USA, Canada / Why are Polish restaurants not successful in the USA? [698]


Is it because the ingredients aren't as good, or is it just that the restaurants aren't up to much?

USA, Canada / Why are Polish restaurants not successful in the USA? [698]


Oh man.

MediaWatch. Seriously.

The plural of pieróg is pierogi. We also don't call it Pierogi, as it's not a proper noun. Honestly - learn! Even Martha got it right! (edit : no she didn't, she lapsed into that age-old mistake)


Oh jeez. Kiełbasa isn't a 'food', it's simply the Polish name for sausage.

Embarrassing, especially for someone who claims to be Polish.


You actually want to claim a lying criminal as being Polish? We don't think so.

News / Military power (Poland #21 in the world) [97]

Girlfriends and families should be working for themselves, rather than pushing an 18 year old into the army just so they can stay at home and drink.

Professionals? If they were professionals, they'd be rising through the ranks. And as the above link shows - the money they can earn does rapidly rise with experience. And this is just basic pay - not counting allowances and suchlike.

insomnia.pl/ZAROBKI_W_WOJSKU_POLSKIM__AKTUALNE-t637144.html


Most? Where? Certainly not in Poland, what with the demographic problem. I mean, it would be good if 18 year olds were starting families - but - they aren't.

News / Military power (Poland #21 in the world) [97]

Uh, what expenses will a 18-19 year old private have, apart from rent?

I'm also wondering how many 18-19 year old privates will actually have families to raise.

Unless of course, you're suggesting that Poland is somehow unique and entering the army at the lowest level is common for people in their mid 20's.

News / Wal-Mart coming to Poland? [146]

Blimey, not here. They're about on the same level as Carrefour - too few tills, too many agency staff and precious little in the way of common sense. They actually lost nearly 10,000zl of sales from me a while ago - I had to buy a load of audiovisual equipment and they had some really good prices - but the utter lack of customer service caused them to lose it.

At least in this part of Poland, Auchan is by far the best supermarket. It's clean, bright, they sell a wide range of things and crucially - can man their tills properly. And they also employ older people who do the job really well.

News / Military power (Poland #21 in the world) [97]


That's really not bad at all - I'm glad to see that they're paying well to attract decent candidates.

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


Western minded? I hardly count the influx of Poles from Kresy "Western-minded" - they were poor peasants who were essentially of unclear origin. As for "making efforts" - there hardly was much choice in 1900's America - especially given the racism towards those immigrants.


America isn't declining - that's just the nonsense spouted by sensationalist media networks. It seems surprising that someone such as yourself, who claims to be "MediaWatch" falls for such simplistic propaganda. Sure, the country might be in a bit of debt - but it's nothing that can't be wiped out quickly by the United States.


I wasn't aware that any American territory was 'seized'. More nonsense spouted by dubious media outlets.


...

I rest my case.


Not a large nation? It's the 11th largest country in Europe - which includes Russia and Turkey. In the EU, it's the 6th largest country by area and by population.

You really don't seem too clued up when it comes to Poland.

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


So why is America the world's foremost superpower, then?

For that matter, why is Poland so weak, despite being ethnically pure?

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


Actually, they do get along just fine. In fact, for the vast majority, religion is a non-issue - despite three major religions living in one city.

I notice you haven't answered my questions - surprise.


Let's go further, shall we?

Let's talk about India. Can you, in 100 words or less, explain why it functions well as a democracy, despite having a vast amount of different ethnicities within it? Your theory clearly states that such diversity doesn't work - yet it does.

Perhaps we could also talk about the United States of America - very ethnically diverse, yet the foremost superpower in the world. Why is that?

But still - I'd like an explanation of the Targowica Confederation and of 1981 PZPR.

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

Who was it that conspired along with Catherine of Russia, again? Hmm..


So, MediaWatch. Tell us about the "Targowica Confederation" - were they, or were they not ethnically Polish?

Also, tell us about the PZPR. Were most of the Party members ethnically Polish, or not? Perhaps you could tell us about the ethnicity of the First Secretaries?

Perhaps you might also want to tell us about one of the blackest days in Polish history - December 13th 1981. Could you tell us if the leaders of WRON were ethnically Polish or not?


Tell you what, MediaWatch. I'll pay you to go to Sarajevo - and we can play a game. I'll show you 100 people - and you have to decide whether they're Serb, Bosnian or Croat. If you get 50% right, you can have the flight for free - if you get less than 50% - then you have to return the money to me. Not difficult, surely? I mean - such an expert on racial issues as yourself should easily be able to tell the difference.

Either accept, or shut the **** up about European issues of which you know nothing. If you did, you'd know that many of these people you talk about are actually French, British, German, etc regardless of religion and skin colour. I know it's impossible for you to understand, what with your belief in racial purity and so on - but Europeans are mongrels and always have been.

But hey, perhaps the most multicultural state in Europe - Switzerland - has been thriving for hundreds of years. Kinda puts a damper on your pathetic argument, doesn't it? That's not to talk about another multicultural state - Scotland - which flourished for hundreds of years. We also could talk about Spain if you wish, what with all those separate people all in one big, successful country.

You just don't get it, do you?

News / Iwona Wieczorek - one year since her disappearance [8]

How honourable, doing something for the sake of promoting yourself.

I'd respect him a hell of a lot more if he did it for free and kept his mouth shut as to his involvement - egotistical prick.

USA, Canada / Why are Polish restaurants not successful in the USA? [698]


What's Italian water ice? I know I've never heard (or seen in Italy) of Italian sausage being grilled with onions.

Funnily enough, I actually quite like the Polish interpretation of Chinese food - yes, even including the obligatory surowki. It can be a bit strange sometimes, but on the whole, it's actually not bad.


But hardly any of it is actually Polish. I don't recall ever seeing "Russian Crepes" (!), "Austrian Lamb Stew" (Lamb? In Poland?), "Norwegian Strudel" (err) or "Borscht" (.....seriously, A 'Polish' place calling it that?) on a menu in a traditional Polish restaurant here.

PennBoy is right - the food has stayed as it is, and for that reason, it'll never do well in America.

Law / SMEs are the engine room of the Poland's economy. Do they get the respect they deserve? [4]


It's a difficult one.

For instance - taxes. For businesses, income taxes aren't really crippling - I can make all sorts of deductions, and my tax burden came out (after all the deductions, but including ZUS payments) at about 14% last year - that's really not bad. ZUS is a problem, what with the high rate kicking in after 2 years - but at the same time, if the Government lowered this - we'd have a generation of people who wouldn't put any money at all aside for their retirement. So - I wouldn't say I'm being fleeced at all.

Red tape? It's not as bad as it's made out to be. The biggest problem in Poland isn't the rules, but rather the inconsistent application of them - however - if you know the rules and the law, it's often not a problem.


This is the real killer. When you look at the taxation involved - it's just absolutely prohibitive for any small business that needs flexibility to hire people under umowa o pracy. I'm looking at hiring three or four people at the minute - and it's scary how much is swallowed up in taxation if they have a proper contract.

At the same time - Poland allows the use of umowa o dzieło contracts - which are fantastic for the small employer.

All in all, it could be much worse, could be better - but on the whole, it's not bad.

The biggest problem, I think, is the labour law.

USA, Canada / Why are Polish restaurants not successful in the USA? [698]

That link proves one thing - that Polish restaurants aren't particularly successful in the USA.


It's just not a particularly attractive food choice.

Perhaps someone brave (ie, not any of the usual suspects on PF) should take the chance and try and bring Polish food into the 21st century. Difficult, though - it's all meat and potato based, and very heavy.

News / Iwona Wieczorek - one year since her disappearance [8]


That's perhaps why - the man has no talent for actually 'detecting' anything. In fact, those of us who are a bit more enlightened about Polish affairs would suggest that perhaps he's not being paid enough.

Travel / From Łódź to Auschwitz - route question. [20]


jakdojade.pl

(end unhelpful post :P)

Travel / From Łódź to Auschwitz - route question. [20]


It's a 30 minute bus ride.

Travel / From Łódź to Auschwitz - route question. [20]


Aha - what I always do when searching on that site is just put the city name - and don't select a station when it prompts you to do so. It works quite well for most of Europe - and usually directs you to the best station to use.

Travel / From Łódź to Auschwitz - route question. [20]

There's at least four a day according to rozklad-pkp.pl/?q=en/node/143 - and at least 2 IR. Several more possibilities exist with a connection - there's really no need at all to go near Warsaw.


The trains from that area all call at £ódź Widzew. But certainly - no need to go near Warsaw on the return - it's needless.

Go to the link I posted above - it has an English version, and it will explain all. Just stay away from EX trains and you'll be fine :)

Travel / From Łódź to Auschwitz - route question. [20]


Uh - wouldn't it be far more expensive to do Warsaw-Krakow-Lodz by IR than simply taking the TLK from Krakow-Lodz?

Life / Will Polish people be accepting that im only half polish? [63]


Still bitter that you spent 5 years in Poland teaching only Callan?

The pen, the pen.

Real Estate / Buying a property in Poland to rent out from the UK [82]


They may not fall much at all - salaries keep rising, the EU is still pouring a lot of cash in, Poland is investing - in general, it's not a good market to predict at all.

I'd say - if you're happy with the price and have the money to pay for it - buy and don't check the prices of similar flats after you've purchased.


Yes - don't do it. The GBP/EUR (and by extension, PLN) rate has been swinging all over the place since 2004 - the PLN alone went from 7 to 4.1, then to 5.5, then kept swinging between 4.4 and 4.8 in recent times. I'd actually recommend trying to get a GBP mortgage - especially because no-one can really predict how the GBP/EUR relationship will go.

Real Estate / Buying a property in Poland to rent out from the UK [82]


One of the best? It grew by 1.7% last year - hardly worth shouting about.

As for the mentality causing depressed property prices - sorry, but that's nonsense. If it was true, why are prices actually on the high side (compared to income) in major Polish cities?

History / Worst leader of the PUWP? [3]


Without a doubt.

History / Looking for a good book on modern Polish politics [4]


Alas, there's no such thing - such books are heavily politically biased - I'm pretty sure there's no work in English with is impartial.

Your best bet is to do what I did and read lots on Google - there's a wealth of old news stories out there about Poland, which gives you the idea of how things were.

Life / Will Polish people be accepting that im only half polish? [63]

Not including you, that's for sure.

History / Polabia back to Slavs? [113]


It's not a conscious policy - it's just that teachers are unable to follow the programme correctly, simple as that.

As for the IPN archive - isn't it almost customary for politicians with power to interfere with the archive? For me, it's one of the worst things about Poland - that the archive has been so heavily meddled with. I dare say when the dinosaurs finally die and we can move away from post-PZPR/post-Solidarity labels, there'll be some very big fingers pointed at them.

As for the newspaper - surely it's just a legacy of bitter infighting within Solidarity? All the accusations of the paper being "stolen" - but for me, it was just another pawn in the collapse of Solidarity. Don't forget - that same editor did far more for his country than most people.

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

Britain is equally bad, just in different ways.

The disaster that was British policy in Northern Ireland from 1919-1990 is a great start :) The amount of racism, bad attitude and some downright criminal policies towards the Nationalist minority in NI during the lifespan of the Northern Ireland Parliament - well - some Poles would be very proud.

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


Maybe I've got it wrong - but this is the example I'm familiar with - pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chyr%C3%B3w#Collegium

I thought they were very influential until the 2nd world war?