News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]


I don't think it's much of a secret that the Church doesn't want these archives opened wholescale - the revelations that some priests were informers has already hurt the Church on various occasions, and if people started to discover that their local priests (who are mostly still in place!) were collaborating too, it would cause untold problems. The opponents of the Church would seize upon it, too - and even within the RCC, they would be using it against each other (heck, they already have).

Polonius' version of history is rather amusing, but bears no relation to reality.


I think you'll find that public opinion shapes Gazeta Wyborcza, not the other way round. As much as it pains me to admit it, the same applies for Gazeta Polska and Radio Maryja - this is all on the back of public opinion.

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]


That's a rather poor return for our money!


Polonius. You profess to be such a Catholic, yet you have little to no understanding of a thing called "Forgiveness". Walesa practices it, why don't you?

Incidentally, the paper hasn't been "hotly opposed" - they just think, like grown ups, that the past is the past and that we should work together to build Poland.

Travel / Warsaw city bikes [14]


If it's using the nextbike infrastructure, it's very very easy. I've been using them in Poznan and Wroclaw for a while now - all you do is register online, then when you want to use a bike, go to the terminal (or use your phone, or local public transport card), put in the bike number and it gives you the unlock code. Repeat when you want to return the bike.

It is *far* better than the idiotic implementation in London.

News / 70% of Poles like Komorowski. Do you? [120]


Nice attempt at revising history. Unfortunately, it isn't true.

The backlash started when PiS went into coalition with the two worst possible parties, and they started to push through their authoritarian agenda. The centrist voters were furious, and once Jarek took over as Prime Minister, things really spiralled out of control for PiS. They were hell bent on revenge at all costs, and it's no surprise that the opposition media were having a field day with their incompetence.

I remind you - TVP was firmly in their hands by 2007.

Anyway, PiS could never threaten the post-89 situation because of just who Rajmund Kaczynski was.

History / The story about German- Polish reconciliation [194]


Can you speak it, is it the question?

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]

Pawian - I never knew that the IPN was only to cover from 1939 onwards. Is there any body set up to deal with the crimes committed under the II RP?

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]


And this is why I think the files should have been locked up and not accessed until the last person born under Communism had died.

It is *far* too easy to ruin someone with some false accusations - the latest accusations towards the good General underline this. What good does it do to openly accuse a general of the at this point in his life?

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]


And you're certain, how?


What's the problem then?

And yes, he was a clear collaborator. His rather rapid rise, including lectures to the Party cadre could only have been as a result of some very severe collaboration.

I suspect when the current generation retires from politics, we're going to find some very nasty things out about the Kaczynski family.

UK, Ireland / Polish Family stabbed to death in St Helier. [40]


It's a peculiarity of English law - he already pled guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility, so the judge would have directed the jury to find him not guilty - and so the judge (and jurors - a quirk of Jersey law?) will be able to sentence him to a long, long period inside a hospital. He could easily be there the rest of his life.


It doesn't matter - the sentence is the same, if not worse. If he's transferred to Poland (which would seem likely) - then he's going to have a hell of a miserable time inside the psychiatric hospitals.

Just found out - he has been held at Broadmoor (the highest security hospital in the UK) since the time of his arrest, so it's almost certain that he's going to spend a long, long time there.

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]


Are you sure he wasn't a party member? It wasn't exactly something you'd bring up...

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]

Because Polonius, the brave people in 1989 who were negotiating with the regime had nothing previous to refer to. They had no idea what they were doing - and in line with Poland's Catholic tradition of forgiveness, they chose to forgive rather than persecute.

I find it frankly bizzare that so-called Catholics are calling for all sorts of punishments when their religion preaches forgiveness as perhaps the one central theme.

UK, Ireland / Polish Family stabbed to death in St Helier. [40]

Worth pointing out that the "guilty" for manslaugher with diminished responsibility means that he'll be spending many, many years in a secure hospital with no real prospect of release.

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]


Exactly.

If they had any real interest in justice, they would have established a Truth Commission (not the IPN, but a real one) and threw open the archives. But it was obvious that they cared more about settling old political feuds than any real justice.

Could it also be that they have a fair few skeletons in the cupboard that they don't want exposed?

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]

Indeed. Anyone who took part in the Round Table discussions and oversaw the peaceful transition to democracy without panicking or resorting to the violence seen elsewhere has honour. Kiszczak still could have overthrown Jaruzelski and started a civil war in Poland - 1981 proved that the Army were loyal to their commanding officers, not the people.

Then again, it's usually the ones that weren't there and were nobodies that fail to understand such a basic concept.

Honour is making an agreement and sticking to it. Kiszczak did just that.

UK, Ireland / Crap parenting in our UK youth today (in Poland it's a little better) [52]


Doesn't it just?!


I find it hard to believe that a belt wielded in aggression wouldn't leave marks.


Quite a lot, actually. You've taken to complaining on here about the lack of jobs rather than dealing with it in the real world - classic symptoms of an abused child that can't articulate his feelings properly.

And you've posted here how it's perfectly fine to assault children.


Would you tolerate your father beating you up now? No?

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]


And yet he managed to give lecturers to Party members despite being a member of the AK who was in a POW camp? In Stalinist Poland? Hmm.


I think it's more interesting that despite the massive evidence suggesting that the Dear Leader's father was in fact a traitorous swine, you completely ignore the issue and keep talking about "regimes" and so on.


So favoured that he was trusted to give lectures to the Party cadre - a party that was terribly Stalinist.

How absolutely queer, not to mention the film career of his children and other suspicious things.

Then again, as we all know - Jaroslaw Kaczynski, for all his talk, wasn't there.

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]


Proof? AK members didn't enjoy stellar career rises like Mr Kaczynski did without stabbing a few in the back, especially in Stalinist Poland. How strange that the IPN haven't discovered anything about his history, isn't it?


And you think that the current Opposition didn't do exactly the same thing?

It is rather curious that Jaroslaw Kaczynski was never blackmailed with his homosexuality, especially as it was a common tactic in the PRL. His brother was briefly imprisoned - why didn't they use Jarek's orientation against him?

Unless of course, daddy Kaczynski made sure that they were untouchable.

Life / Let`s compare prices of services and products in Poland [359]


Really? That's madness - unless tyres are prohibitively expensive.

If anything, a good reason to have them is with the speed that the snow comes down in Poland, not to mention the performance gain from having dedicated winter/summer tyres as opposed to all year ones.

History / Interactive map of Poland 960-2004 [43]


Nope, I'd say you're right. Chamberlain's words make it crystal clear, after all. I'm also sure that it was supported by many people who remembered the previous war.

I have no problem with admitting this, so why do certain elements of Polish society have problems with admitting the dark aspects of the past, too?

History / Interactive map of Poland 960-2004 [43]


I suggest you look up the definition of "duress". Not legally binding in any sense.

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]


Michnik has done far more for Poland than you, or many others (and certainly 99.99% of the Michnik-haters) will ever do. Don't forget, most of the current opposition claim to hate Poland too.


Don't forget, the Kaczynski twins have had a hell of a political career on the back of their proven-traitorous swine of a father. How many of his former brothers did he betray to get where he got? I wonder.

Incidentaly, with your Walesa smears - where is your proof? The IPN even concluded that these smears were made up by the SB in order to discredit him - so either you accept the IPN or you don't.

UK, Ireland / Crap parenting in our UK youth today (in Poland it's a little better) [52]


Exactly. So why is it acceptable to beat a defenceless child, but not to beat an adult?


You do realise that such methods are thoroughly discredited in modern child psychology?


In many countries, you simply cannot. Quite what place a 6ft man has beating a tiny child, I'm not sure.


I think it's pretty obvious that the beatings you got have had some sort of effect on you - that is not the words of anyone sane and rational.

If you think that beating someone is acceptable, do you think it's acceptable for your boss to bend you over and give you a good thrashing with a belt too?

History / Interactive map of Poland 960-2004 [43]


To be fair, we all know that Poland's word was absolutely worthless during the II RP. For all the whining about alleged breaking of treaties that they do, they conveniently forget about who they stabbed in the back before.

UK, Ireland / Crap parenting in our UK youth today (in Poland it's a little better) [52]


What frightens me is when people attack children in a controlled way. I can understand (just) losing your temper and whacking a child, but the ones who are calm enough to reach for the belt are psychopaths.

History / Interactive map of Poland 960-2004 [43]


What, to mention that Poland invaded Czechoslovakia over absolutely nothing in 1968?

Funny how the usual suspects label anything bad as "Polonophobic" rather than being what it was.

UK, Ireland / Crap parenting in our UK youth today (in Poland it's a little better) [52]


I assure you that a grown man is perfectly able to inflict damage with a "clip around the ear".

As someone who actually works with children, I can tell you that there is absolutely no basis for teaching children that violence is the answer - to anything!


No problem? No, no problem at all - they'll know that in future, if someone doesn't behave correctly, giving them a good smack is the answer. Violence breeds violence, after all.


Respectful? Ever considered that your unemployment woes might be actually linked to those beatings you received?


Would you tolerate your boss at work bending you over and giving you such a smack? No? So why is it acceptable to beat a defenceless child?


Yes, it teaches all the basic requirements of a bully - only hit when you're much bigger, use your strength as a bully and so on.

There is only *one* justifiable circumstance to lay a hand on a child - and that's when the child is a danger to themselves or others and the situation must be resolved immediately. For instance, grabbing a child by the hair just as she's about to run onto a busy road.

But answer me this - why is it acceptable to beat a child but not an adult? Is it because, in reality, the adult would kick your ass?

History / Interactive map of Poland 960-2004 [43]


No, annexation is fine. Invasion tends to suggest that a war was fought - annexation is more "right, that's mine".

You'd never say that Poland was invaded during the partitions - it was a simple annexation.

News / Poles, Polonians and aliens on Pussy Riot? [182]


Indeed.

A private institution should not be receiving State cash to "teach" children in schools.

Law / Opening design architecture studio warsaw (license, legal matters) [7]


In fairness, a large amount of Italian architects graduated from there.

News / Poland's Truth Commission "IPN" to be de facto closed [80]


Rather sensationalist, I'd say.