labour has driven the wages down in a lot of areas.

On the other hand, villages where I live in Poland have high unemployment, little chance of work, little access to higher education, high alcoholism and social problems and cases of teenage pregnancy, three/four generations living in one flat on the pensions of the grandparents.

Guess a stinky flat in UK and a daily wage, child benefit and potential for free education is a bit of a come down, isn't it?

Another Link.

The list of names in the last 6 documents might be of interest.

electricscotland.com/history/prussia/index.htm
Trevek   
24 Aug 2010
History / Poland - Scotland, the untold story... [75]

Sounds interesting - any links ?

electricscotland.com/history/poland/scotsndx.htm

(the other books on Scots in Germany and Prussia also have info about Scots in Poland)

The Alexander Chalmers from Aberdeen was a writer and published novels, I do not think it is the same one that died in Poland was was buried at St Johns

You might well be right. I seem to recall reading he was from Aberdeen(shire) or I might just be mixing it up with the fact a lot of Scots came from Aberdeen to Poland.

Here's a couple of links which might be of interest.

news.scotsman.com/scotland/Scotland39s-Poles-split-over-plan.4840614.jp
facebook.com/?ref=home#!/photo.php?pid=1636105&id=717608495&ref=fbx_album
electricscotland.com/history/poland/appendix2.htm
sikorskipolishclub.org.uk/connections.htm
warsaw-life.com/news/news/1228-Warsaw's_Scottish_Mayor_Remembered
bpcc.org.pl/en/images/stories/file/contact_86_OnLine.pdf
Trevek   
24 Aug 2010
History / Poland - Scotland, the untold story... [75]

Many scots came to Poland and fought on behalf, you will this in the records in Gdansk and Krakow.

The Scots had over 12 self-governing 'brotherhoods' in different cities in Poland during 17th century. Established by order of James VI (II of England). Warsaw had a 3 times mayor called Alexander Chalmers (czarmerz) from Aberdeen (I think).
Trevek   
24 Aug 2010
History / Poland - Scotland, the untold story... [75]

Thats right he was the grandson of James 11, who was deposed by William of Orange after he invaded England with the help of some English traitors.

And aided by a few Scots as well.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Mackay

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Glencoe
Trevek   
23 Aug 2010
History / Pole who burned himself to protest the 1968 Soviet invasion [81]

Look at the Pankhursts who threw themselves under horses etc.

You're thinking of Emily Davison at the 1913 Derby (although some think she just tried to cross the track thinking all the horses had passed).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Davison

The above is in reference to the stoning of Mary Magdalene

Nope, that was an adultress, wasn't it? Mary Magdelene is only referred to as a woman Jesus healed. She is often confused with a prostitute who repented at the feet of JC ('washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair')
Trevek   
22 Aug 2010
History / Dutchmen in Polish history ! [17]

home.planet.nl/~farjo001/weichsel_v_uk.htm

holland.org.pl/art.php?kat=art&dzial=polska&id=5&lang=en

Try this, the Green Gate in Gdansk was built by a Dutch architect.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Gate
Trevek   
22 Aug 2010
History / Dutchmen in Polish history ! [17]

The Dutch were his allies, I believe. Probably cos they were protestant nation. James VI of Scotland was also James I of England.

James was quite matey with Polish king, as there were more than a few Scots in Poland at that time too.