News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

Why would electoral fraud need to be committed in the first place? It's not like PiS have any chance of putting together a majority to govern.

It's like Smolensk - why would anyone need to bother when PiS are doing a great job of alienating other parties anyway? You don't need to commit electoral fraud to keep them at 30% forevermore.


Below the belt? There's no such thing as that in Polish politics. If you think that's below the belt, then you must also criticise much of what comes out of PiS, and you must especially criticise much of what's said in their name. What is it to be?

(anyway, it's only below the belt because it's true)


It's not unfair - it's a fair reminder that those people WILL vote for PiS and that people need to get out and vote against them.


No, they had the supporters being rude and aggressive towards ordinary people. Incidentally, you don't see PO supporters being physically violent or getting upset by Gazeta Polska et al.


Why? Those people don't vote for PO - they'd be targetting a small minority that tends to vote for extreme left wing parties anyway.


They ask 1,000 people. Just like in the UK, and most countries.

If someone is influenced by an opinion poll, they shouldn't be allowed to vote anyway.

Real Estate / Question about Czynsz (Building maintenance fees/utilies) in Poland [129]


But most/all services are included in that.

As for a school teacher taking home twice that - only the very lowest ones, who are unlikely to be living in 76sqm apartments in the centre of the city anyway.

Travel / DRIVING TO POLAND THIS THURSDAY ANY TIPS? [35]

What's not obvious about it? Just remember the golden rule - if there's no speed limit signed after a junction (except in cities - so you must pass a 'city' sign at some point) - the national limit applies. It's straightforward and easy to work out - did you see a speed limit sign after the junction? No? Then the national limit applies.

As for the signs signalling towns - I'd say that passing a sign of a town is much more straightforward than the German example (which is just the name of the place on a yellow sign). There's also no doubt as to where the built-up area ends - a speed limit sign isn't so clear.

Travel / DRIVING TO POLAND THIS THURSDAY ANY TIPS? [35]

I even passed my test here. There are certainly not "few signs" - every single speed limit change from the norm is signed.

What you're referring to, I think, is the way that Poland doesn't sign every single change explicitly - but that's because you can safely assume that the limit is the national limit for that road in the absence of signs to the contrary. Less sign clutter is good ;)

For instance, you drive from Swiecko to Poznan. You'll cross the border - and due to roadworks, there's a 70 limit to Rzepin. Okay, that's fine - after every junction, the 70 is posted. We get to Rzepin, and we pass the "miasto" sign - so we know the limit is 50km/h there. After getting through Rzepin, we pass the "end of city" sign - so we now know that the limit is 90km/h. So, we drive - and we see a 60km/h sign. That applies until the next junction - after that, the limit goes back to 90km/h in the absence of any signs to the contrary.

Likewise, we enter the motorway. The limit is automatically 140km/h - but approaching the tolls, the limit goes down to 40km/h. After the tolls, there's a junction to a small MOP - so the limit automatically goes back to 140km/h in the absence of signs to the contrary.

Everywhere in Poland is like that. It's the law.

Travel / DRIVING TO POLAND THIS THURSDAY ANY TIPS? [35]

Expressways are signed with S numbers - S11, S5, etc. You'll also see a picture of a car upon entering them.


Why would you have to guess? It's all pretty simple - from crossing the border - every limit that isn't "normal" for that class of road is signed, unless you're in a town - in which case, you already know that the default of 50km/h applies unless signed to the contrary.

No need to guess at all in Poland - I don't know if you passed your test here, but the theory clearly states that *every* speed limit that isn't 'normal' for that class of road must be signed. And if there's no limit signed, a simple look at the road will tell you the limit.

Inside a town (marked with the very obvious 'town' sign) - 50km/h.
Single carriageway? 90km/h.
Dual carriageway, divided? 100km/h.
Expressway? 120km/h
Motorway? 140km/h.

Anything to the contrary will be signed after every single junction with another road. No need to guess.

UK, Ireland / Cigarettes in Poland (cost, brands). The situation in the UK? [57]

Actually, the "guideline" has just been slashed to 800. And in EU law, there's only a 'right' to transport 800 - no more. Try taking more than 800 across the German border and see how far you get.

And anyone who thinks that the burden of proof is on Customs is having a laugh - they'll quite happily see you in court, or just wait until you crack under the pressure. There was that programme on a while ago about them - and they were catching people out in some very ingenious ways. Sure, you can challenge them - but they've got better lawyers and deeper pockets than you.

(best one being the twat who tried to take in 70kg of rolling tobacco, yet refused to roll one cigarette)

News / Do Poles take Kaczynski seriously!? [199]


It's gone down a lot - last time I checked, Germany was about that price, while Poland was (still) a little bit more expensive.

I've got an amusing photo of a sign in Frankfurt (Oder) telling Poles only to buy 5 - no such sign in German though ;)

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

Haha, no worries :)

I've noticed though - educated PiS voters tend to be very clued up about exactly what Kaczynski offers. It's why, I think, if he stopped with the ridiculous rhetoric, stopped pandering to fringe lunatics and simply kept on repeating their policies, PiS would actually win the most votes in this election - because - from a Polish perspective, it's very likable.

Travel / DRIVING TO POLAND THIS THURSDAY ANY TIPS? [35]


Yes, Poland is fantastic at signing speed limits. No hassle here - after every junction, the speed limit (if different from the normal limit for that type of road) will be signed. When you enter/leave a town, it's also very clearly marked. The speed limit signs are the least of your problems ;)


Not always, I can think of the A12 from Swiecko to the Berliner Ring - there's only about 4-5 signs the whole way, warning you that it's 120km/h for the entire motorway. Ridiculous.


Ah, it's not that bad. Either that, or I'm just used to it.

(driving in Germany the other day was mind-numbingly tedious)

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

x


His policies/manifesto, surely?

I can't imagine you're voting for the soundbites and the battle talk, are you?

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]


You do realise that there's enough wasted on typical PiS voters to cut billions from the budget?

Slash a few pensions, cut a few subsidies to State owned businesses, sell the rest off - voila, budget problems solved. PO won't upset their voters, the SLD/PSL/Palikot couldn't care less about a few moustaches/old people - and everyone is happy, except those that would vote PiS anyway.

Amazing how you lot have conceded defeat already, though. Anyway - since when does Kaczynski not want to win? The man is desperate for political power - or haven't you listened to all his speeches about how they will win?

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]


But - this actually reflects much of his electorate.

Ignoring the ones like gumishu (who are voting for what he offers, not his personality/soundbites) - many of them are very angry at life, they feel like they were cheated in 1989 (cheated of what, I don't know - I don't recall the Round Table negotiations ever offering them anything) - and his "battle talk" often appeals to the older generation who simply can't accept that the enemy has gone. Then you get the younger generation, which again - is angry because they didn't take advantage of what is on offer. Look at the football hooligans - they *only* support PiS because Kaczynski supported them. If Kaczynski and PiS wins - they're going to hate his guts as much as they hate Tusk right now, simply because there's no way Kaczynski is going to make himself look bad in Euro 2012.

Then you get the underclass of Polish society which still behaves like it's communism. They let their dogs **** on the grass, they think stealing from work is OK, etc - again - they are naturally drawn to PiS because they reflect the "old days" - though they'll never admit it. It's actually fair to say that under communism, their life probably was better - they had the flat, they had subsidies, they had a job (albeit pointless and menial). That's what PiS pretend to offer.

I wish I could remember the quote, but I read a book a while ago which made the point that as soon as the common enemy had gone, Poland essentially started fighting with herself. For the first time - well - ever - Poland doesn't have any enemies - so the enemy became herself.

I said it before in this thread - but they simply are too naive to realise who is actually behind PiS. It's not the underclass of society - it's the educated ones. Look at the electoral lists - they're all middle class professionals. Where are the genuine workers on their lists?

USA, Canada / Does anyone know about Americans or Canadians deported from Poland on Visa irregularities? [14]


There's a guy who sometimes posts on this forum by the name of Brian who was caught and banned for a year.

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]


They want a return to the past, but with their men in power and with other people doing the hard work.

I'm convinced that Solidarity (and PiS) never wanted an end to socialism, they just wanted the perks for themselves.

Law / How to register a new business in Poland [129]


That's just the new name for the new system of business registration.


Trust me, in Poland, there's no such thing as "who knows what he's doing". Unlike in the UK, where you pay for what you get - Poland is much more wild. My accountant charges 123zl a month and does a fantastic job - but there are plenty of cowboys who charge 10 times that and do a worse job.


That's the threshold. However, that's very odd that there's a limit on the bank account - my business account has no limits.

I can only give you one piece of advice - trust no-one and verify absolutely everything you're told.

Polonia / What similarities would you say there are between Poles and Mexicans? [132]

Uh... MediaWatch, really.

Poles are quite conservative in sport - while the ultras in football might not be, the vast majority of spectator sports feature lifeless crowds.

I go to a hell of a lot of sporting events, and trust me - Polish sport fans are conservative.

UK, Ireland / Are Polish people importing a new wave of ancient racism into the UK? [402]


Polish culture.

Tourists don't come for multiculturalism (except in a very few cities - of which Poland has none and is unlikely to have ever). We can argue about what Polish culture is - but to me, this is Poland-

youtube.com/watch?v=-nXbRYusNDM
youtu.be/J5KtSdPjLKs?hd=1

And my favourite -

Life / Expats/Immigrants in Poland: Needy, Greedy or contributor. Which one are you? [118]


I left with the intention of becoming a school teacher of children - and here I am. The country was irrelevant (although ideally it wouldn't be in the UK, and it isn't).


I bought a flat in Polish, that'll do me in terms of language ability. Being able to deal with the Notariusz in Polish was by far the most difficult thing I've ever done in a foreign language. Thankfully, I can read the front page and arrange appointments - the only thing I have trouble with is that my writing is pretty rubbish, but I put that down to a lack of practice.

Law / How to register a new business in Poland [129]


I'll be as polite as possible : you need to know a hell of a lot more.

Poland isn't like the UK, things aren't so well developed here, things aren't as simple as they might seem. You might think it's easy to run a business in Poland (and in the beginning, it is easy - don't get me wrong) - until something goes wrong. It can be as simple as not filling out statistical information, or as complicated as the tax office raising a query with your accounts and your bookkeeper is out of his/her depth.

But just for kicks, I'll give you a real life example.

I know someone who forgot to file the paperwork for VAT registration after going through the VAT ceiling. They contacted the tax office straight away, and they were fined the amount between current turnover and the VAT ceiling - plus a 100% fine on top of that. In short - it came to around 30,000zl. And that was just one small case.

If you really don't know much about Poland, you need to be exceptionally careful. It might sound simple - but what are you going to do when, for instance, you need to go to the tax office?

News / Polish Students Striking in Lithuania [80]


But they are in Poland.


38 million Poles, 3 million Lithuanians...and Lithuania is winning.

Law / Where to register a .PL domain name? [33]


Because it's a requirement of the Polish domain registry that such people attempting to register such a domain provide a NIP and REGON if it's for business purposes.


No.

Law / Staying in Schengen - are American exempt from the 90-days-in/90-days-out rule? [23]

Good luck to him.


If he goes there, he's got a high chance of being picked up (they scrutinise all documents very carefully on the Eastern border, even EU documents) and banned from re-entry.

Law / How to register a new business in Poland [129]


It should (unless something is odd in Krakow) include the REGON.


It'll come, don't stress. The REGON normally gets issued within about 2 weeks. I always advised people (you did get advice, right?) to allow around 4-6 weeks from registration to actually starting the business.


The REGON is just a statistical number - brought in to fufil EU regulations on statistics. Essentially - the NIP is your NI/Tax number, and the REGON acts as a statistical number.


Yep, and they'll also use it to contact businesses for information about their business. I had a period where every 3 months, I was being sent constant requests to fill out some nonsense online.


It'll go through automatically.

However, if you need to ask such questions - are you prepared to run a business in Poland?

News / Polish Students Striking in Lithuania [80]


What's the point in learning Polish?


It doesn't matter what you think - in fact, it's quite amusing that 38 million Poles tried and failed to bully 3 million Lithuanians.

Life / Expats/Immigrants in Poland: Needy, Greedy or contributor. Which one are you? [118]


God forbid that someone might have a vocation for something!

He might have a point when it comes to some of the jokers that post on here (Bradders for instance) - but there's quite a few serious people involved in education on here, too.

Life / Expats/Immigrants in Poland: Needy, Greedy or contributor. Which one are you? [118]


Like they'll do a damn thing about it - school directors are politically appointed and thus protected from such things.

But if you want to find out more - I can give you the names of schools, and you can try and hire a room for English classes. When they refuse, you can go and examine just who is advertising in the schools...

Polonia / What similarities would you say there are between Poles and Mexicans? [132]


Not much has changed really - just WWI and WWII, the border shifts, the killing of 3 million of her citizens, Communism, three different Republics - nah, not much difference really.

Work / Internships in Polish mass media [23]


Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't most of the English language media in Poland run by people who work from home anyway?

Law / Staying in Schengen - are American exempt from the 90-days-in/90-days-out rule? [23]

Wow, they bothered to even go for the residence permit? That makes a change...

(Yanks being thrown out of Schengen make me laugh)

Life / Expats/Immigrants in Poland: Needy, Greedy or contributor. Which one are you? [118]


Which kinda goes against their whole raison d'etre, doesn't it?

The attitude by schools towards the community they are in is despicable in many cases - I could happily tell you a few stories about school directors receiving bribes to block initatives that would actually benefit communities rather than private language schools.

To be fair, the various Dom Kultury do a fantastic job in general - but schools should also be playing their part. Still, as long as school directors aren't professionally trained and promoted, there's no hope.

I even know one case in Poland where a fully qualified football coach offered free football classes to a school - only to be asked for 50PLN/hour. Insane - especially as the children would benefit from someone with specific (high) skills in that area.