News / Nigel Farage voice of reason for Poland and EU? [79]


But you do realise that the whole point of the EU was to bring the States so close together that they could never again fight each other in a bloody war?

The very founding of the European Coal and Steel Community was to ensure that France and Germany became inter-dependent on each other - after 3 vicious wars in the space of 70 years, enough was enough.

Seems to be working, too.


Bear in mind that the perks aren't too bad as an MEP.

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]


Ethnic Germans, but they're not really 'foreign'.

Otherwise, probably Ukrainians. But are they really foreign?

Work / Salary for Teaching EFL in Krakow [120]


I know one clown who has made a habit out of changing the school name every three years or so - he changes the name, uses the line of 'we're a new school, we can't pay much' and makes a killing.


I love this mentality - it's especially fun to play it the other way round and to ask for something ridiculous. I had one discussion with a school (with nice people, but obviously from the same school of thought) - I asked for 70zl an hour and refused to budge, even when they said that they only charge 70zl an hour for private classes. I didn't need the work, and it was all just fun for me - but it was fun seeing them deal with someone who clearly had the upper hand.

Mind you, I negotiated a new contract with a school - they asked what I wanted and what my dream (but realistic) salary was, I gave them both figures, and they've found a way to match it. Unbelievable, but the responsibility and workload is pretty large, too.

Study / Information Needed: Skarbek University, Warsaw. [57]


Nah, it's genuine enough - it's just the English name for this - wshifm.edu.pl

As far as I can tell, it's one of the better private schools.

News / HIV infected Nigerian has bitten bus ticket's controler in Cracow! [56]


Very unlikely?

There's been at least one high profile case in Poznan alone this year.


In Poland, it's still quite common for them to get hassle in situations like this, even if everything is fine.

Then again - you don't live here, what would you know?

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]


Tolerant?

When they learn to be tolerant towards me, perhaps I can be tolerant back. Until then? I'll continue mocking it for all it's worth - it, after all, is utter garbage.

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


You do realise that nowadays, there's quite a lot of sympathy towards DDR days in the East? Quite a lot of people are not too happy at how reunification turned out - especially given that most East Germans were kicked out of their jobs and replaced with reliable Westerners.


Because the Serbs chose to turn their back on the arrangement where Kosovo was a self governing province and decided to try and force them into submission instead?

Pretty simple, that one.


You do realise that they were there all along? Nothing "flooded" about it.


Wrong. Just plain wrong - do you actually check your facts before posting this stuff?

Let's see - let's go by population density. That's a fair measure of how big a country in proportion to how many people are living there. It can be measured in terms of the amount of square metres per person. We'll also choose only independent countries.

In first place - Mongolia with a population density of 1.7 square metres per person.
In second place - Namibia - 2.6.
In third place - Australia - 3.0

In fact, you have to go as far as 14th place to find Russia. Seems to me that your statistics are, just like your argument, utterly flawed.

Seems to me that you're willing to believe anything just to satisfy your need for EVIL RUSSIA - are you addicted to this kind of thing?


You do realise that Georgia never had control of the territory of which they claim?

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]


But you live in America.

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]

Why does America need 6 (in the 50 states), not including the time zones for Guam, American Samoa, Wake Island and more?

I mean, if we're counting here - the United States has just as many time zones as Russia, if not more. I've given up counting, but so far - America has territory in at least 9 different time zones. I'm sure there's more, though.


Never heard of the phrase "Stare decisis et non quieta movere"?

Generally speaking, international law when it comes to territory tends to follow this principle. If you want - tell us - why doesn't Kosovo return the North Mitrovica area to Serbia? Why isn't the Republika Srpska part of Serbia? Why doesn't Spain allow independence for the Basque Country? Why doesn't South Tyrol get returned to Austria? What about Schleswig being returned to Denmark?

Modern European history is littered with examples - Russia is hardly unique.

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


You know why he said that? It's pretty simple - up until 1991, there was no such thing as Ukraine. It never existed, unless you count the Ukrainian SSR - but that was still very much controlled by Moscow and with no real autonomy whatsoever. So - for a guy like him, it's no surprise that he thinks that Ukraine isn't really a nation. However, those of us who can think for ourselves know the truth - that Ukrainian identity is growing and growing irrespective of language.

It's a common attitude in Europe - you'll hear the Spanish say the same about Catalonia and the Basque country, the English about Scotland, the Germans about Bavaria - the list is endless.

Incidentally, if you knew Poles, you'd know that the attitude of "Ukraine isn't a country" is quite common here, too - especially among people living in the East and those who live in the "recovered territories".


Ethnic Russians aren't necessarily loyal to Russia, however. In the case of Ukraine, they look to Kyiv, not to Moscow. Look at Poland - the ethnic Germans here are looking to Warsaw, not to Berlin. The Czech minority thinks about Warsaw, not Prague. The list goes on...


Start by reading about the Targowica Confederation - you'll understand why they sold out to Russia. A read of the May 3rd Constitution and the ideals behind it wouldn't be a bad idea too - Catherine was far more in favour of strong nobles than the peasantry being given rights.


Not really - there's nothing in large parts of Siberia and so on. It's an inhospitable land, and they benefit from being joined to European Russia.


The answer to that is pretty simple - "lebensraum". Stalin was understandably paranoid after WW2, and those buffer states meant that Russia was much further away from the rest of Europe.

Ask yourself MediaWatch - why did the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth stretch almost from sea to sea at one point? What was the need? Greed? They certainly didn't need all that land for the amount of people they had - but they took it. Was it because - as in Russia - the larger the territory, the more power they had?

The history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in terms of expansion wasn't much different to Russia, really.

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


Bit like the United States and most other countries, really.

Law / What is better for money exchange - EUR to PLN in Germany or PLN to EUR in Poland? [18]


Berlin-> FFO -> Poznan. One change in FFO Bahnhof - the Polish train goes directly from FFO to Poznan. You don't even need to bother buying a ticket in FFO - just go straight to the Polish train and pay on the train in Euro.


Poznan Glowny.


Walk out of the main door in the station, towards a blue bridge. Go up the stairs on the other side of the bridge, then turn right - the tram stop is just there, outside the trade centre. Can't miss it - the 11 stops here in both directions.

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


Wrong. If you'd been on the ground there, you'd actually know that while the area is populated with Russian speakers, they still very much identify with Ukrainian nationality and not Russian. Poor show, MediaWatch.


No no. You don't understand - it had nothing to do with non-Poles, and everything to do with the fact that the Poles with power were very reluctant to give any of it up to the normal Polish citizens. In fact, they were so consumed with the desire for power that they were willing to do deals with foreign enemies just to retain their personal kingdoms.

Certainly, for instance, the partitions were a disaster for Ukrainians - compare the situation in Lemberg with Poles vs Ukrainians.

Love / Should I bring gifts? - help with a Polish wedding [46]

And utterly tasteless, especially when money is demanded. I've seen wedding invitations (all from Warsaw, funnily enough) where obscene amounts of money have been demanded - in one case, 500PLN!

Sorry, but I'm just not a fan of money at weddings at all - unless it's close family who are able to ask outright "what do you want?" and get a straight answer.

(thankfully, I got plenty of presents at my own reception and very little money)

Love / Should I bring gifts? - help with a Polish wedding [46]

Giving money is tacky and tasteless - giving the gifts at the reception is just fine :)

(if they want cash, they're greedy cunts and shouldn't be given anything anyway)

Life / How many Jewish people live in Poland? [145]


Really?

Murdoch : Jewish. Fox News : Conservative.

"Polish Death Camp", you say?

And let's not forget that Fox broadcast a line alleging Poles to have collaborated with Nazis.

Your "Conservative Jewish" aren't so squeaky clean, are they?

Life / How many Jewish people live in Poland? [145]


He's Irish if I recall correctly. Not Jewish at all.

Language / Double meanings, Polish slang and embarrassment [49]


Pawian, quick question - what ages are you teaching?

Life / How many Jewish people live in Poland? [145]


I count one, same as you...where are the rest of them? Are there any in Poland? I'd love to meet a Jewish Pole - reveal yourselves!


As far as I can tell, the only publications where Poles are "wronged" are the same ones which would "wrong" Jewish people in Poland.


The internet generation - paranoid to the bone ;)

Perhaps if they got out once in a while, they'd see that there aren't Jews on every street corner.

Life / How many Jewish people live in Poland? [145]


Where are the Jewish posters here?


Slander and outright attack?

Care to provide evidence of this? Internet doesn't count - any idiot can write anything on there, including people who are merely trolling Poles.

Work / British English teacher moving to Poznan - work opportunities? [25]

Just noticed this now -

The meeting is every Thursday, 8pm-11pm at Baza Wilda, ul. Gorna Wilda 89/19 - entrance from the side of the building. Ask for the "Couchsurfing/Language Exchange Club" meeting, or just ask people :)


It's a bloodbath in Poznan this summer - the good jobs are definitely only going to those already "in the know". I know at least two other people struggling to fill their timetable with work.


These are closing down by the dozen - one notable name to avoid is "Akces". I know one guy who was getting a mere 25zl/hour to go and teach corporate classes, shocking as it is.


Pretty much.

My suggestion would be to try and see if he can find a hairdressing salon willing to give him a chance - he might find that being "exotic" - someone might just be willing to give him a chance. But again - I can't see the money being particularly good.

The other thing (guessing by the name...) - being Scottish can also count against you here. People are looking for specifically English accents - Scots just isn't wanted. Personal experience ;) (and the reason why I speak quite neutrally...).

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


Not quite.

The non-Poles were actually happier inside than outside - or have you forgotten your history?

It was Poles that caused Poland to fall, not anyone else.

News / HIV infected Nigerian has bitten bus ticket's controler in Cracow! [56]


Obviously you haven't been to Poland, then.

Law / What is better for money exchange - EUR to PLN in Germany or PLN to EUR in Poland? [18]

Yep, that's the usual trick - it doesn't work all certain cases, but in Poland at least, you should always buy to the last station where the train calls before the border and then buy the ticket on the train to the border. And if you go to a specialist ticketing agency, you might be able to buy the ticket to the last station in the country even if the train doesn't stop there - stations won't sell such tickets, however.

Always worth asking at stations how much it will cost to split the journey in this way.

Law / What is better for money exchange - EUR to PLN in Germany or PLN to EUR in Poland? [18]

I did wonder ;)

The problem with Slubice is that the station is in the middle of nowhere, so it doesn't make any sense to deal with it.

(incidentally, to the original poster - when returning via Frankfurt (Oder) - on the return journey, buy the ticket not to Frankfurt, but to Slubice - then on the train, buy the ticket to the border - the border-FFO section is free this way)

Law / What is better for money exchange - EUR to PLN in Germany or PLN to EUR in Poland? [18]

If you're going via Frankfurt (Oder) - you can use Euro on the train to buy the ticket to Poznan. Or you can buy the ticket from the DB travel office.

If you go via Kostrzyn, there's a money exchange there, too.

There's an exchange office (two, in fact) in Poznan Glowny.

Don't waste your time fooling around in Slubice/Frankfurt looking for exchange places - not worth the hassle.

Food / Irn Bru in Poland [20]

And definitely in the Poznan Stary Browar/City Park stores.

USA, Canada / My story. Born In the USA - do I have a chance in Poland, my Mother Country? [69]


Exactly.

I'm of the opinion that nothing in Europe compares to Ivy League schools for a start.

Real Estate / Best Mortgage Lender in Poland? [25]

Phony promises? First rule of doing business is never to do anything "on a promise".

Ripped off? Nope - it's called doing your homework.

Real Estate / Best Mortgage Lender in Poland? [25]

Which former communists are leading the way, tell us?


Bank sharks?

Cases of real "sharking" are quite rare in Poland. There's always cases where idiots have failed to read the contract before signing, but that's their own stupid fault.