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Posts by delphiandomine  

Joined: 25 Nov 2008 / Male ♂
Warnings: 1 - Q
Last Post: 17 Feb 2021
Threads: Total: 86 / In This Archive: 69
Posts: Total: 17813 / In This Archive: 12419
From: Poznań, Poland
Speaks Polish?: Yeah.
Interests: law, business

Displayed posts: 12488 / page 312 of 417
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delphiandomine   
7 Jun 2011
History / What was it like in 1989+ in Poland when the Soviet house of cards fell? [237]

Now - that's an interesting story that's untold in English. If you believe the English speaking world, all underground publications are somehow "good".

Any idea if there was ever neo-Nazi publications distributed during those times?

*I* could be wrong. I could have mixed that with free access to Czechoslovakia.

Maybe - I shall double check.

What's interesting to me is that the Soviet Union was so paranoid that they refused to allow a border crossing between Poland and the Lithuanian SSR - although I guess there wouldn't have been much demand when the direct road from Warsaw-Vilnius went through the Belarusian SSR anyway.

Also, reading "official" publications such as Joseph Stalin's "O językoznawstwie" (do you know the English title, 1jola?) gave me good understanding of the communist crap.

Speaking of this, I once read a transcript of a broadcast from Radio Tirana. Wow, to say the least.
delphiandomine   
7 Jun 2011
History / What was it like in 1989+ in Poland when the Soviet house of cards fell? [237]

Indeed, (AFAICR), Poles could access East Germany using their personal ID, at least for many years, and at least the inhabitants of the border zone.

I could be totally wrong on this, but my research points at only a very limited window for visa free access - between 1972 and 1980. I know why it was revoked in 1980 - but I'm not sure why it took them so long to agree on visa free access to begin with. One of the most ridiculous things was the "Friendship Bridge" in Frankfurt/Slubice - yet it was apparently very difficult to actually get a visa to visit for shopping, for instance.

Thank you for your personal story :)

Regarding voting - I don't know. There is so little historical material available on the Net!

Tell me about it - I'm trying to write a book about the Polish/German border post 1945 - and I've still got so many gaps in my research.

Even one question - about the presence of barbed wire on the Polish/Czechoslovak border is impossible to find a clear answer for. I've found some documents which suggest that it existed, even on the top of Sniezka - but nothing definitive.
delphiandomine   
7 Jun 2011
Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]

The majority of the people on this forum, with a few exceptions, represent an ideal sample of the Polish population. Dumb'n'poor could pretty much summarize it.

Yep, it's almost certain that ol' Havok here is bitter and angry at Poland for some reason.

Does your father sail out of Gdansk, by any chance?
delphiandomine   
7 Jun 2011
History / What was it like in 1989+ in Poland when the Soviet house of cards fell? [237]

Few people were allowed to travel abroad, even fewer outside Warsaw Pact + Yugoslawia, and emmigres avoided visiting PRL embassies.

The travel situation is something that I'm really interested in - for example, the problems caused in 1990 after German unification with Poles suddenly having their free access to West Berlin cut.

spiegel.de/video/video-1070489.html

This video is well worth watching, even if you don't speak German. It's from 1990 in Frankfurt Oder.

Yeah, yeah, but Delphi was interested in the technical possibility only, as I read him.

Yep, just the technicalities. I'm wondering - because - I can't find any reference to Polish people abroad being given the right to vote in the elections, so I'm wondering if it was in force during PRL times. For instance - wouldn't loyal party cadre want to be seen to vote, especially if outside the socialist bloc?
delphiandomine   
7 Jun 2011
Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]

The Jagiellonian University the only Polish University fully accredited in most countries.

You really do talk a lot of crap, LOL.

"fully accredited in most countries" means nothing at all. All degrees awarded in Poland are accredited by the Polish Ministry of Education - which - in turn - is recognised by the EU as being a competent authority to award degrees. The EU in turn is recognised by pretty much every country in the world as being competent.

Unlike America, there's no such thing as "unaccredited degrees" in Europe.

Other Universities in PL are light years behind everyone else.

Really? That's why Poland keeps winning all sorts of international competitions, especially in computer science?

Then again, you wouldn't know this - toilet cleaners tend to know nothing about universities.

Polish schools are poorly equipped and have no money for cutting edge research or any research lol as a matter of fact.

Tell you what - instead of blowing off your fat American mouth, why don't you come to Poland and see some of the research for yourself? Naaah.

You know - I can't help but think that you're probably the bastard offspring of some Polack - hence the hatred towards Poland.
delphiandomine   
6 Jun 2011
Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]

He is just finished secondary school....

There's your answer. In a country with widespread free education available, anyone who doesn't even finish high school is always going to earn a pittance. The same, as in most countries.
delphiandomine   
6 Jun 2011
News / What must be done to improve politics in Poland? [72]

That is the problem in Poland right now.

Thanks, but Poland already had 44 years of people telling us how to run our businesses. Enough is enough.

And yes, people want Poland to be like the West. They don't want Poland to regress to the dark days of 1935, with rampant Polonization and utter refuse to embrace any sort of diversity.

So you think that he should have not signed it?

I think he should have done what he said he was going to do and not sign it. It was his decision as President - as such, I'd have respected his decision. I might have called him an idiot, but I'd have respected him much more for holding his ground. As it was - he bottled it at the last moment. The "No" side of Europe was looking at him - and he capitulated in the face of pressure.

My own feelings are moot - I only think that he should have been man enough to refuse to sign it no matter what. After all the rhetoric against Germany, Russia, et al - he had the chance to really show that he was going to say no in the face of massive pressure. And he didn't - he gave in. And for that reason - I think he was a coward.

This is where your naivity/lack of knowledge kicks in.

Oh please, not Smolensk again. Incidentally, you do realise (as someone who says he understands Poland, you do know what the Constitution says, right?) that Lech Kaczynski had very little power - and was of little to no interest to Russia? Why on earth would Russia *want* such spotlight on them - especially as it's not their style anyway?

Last but not least why have you not answered ironside's question on your Polish language skills?

My skills? Probably about B2 on the European language scale. Writing/speaking is a bit poorer, though. As for my sources of information? I don't watch TV much (never much of interest on there, except when there's cross party debates) - but newspapers - I read Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta Wyborcza, and whatever PiS paper has the most interesting stories. The problem is that the PiS newspapers are behaving exactly like PiS - instead of opposing, they're whining and creating hysterical nonsense.

The problems that PiS have are obvious - instead of acting as the main Opposition in Poland, they're too busy personally attacking PO and blaming the President for all sorts. It's unelectable - and you can see that PiS have done more or less nothing to change that. I'm politically neutral (voted for the local Poznan party in the last elections) - but anyone can see that PiS have more or less caused all their problems because of themselves.

I've said it until I'm sick in the face - if PiS dropped the homophobia, dropped the bonehead thugs and concentrated on a good natured Catholic Socialism programme - they'd have a chance of winning the election. But kicking out the PJN guys in "revenge" and focusing on imagined enemies simply isn't electable in modern Poland.
delphiandomine   
6 Jun 2011
History / What was it like in 1989+ in Poland when the Soviet house of cards fell? [237]

I'm not jealous of nuns. As an outsider I know what I don't know. All I'm saying is this whole process has no checks-and-balances(as far as I've read). And that, not the money,per se, is what's troubling for me. If this money is comming from the tax coffers, I, as a taxpayer, would be concerned.

The money is coming from the taxpayer. In many cases, money that should be going to further the country has gone straight into the pockets of the RCC. Anyone who thinks that it's a good move for the country to give money to the RCC instead of spending it on education and suchlike...well.

The present order is based on communism order, a way of thinking to set it on a Polish civilization is not revolution it is counterrevolution ! And yes I'm supporting counterrevolution!

So, your ideals of counterrevolution involve taking money away from the needy (schoolchildren) and giving it to the rich (the RCC)?

Wow. PO and especially Tusk would be proud.
delphiandomine   
6 Jun 2011
History / What was it like in 1989+ in Poland when the Soviet house of cards fell? [237]

What did they do?

Essentially, there's two big cases - that of the land near Lake Malta in Poznan, as well as the case of the VIII high school.

poznan.gazeta.pl/poznan/1,36003,9016579,Kuria_chce_przeniesc_szkoly_katolickie_do_VIII_LO.html is one article about it, though I'm sure you can find more about it.

This is just the tip of the iceberg - it's now becoming clear that the Church has been involved in some rather shady activities surrounding property restitution - including in one case, dealing with a former SB agent.

Now I know why Delphi has this opinion. I read about the Warsaw nuns who, back in 2008, received a parcel of land in compensation for $11 million lost just after the war to the commies. It turned out to be prime real-estate which the nuns quickly flipped for $85 million!!!! Furthermore, it turns out this "commision" reports to no-one and its decisions are final- no appeals no nothing. This is a very interesting story.

It's a story that's going to run and run in Poland. I'm not anti-RCC, but their behaviour surrounding the property (demanding vast amounts of money, etc) is just unbelievable. It's safe to say that both the Communists and the RCC have stolen from Poland - just in different ways.

Yeah! I know that kind of Catholics they donate nothing anyways, they are just bad mouthing CC, tell them from me to go and f....themselves!

Really? One of them donates 10% of her salary to the RCC, another donates handsomely every year, and some of them give their time too. If you think that such people should "go **** themselves", then the RCC is quite literally ****** - because these are the people that keep it going, not the people handing over 2zl a week.

How much have *you* donated to the RCC this year?
delphiandomine   
6 Jun 2011
Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]

One agrees that there are rich people in Poland and certainly in central Warsaw all indicates that you are living in a modern country, but try going to a country town and things change, not in the sense of seeing people starving, but job opportunities and ability to get enough money to buy a house/apartment.

But what you're forgetting is that the cost of living is drastically lower in the country towns. I can provide you with one great example.

In Poznan, you're looking at around 150-200k to get a small 2 room flat in an area with no decent public transport connections (basically, no train/tram). In towns such as Oborniki Wlkp. - the same money will buy you a large flat or small house. Don't forget that village traditions these days almost dictate handing over a vast amount of cash to newly wed couples - so they're well on their way to begin with. Anyway, the decline of the countryside is nothing new - the UK is a great example of this.

You also forget to take into account that many people in such small towns bought their properties really cheaply when they could - so they have no mortgage to pay, unlike city dwellers.
delphiandomine   
6 Jun 2011
History / What was it like in 1989+ in Poland when the Soviet house of cards fell? [237]

So - by your logic, if you have a huge building - you have a huge building to give away.

For what it's worth, I know quite a lot of Catholics who were appalled by the actions of the Curia in Poznan - many of them vowed never to donate a single thing to the (somewhat frequent) appeals for funds for them after this.
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
News / What must be done to improve politics in Poland? [72]

Oh puuuleeeaaaaese. They had to go with them in order to be in government.

They didn't have to - Marcinkiewicz's minority government actually was working okay. But - as we all know - Kaczynski then took power for himself (by pushing through the coalition) - which led to their eventual fall. If PiS had simply carried on as a minority government, they would've managed to serve the whole term - fair enough, they wouldn't have been able to push through many things - but minority governments led by moderates do tend to be successful at the next election. Jarek shot himself in the foot by trying to rule himself - he was unacceptable to PO, and, well - who the hell would consider Lepper and Giertych to be suitable coalition partners except someone desperate for power?

Why PiS never tried a coalition of themselves, PSL and SLD is a good question - although Kaczynski's rabid anti-Communism (what are you hiding, Jarek?) meant that couldn't work. It might not have actually been a bad government, all things considered.

Anyway, according to PiS wisdom - they called an early election in order to win decisively. It was a fair enough strategy - they could count on LPR and Samobroona's vote collapsing and those votes transferring to themselves - the only problem was that their arrogance caused them to overlook the fact that there were a lot of angry people who were going to go and vote simply to remove them from power. Don't forget - they did increase their share of the vote in 2007. As I recall, Lepper in particular knew that he was a king-maker, and wasn't afraid to remind Kaczynski of this fact.

It was nothing to do with "risking their own position" and everything to do with seizing power for themselves. They didn't have the room to bargain with LPR and Samobroona - PiS needed the support of at least two other parties to pass any legislation whatsoever. Hence - it wasn't entirely a bad strategy to call early elections.

How does this change the fact that a lot of corruption went on [probably still does]? This is what PO and the anti PiS media do they manage to turn the situation around and make those who found out about the corruption seem to be in the wrong for the way they found out. Absolute crap.

So what? PiS are staying out of power for a long, long time - thankfully. Most people would rather have PO and corruption than PiS and corruption - at least PO are ruling somewhat competently. Don't forget, what characterised PiS was the use of the security agencies to further their political agenda. PO have more or less kept away from such things.

He did not want to sign it and initially did not but there was so much pressure on him not only from Europe by the opposition that he eventually signed it. If he got what he wanted then there would be alterations made in it to suit Poland more before he signed it.

He was a coward. Lech didn't have to sign it at all - the fact that he did shows him to be what he was - a weak, malicious President who opposed many things for the sake of it. Instead of making excuses for him - perhaps you want to explain why he signed it despite having the ability to veto it repeatedly? The Government (and the SLD) didn't have the votes to overrule the veto - if he was half the man that some people make him out to be, he would've simply vetoed it.

Oh yeah absolutely nothing to fear from Russia now that Poland is in NATO. They have out back at all times now. If you think that you are just plain ignorant.

So, you think that Poland, a country in which Germany (and the UK to an ever growing extent) has significant interests, would let Russia invade? You must be kidding - if this were true, how can you explain the massive investment made on the Eastern border by EU funds?

Your paranoia about Russia is one reason why PiS lost - ordinary Poles know that they've got nothing to fear from Russia nowadays.

Actually I do pay attention I watch it almost every day and see what is going on.

TVP has been abused by politicians for years, there's nothing new there. PiS did exactly the same thing - do you need reminded about how "their man" was fired and then barricaded himself inside the building? Anyway, PiS's inability to win over the media is their own fault - you can hardly blame TVN for being against them when Jarek has been so vocal about them.

At the end of the day, PiS have no-one to blame but themselves. Kaczynski had a golden chance after the Presidential election - if he had conceded defeat with dignity, ordered PiS to shut their mouths for several months and let PO get on with governing - they would've been doing just fine. People actually liked Kaczynski's human face - it was electable, and if he had continued on the same path - they could've very well given PO a black eye in the local elections. But - he blew it. His mental problems came back, they removed the "doves" who could've won the election for him - and now they're on the path to a final devastating defeat.
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]

There are 196 countries in the world and the above applies to each one of them. It all depends on the individual.

There's plenty of well educated people earning terrible salaries in the UK for instance - academics in London, anyone?

Switzerland is one of the very few countries where people working "lowly" jobs are earning enough to live on.
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
News / What must be done to improve politics in Poland? [72]

Do you even watch TV?

TVP was full of pro-PiS nonsense until recently - even going to the extent of broadcasting stuff about the Smolensk conspiracy theories. In fact, the only station that could be said to be against PiS is TVN - with good reason.

Rzeczpospolita supported Jarek, or have you forgotten that?

Gazeta Polska is far more pro-PiS than even Nasz Dziennik these days. It's also #2 in terms of circulation last time I checked - so it's about as mainstream as it gets.

Anyway, if the mainstream media is so absolutely against PiS - why don't they concentrate on winning their support rather than ranting about bizzare conspiracy theories?

PiS have *no-one* to blame but themselves for the current situation.
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
History / What was it like in 1989+ in Poland when the Soviet house of cards fell? [237]

Of course it is. If someone is renting MY property, it's MY right to collect the rent.

Nice of you to know that you put personal greed over the education of children.

Don't you think that the RCC are somewhat shooting themselves in the foot by taking away a school from children, just for extra money that they don't particularly need anyway?

We were talking about selling the restored properties. As usual you are switching subject as you go. Ain't gonna play.

Usually, the properties returned were accompanied with cash payments. The land near Lake Malta in Poznan should be of interest to you - not only do they want the land returned, but they also want a huge cash payment - which the local courts have agreed with.

Funnily enough, the average man in the street only got his property back - no extra cash.
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
History / What was it like in 1989+ in Poland when the Soviet house of cards fell? [237]

Where's it coming from, then?

Remind me, where is the cash coming from to pay the compensation claims made?

Ah yes, it comes mostly from local government budgets. Where do they get their money? From the central government. Who gets the cash from...let's see...the taxpayer!

Unless of course, you think it's entirely acceptable for the RCC to demand a million zloty a year from a school.
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
Travel / ISIC and travel in Poland [8]

Alas, it's due to some absurd legislation. While Poznan MPK (or more accurately, Poznan city council) accepts the ISIC card, the railways are covered by a different system, which only allows discounts for students in possession of a valid Polish student ID card. The card your girlfriend has is what they're looking for - the validity is confirmed by little stickers on the back of the card. Nothing else will be accepted - I know a couple of people who have had problems in the past with this.

It's worth pointing out that ISIC discounts on local transport depend very much on the company/local council - what's valid here might not necessarily be valid elsewhere.

(shame I didn't know you were going to Wroclaw on Friday - I'd have sorted you out with a free lift from Wroclaw to Poznan!)
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
History / What was it like in 1989+ in Poland when the Soviet house of cards fell? [237]

They could not handle their restored properties. They would simply sell it to the highest bidder...

Exactly what's happening in Poland with the RCC these days.

The fact that the RCC was able to make "a fast buck" on the back of restitution is pretty damn unpleasant as a taxpayer.
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
News / What must be done to improve politics in Poland? [72]

Actually the coallition did not disband due to the people not wanting them, it was basically because they proved that there was corruption in Samoobrona who did not want to continue on with PiS so PiS did nto have a majority anymore. Originally they wanted to be with PO who declined so they had to go with Samoobrona.

Of course there was corruption within Samobrona. That was no surprise to anyone - in fact, the biggest surprise of them all was that PiS were stupid enough to go into coalition with them to begin with. Kaczynski's strategy seems to have been to join with them, discredit them, then take their votes. Unfortunately, the strategy backfired as the moderate PiS voters turned away from them in droves in the process.

I do not understand why people want to stick to PO and are frightened to death of PiS having power. PO is corrupt. Some of the stuff they are doing right now is a joke. What is wrong with PiS? What is it peopel do not like about them?

Perhaps people find the CROSS SMOLENSK CROSS CHURCH WITCHUNT COMMUNISTS EVERYWHERE CROSS politics a turn off? Perhaps Kaczynski proved that he isn't to be trusted with power, combined with some very frightening rhetoric about "punishing' people? Perhaps people don't want to see the Government obsessed with seeing enemies everywhere and instead want Poland to move forwards? Perhaps people don't like their Catholic Socialism?

As for PO being corrupt - sorry, but if you knew a thing about Polish affairs, you'd know how PiS used the security organs to spy on their political enemies. That alone is enough to keep them out of power for a long, long time.

Being Patriotic?

Patriotic? Most of their supporters are engaged in defrauding the state on a systematic basis. Also, patriotism - what patriotism? How about you tell us exactly PiS did in 2005-2007 that was "patriotic"?

Sticking to Catholic morales and nto 'modernising' to be 'trendy' like most of West Europe?

Catholic morals would suggest forgiving, rather than conducting witchhunts like PiS did.

Fighting for a better deal for their country in the EU rather than kissing EU ass and doing what the EU says?

What better deal did Poland get? As I recall - President Kaczynski signed Lisbon.

Being weary of the Russians?

Poland's in NATO - what does she have to fear from Russia?

For those who do watch Polish television and have made up their mind because of it to dislike PiS I do not blame you. The Polish media has done a remarkable mind job in recent years and have made PiS look shockingly bad. Mainstream media is generally anti PiS. It is so obvious that it hurts and the fact that they keep on trying to convince us they are neutral is laughable. Not that they do not criticise PO, they have to otherwise it would be a little too obvious. Generally though, a person with a brain is able to see it.

You clearly don't pay attention to Polish media, otherwise you'd know that there exists a rather vocal opposition to the current Government in the media. Not a day goes by without some sort of slur being made against PO/the President.

Anyway, insulting the media is just another example why PiS simply cannot win in Poland. Instead of working with the media, PiS chose to fight them at almost every opportunity - and roused people into screaming abuse at TV screens. And you wonder why the majority reject them?

JonnyM it seems you do not like PiS but have not given reasons why they are so terrible and why PO or whatever party you are in favour of, is better.

The reason is simple - for all PO's faults, they're stable and not prone to 'teraz kurwa my' moments. People like stability - although it does seem that the voters will reject the current PO/PSL coalition in favour of a more socialist PO/SLD coalition. No big deal, though.

For what it's worth, PiS without the extremists are very electable in Poland. But no-one wants a repeat of the 2005-2007 years where the Kaczynski twins caused Europe to laugh at Poland - they prefer the current situation where Poland is seen as a reliable partner.

But if you want one very good example - tell us why Poland dramatically fell in the press freedom rankings between 2005-2007? Those of us with a brain like the freedom of the press, thanks.

That's a matter for the voters. They already decided.

And continue to decide.

My statistic about Jaroslaw Kaczynski winning 2 elections and losing 11 still holds.
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]

Surprisingly well ? I remember you saying how many new cars you see on the streets... actually this is a really good indicator, so here we go: annual new cars sales in Germany: ~3 million, in the UK, France, Italy: 2 million each, in "poor" Spain: 1 million, in little Belgium 550 thousand, in OK country to live ? 320-330 thousand.

And many of those "new" cars end up in Poland and suchlike after a couple of years. In some countries, such as Switzerland - you're looked at oddly if you retain a new car for more than 3 years.

The value of the cars on the road is what you should be looking at, not the amount of new cars.
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
Life / Driving across Poland (zigzag style) [15]

An odd practice on Poliand's 2-lane highways is an added half-lane on either side which forces drivers to drive with two wheels on the verge to let speeders by.

Nothing new. It's been done in other countries for years, particularly Ireland.

Anyway, no-one is "forced" - it's just polite to move over if someone wishes to overtake, in order to make it easier for them. However, many people don't do it.

Used to be that a driver drove along at his own speed and it was up to the speeder who regarded it as too slow to overtake on the left if he felt so inclined. When was this practice of rural zigzag driving introduced?

delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
News / Don't let Poland become like my country, France. [630]

EU is the death of Europe as we know it.

Really? Ever been to the EU?

If "the death of Europe" is a single currency, economic and political union, free movement of citizens, no border checks, etc - then I dread to think what is the "life of Europe" according to you.
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]

And you've never paid for anything in cash before?

Must be some hell of a bubble you live in if you can't see that so-called "poor people" are often the ones milking the system for all it's worth. Tell you what - next time you go to your guarded car park, ask the jolly attendant when his next meeting with ZUS is.

Next time you want to talk about corruption, let's start with the somewhat systematic abuse by many "poor" people in society.

Heck, I can think of one popular tourist attraction in Poland which made the toilets free. Why? Because the workers were stealing money constantly from the people that paid for the toilet - even 25zl a day was adding up to 500zl extra a month, tax free.

Or another example? The amount of technical checks done in Poland on cars are highly suspect in some cases. Do you honestly think that workers aren't pocketing extra cash just to issue a certificate, like was done in many European countries in the past with similar insecure systems?

Or, or, shall we talk about the vast amount of corruption that was taking place on the Eastern border with Customs officers?
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
News / What must be done to improve politics in Poland? [72]

With that said though can anyone explain to me the main parties?

Basically, there are four main parties.

PO - Platforma Obywatelska - who are essentially modern European Christian Democrats. They're a classical centre-right party, with some elements of left wingers who chose PO over the socialist party due to history. They represent (more or less) the "intellectuals" from Solidarity. It's the party of business. They're pro-Europe. They command around 35% of the vote.

PiS - Prawo i Sprawiedliwość - essentially Catholic Socialists. They're left wing in economics and welfare, but right wing when it comes to social teaching. They're the party that's seen to be the "Church" party - although the Church itself is desperately divided when it comes to them. Essentially, it's the party for those who are more socialist in their thinking - believers in welfare, etc. A strange party in many ways - they simply don't fit into any neat "box". They are essentially the "worker" faction from Solidarity. Their power base is made up of the Church and the Solidarity Trade Union. Commands between 25-30% of the vote.

SLD - Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej - the post communist party. Social democrats in nature, and tend to be supported by both young people who are sick of the two main parties and older people who liked the Communist system. They are essentially the party of anyone who rejects the mainstream (this can be seen in their stance - pro abortion, pro gay rights, etc). They're also supported by the other big trade union - OPZZ. Commands about 15-20% of the vote.

PSL - Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe - centrist party, with their power base in rural areas. They're the current coalition partners of PO, and tend to be seen as "votes for hire". Quite a sensible party, and they have a broad populist appeal. Commands about 5-10% of the vote.

Wikipedia has far more indepth information.
delphiandomine   
5 Jun 2011
Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]

Poznan - Suchy Las, Pruszczykowo, the condos down by the river whose name I forget, help me out here people :)

There's much more - those houses in Grunwald (especially near Promienista) are very much middle class, as is Lawica. The Polanka estate is very much middle class too (with flat prices going for more than a house in Frankfurt Oder), as is places such as near Morasko. Then there's all the other areas, such as the area near the Nowe Miasto tax office which is full of middle class types.

Isn't Suchy Las one of the richest gminas in Poland?

I think you,ll find that most of these people are in positions where they can take advantage of this, I quote " scheme ". So what about the poorer people ?
Yes, they remain poor and enslaved to the fraudulent crooks.

Problem is, it's pretty obvious that you don't know Poland well. If you did, you'd know that it's often the "poor man" who exploits the system - often claiming benefits while working on the side, for instance. Many of the "poor people" working in jobs such as car park attendants are often long term "disabled".

Or we can talk about those "poor" clerks who work for the bureaucracy. Many of them, especially in smaller towns, are able to exploit the system easily by taking backhanders. Planning officer in a small gmina somewhere Podlaskie? Hah. Or what about all those semi skilled workers? Asking for an invoice is often met with a sneer. I had to get some work done in my office - and it took several phone calls before I found someone able to provide an invoice!

Sorry, but when you want to talk about Polish reality, perhaps you might want to spend some time here before commenting. The Poland you talk about probably never actually existed.
delphiandomine   
4 Jun 2011
News / Tusk drops Chinese COVEC building the A2 motorway in Poland [83]

I still think the GDDKiA has little money which reflects the state of Polish finances

Could be that they're simply trying to screw over the Chinese - after all, paying late is a Polish national tradition ;)

Does this mean though, that the GDDKiA will be the concessionaire for Lodz-Warsaw, like they are on the bit of A2 between Lodz and Konin?
delphiandomine   
3 Jun 2011
News / For all Americans worried about Schengen in Poland, dont worry about it. [142]

I love the arrogance - I can just imagine several guys, in army clothes and with guns, being told by some insolent yank "get your aunt out of Chicago first!".

Haha, the border guard I know would love to encounter this - she has some rather nice jail cells for such people ;)