Off-Topic / Penn and all I owe you an explanation... ref to Polish vs. British vs. American [38]


What is it with trolls on this forum threatening violence towards people?


I feel sorry for him for the fact that it looks like his parents have never told him the truth about what his family was doing - his almost utter naivety about what his father would had to have done is staggering.

Kinda obvious that he was bullied at school, though.

Life / Differences in Polish, American and British mentality [237]


The only losers in this case are the ones who feel the need to look down on others.

Off-Topic / Penn and all I owe you an explanation... ref to Polish vs. British vs. American [38]


Bloody hell. Insulting you, your mother, your accent (if he was Polish, he'd know that Poles don't tend to have thick accents in English, unlike many other Slavic countries), over nearly nothing. What an utter baby.


Of course we did. He brought it on himself, though. And you can't blame people for picking on a racist prick like himself, especially one who was giving Poland a bad name. We tend to be quite defensive about our adopted country, after all.


The correct conclusion is that PennBoy is an asshole - and we baited him, baited him and baited him until he got himself banned. Goodnight.

Off-Topic / Penn and all I owe you an explanation... ref to Polish vs. British vs. American [38]


He started on YOU?

Jeez, what a dick. I can understand him sending abuse in PM's to me and Harry (we've tortured him constantly about his family for days now, no wonder he snapped) - but you? What on earth did you (and Torq) do to him?

Off-Topic / Penn and all I owe you an explanation... ref to Polish vs. British vs. American [38]


We know just fine where he came from - he came from a line of Communist, collaborationist scum who fled Poland in 1988 just as it was looking likely that the Communists would be overthrown. And instead of admitting it, he's choosing to act like he's superior to Poles.


Rubbish. I know some Polish Americans who are doing just fine for themselves without being vicious, cunning and competitive.

That's just an excuse for acting like an asshole, nothing more.


Americans couldn't care less about you (as witnessed by the lack of participation in the VWP) and as for Poles? They've got no time for people who go on about being Polish, yet who live abroad and do next to nothing to actually improve Poland.

In PennBoy's case, hatred is understandable - he's the offspring of collaborationist scum.

(why was he banned? did he finally have the mental breakdown that was coming for days now?)

Life / Differences in Polish, American and British mentality [237]


Wow. That was a rather clinical self-observation.

History / When will Russia and Germany return the things they took from the Polish in Poland ? [49]


See, I think people like you are admirable - you like Poland, you visited the place several times and you're willing to one day consider the idea of volunteering here. Yet you aren't saying "I'm POLISH" - you recognise where your forefathers came from, but you don't claim to be from there, too.

As for taking me up on this - if you can fund your own way here and can afford to pay your own expenses, you really won't have any problems whatsoever in finding somewhere to volunteer - orphanages are always screaming for volunteers (and not toys), for instance.


The American ones are American, that much is certain.

Study / Which university (erazmusem)? Poznań, Lublin, Krosno and Białsko-Biała. [17]

The Polish filology course is fine if you're into heavy going stuff such as Old Polish - on an academic level, it's very rigorous. But it may not be a good choice for Erasmus.

The Polish for Foreigners courses are still dire from what I've heard recently.

UK, Ireland / UK: How to create a perfect scapegoat? [54]

Not true either, it's from a tabloid rag. The truth is that a single Pole will get about 50 pounds in cash (so what, about 900zl a month) plus some accomodation paid for.

In terms of weeks? Unlimited. But you'll be forced to lose your dignity as the government sends you to job interviews for humiliating jobs such as factory floor cleaning - and worse, you'll have to prove that you've been applying for jobs.

Hardly worth it.

And furthermore - reports from the UK suggest that the UK has been zealously enforcing the "habitual residence test" - more or less disqualifying anyone who is clearly there to claim benefits.

UK, Ireland / UK: How to create a perfect scapegoat? [54]


They aren't 200/week.


Poles did attack plenty of Brits (and each other) too, don't forget.

One of the rather underreported things is just how much crime was brought to the UK - a friend of mine is of the opinion that Poland simply exported the criminal scum to the UK.

News / Lustracja - should Polish 'collaborating traitors' be allowed to hold positions of power? [16]


Indeed, and it would decimate many of the heroes of Solidarity and no doubt cause a lot of trouble for PiS MP's as well. In fact, the impact would be brutal - Polish political life would more or less start again from nothing. The only reason that it worked in Germany was because the West replaced the Eastern elite.

Might not be a bad thing actually. Getting rid of the Communist/Solidarity dinosaurs on which Polish political life is based is no bad thing for the future of the country. I mean, this whole Tusk/Kaczynski nonsense has been going on for 20 years now - enough!


Not a bad idea either, given that their parents may be able to influence them negatively.


Aha, linguistic issue - we use lustration to describe the process.

But in all reality, wouldn't anyone who rose to the top in a sensitive position be almost certainly some sort of collaborator?

History / When will Russia and Germany return the things they took from the Polish in Poland ? [49]


Problem is, although it's easy to be a patriotic Pole on the internet, it's much harder to actually get off your ass and start volunteering with alcoholics/in nurseries/etc.

Poland hasn't got much in the way of volunteering, so I'm sure that PennBoy, being such a proud Pole, will take me up on the offer to start volunteering with children. I can even organise the kindergarten for him :)

Life / 'Whites only' nightclubs in Warsaw? [51]


The funniest thing is when they rant about Ukrainians - completely failing to understand that mixed Polish/Ukrainian marriages were very common when their grandparents ran away.

Off-Topic / How would Poles react to a visit from Queen Elizabeth? [72]


From what I've read, the majority of the Irish people living in the South don't want Northern Ireland. You do realise that "Britain" subsidies NI to quite a heavy extent - money that the RoI doesn't have?


The Good Friday Agreement makes it perfectly clear that the people of Northern Ireland have the right to self determination. Of course, there are still plenty of Irish people in NI who prefer the British welfare state to the Irish one, especially in terms of health care.


Very strange sort of occupation. While the OUP's actions between 1921 and 1973 were suspect - these days, everyone seems quite content.

As far as I see it, any self respecting Irish person should respect their President's wishes.

History / When will Russia and Germany return the things they took from the Polish in Poland ? [49]


It would've made a hell of a lot of sense - and I'd go one step further and ban the payment of any financial compensation. The abuses by one particular institution with headquarters in its own tax haven is a scandal waiting to emerge.

The recent case where someone was awarded their old property back despite willingly giving it up in the 70's was a disgrace.

Off-Topic / How would Poles react to a visit from Queen Elizabeth? [72]


Isn't this all because McAleese (great President by the way - Poland really should look to her as an example as to how the President should behave) had it as her personal ambition to host a State visit by the Queen?

Certainly, I hope it happens - it will tell everyone once and for all that peace has arrived.

History / When will Russia and Germany return the things they took from the Polish in Poland ? [49]


Poland can have everything back when she gives everything back to the Jews, Germans, Ukrainians and more.

It's a can of worms that Poland doesn't want to open - hence why Poland has an opt-out from certain parts of the Lisbon Treaty.

What you don't understand, as you aren't Polish - is that the average Pole has no desire to fight with Germans over property. It happened, it sucked, we're moving on. Demanding money from Germany now would do nothing but antagonise Germany - and achieve the square root of **** all. You'd also see Germans flooding into Poland to demand payment for what was taken from them in 1918/1945. Do you really think that Poland needs, or wants this?

Life / 'Whites only' nightclubs in Warsaw? [51]


Wow. I like the fact that he was more interested in making sure that the cute black guy didn't go near the woman, than being interested in the woman herself.

Study / Swedish folks in Poland! (I want to apply for university and live in Poland) [21]

The problem is that stereotypes matter a hell of a lot when it comes to someone's future. Look at Poland - we Brits know that Oxford/Cambridge entry depends on a lot more than just grades, especially if your father is a member of the old boys club. But Poles? They don't know this - they just know that the degree is from a world class university. They've got no idea that someone who blagged his way into Cambridge and left with a 3rd class degree is really just a waster - they've got a paper!

Likewise, someone from Sweden is going to see that no Polish university is ranked higher than 350 in the world - and they've going to deduce from this that Polish education sucks.


Pretty much bang on. Cheating in Poland is part of the system - and unfortunately, people are then surprised that people cheat and lie in business.

The Polish system isn't all bad - the problem is that there's a vast amount of people who owe their position more to nepotism than to talent - and these same people make dreadful lecturers.

This is, after all, the system where a good businessman isn't welcome to teach, but some dreadful PhD is. I leave it to you to decide what value a PhD in Business might have.

Life / 'Whites only' nightclubs in Warsaw? [51]


You even notice such things? Cute - you obviously have a thing for them :)

(I guess you want them to score with you, not the girls, huh?)

UK, Ireland / UK: How to create a perfect scapegoat? [54]

I suspect we might see the introduction of a system which is based on input - probably 12 months work needed to access benefits irrespective of nationality.

Life / Are there G U M Clinics in Poland?? [9]

Funnily enough, my dentist speaks English - all under the NFZ. Appointments are easy to come by as well.

There are definitely English speaking people out there - it's just a matter of calling around until you find one.

Life / Im a Black American Moving to Poland. Worried about adaptation. [47]


Indeed - especially if there's property involved, be very, very careful.

Life / Im a Black American Moving to Poland. Worried about adaptation. [47]


On a purely practical note - I recommend going and staying with them for a couple of weeks before committing to move.

Polish families can be rather claustrophobic - and while it might be nice to begin with, you might get an unpleasant surprise when Babcia starts breaking eggs over your children's heads to ward off evil spirits.

Work / Price of live entertainment in Poland (Torun) [4]


Are you on facebook? I can point you in the direction of someone who knows a lot about this sort of thing if you are :)

History / When will Russia and Germany return the things they took from the Polish in Poland ? [49]


I think you live in the US and should keep out of internal Polish affairs, personally.


Indeed. Poland knows fine well that as things stand, she'll have to give back a hell of a lot - and the country is suffering from the weight of Polish claims, yet alone foreign claims.


Sounds like typical racist Polonia nonsense.

Law / Father's mother was Polish - can I get Polish passport? [3]


Depends on a lot. Yes, it's fine to have both.

First question - when did she get a British passport?


It's cheaper in some respects. For instance, it's much easier to get a visa to Russia with a Polish passport than a UK one. You can also get a handy ID card, useful for EU travel - and the passport is about 1/3rd of the price.

Study / Swedish folks in Poland! (I want to apply for university and live in Poland) [21]


The problem is perception - anyone in Western Europe is going to look at a Polish diploma and think "hmm..". Polish education is absolutely unnoteworthy - and has the systematic problem of vast amounts of higher education lecturers churning out a vast amount of rubbish for the sake of "points".

On the whole, Poland is a poor place to go for education if you have the chance to get it in Western Europe.


Swedish one. Polish education is riddled with cheating, poor teaching and a system that exists solely to provide more and more jobs for the boys.

News / Irena Kwiatkowska died on March 3, 2011 [14]


Senility does affect people.