News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Spike, ol' man, the sketch was tacky way back then, and it's even tackier nowadays:-) At least Polly the chamber maid, managed to answer that chap in correct German when he asked about when breakfast is being servedLOL

When are we going to let go of the stereotypes? They're only slowing us down and impeding true multi-cultural communication.
On the other hand, if you only want to talk to yourself, at least you'll always have a wrapped audience......OF ONE!

Love / Don't know whether she loves me or not ? [64]

I would tend to agree with Atch on this point.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

I don't believe Germany is intentionally "trying" to dominate any more than an unusually talented anybody in a particular area of endeavor is trying to be better than the rest. It's more a question of basic competence and that Germany throughout much of her long and checkered history as evinced a supreme talent for, among other things,

organizing and efficiently compartmentalizing, something which tends towards industriousness, hence leading to superior productivity.

Horowitz wasn't going out and trying to take over the field of classical piano. He was just so darned gifted, he made nearly everyone else seem inferior, that's all.

He couldn't help being good, it's just the way he was.

Now, I'm not saying Germans per se are superior or any such rot. However, their experiences have possibly given them an advantage not afforded others for any number of reasons.

Love / Don't know whether she loves me or not ? [64]

Polish women typically can come on quite strong and often aren't the least bit shy about expressing exactly how they feel at any given moment.

Go easy, tread lightly....and come prepared with plenty of armor:-)

I speak from experience.

Life / Political correctness in Poland [210]

@Rich, what you and people who think (or don't think) like you have forgotten is that it is WE whites who establish the standard for other whites to follow.

Were we black, Aboriginal or Innuits, our standard might well be very different, not "better", not "worse", but different......very different.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

True, Spike!

Nobody is above reproach:-) Especially me.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Or it merely covers your butt so that you can appear blameless once posting outrageous garbage.

Life / Political correctness in Poland [210]

Depends once again on how one measures "accomplishment".

Although the West boasts technological accomplishment non pareil with any other, we've got smog, air pollution, run-away crime, rancor, killings, etc...all because of material wealth.

I enjoy my condo, car and physical trappings of comfort as much as the next person, I realize simultaneously, that it's only because of conditioning, and not because there's some Platonic ideal out there stating that this is the "only or even "best" way to be happy.

I repeat, you are imprisoned by your own ethnocentricity.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Being a self-professed "hobby historian", you couldn't really argue with that statement...at least not cogently at this point, even if you tried.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Look who's talking.

When was the last time you were humble, fella? Or is there a convenient double standard here?
:-)

Life / Political correctness in Poland [210]

Dirk, Kipling was a known racist, even among subalterns:-) The "White Man's Burden", much like "The Noble Savage", are myths, rooted more in legend than fact.

Such merely seeks to confirm among white people how "superior" we are to them.

You really ought to join Jensen and Shockley out in California....wherever they might be. You'd fit right in. Or how about that fellow Murray.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

I hear a great deal of usually negative stereotyping on this Forum.

While tempting to stereotype, it must be apparent that all nationalities represented constantly try to fight those negative images!
When someone writes "All Poles...." or "You Germans....", there's a hell of a difference between that and posting instead "Many Poles who have been quoted as saying...". A majority of Germans interviewed.." etc.

If somebody's an idiot, a racist, jerk or general nuisance, it's not going to make the slightest bit of difference in the long run whether they're are ethnically Polish, German, Jewish, Finnish or what have you.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

I trust Spike31 was only being sarky with his postLOL

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Some have criticized Schulz for being too far to the left.
One of the first German politicians in recent memory NOT to have gone through the usual educational path, having apprenticed
instead as a book dealer first:-)

Language / Learn individual words or sentences? Best approach? (Polish learners) [6]

Makes perfect sense to me.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

The one you suggested, of course:-)

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Interesting idea, Bratwurst Boy. Why didn't I think of that?

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Obviously I was only kidding there, folks. Though why should being a member of the "wrong" party stop anyone?
LOL

Language / Learn individual words or sentences? Best approach? (Polish learners) [6]

I can only concur on this point with both my Forum colleagues!

Add to that though NEVER BE DISCOURAGED by anybody who, hearing you struggle, insists on trying to speak English; hold your own and keep on pitchin',

When I was living in another European country in whose language I wasn't arm-chair secure, I too would typically look stuff up in the dictionary the night before,

try working out a reasonable facsimile of a dialogue in that language, and then going respectively to the bank, store, wherever, and trying to communicate what I

wanted to say. And it actually worked! No English necessary and I ended up learning a lot of Spanish in the process which I could use both at work and at school.

Try to avoid, at least in the beginning, getting bogged down in grammar, especially Polish grammar. Spanish hasn't as many bramble patches and is much more straight forward for native Anglophones. If case endings are wrong etc. sure it's confusing for the other person, but generally they'll at least try to understand.

If all else fails, try just writing stuff down which seems to be confusing and probably within a few seconds or so, they'll get the point:-)

Powodzenia,

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Thilo Sarazzin for Chancellor?!

Just a sick joke, sorry:-)

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

If it's any of the above-mentioned four, just hold your head between your legs and kiss your ass bye-bye.
The AfD or PEGIDA in the wake of Pittsburgh are simply too overwhelmingly frightening to even consider in jest!

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Having just quit the CSU, allegedly for the sake of "unifying" her badly splintered party, can't say as I blame her!
Only thing is, who will steer the ship of state with any of her practical experience? I wouldn't trust Soeder, von der Leyen, Seehofer or Lindner as far as I could spit.

All right, she overshot with the Syrian question, not reckoning on anti-Semitism coming from other sources, not necessarily white European.
Maybe this will be an opportunity for her to retrench and decide how best to serve her people.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

[moved from]

Nearly ALL of Ms. Merkel's actions to date have been predicated on trying to "rectify" her nation's often unspeakable recent past. The Syrian migrants issue is but the tip of the iceberg.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Brazil has had a rather large Mercedes plant, I believe in the north of the country. The workers are of course Brazilian native, but the chief quality inspectors, as with most outsourced products on the market from countries such as Germany or Switzerland, aren't Brazilians, but rather Germans and Swiss!

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

From your lips to G-d's ear!

Classifieds / English speaking solicitor in Wroclaw [2]

First of all, the main thing is to locate a solicitor fluent in your native language. Probably any number of competent lawyers in a big city such as Wroclaw, Warszawa, Krakow etc. will know excellent English. On the other hand, there are doubtless plenty who don't, therefore, I'd recommend (short of procuring such a person before coming to Poland) hiring a well-seasoned interpreter, recommended to you either through personal contacts or the local Polish Consulate in your country.

Merely my thoughts on the subject.
Good luck!
tarsape@gmail.com

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

"Deutsche Qualitaet" certainly got a black eye with that whole Volkswagen business.
Dirty shame on the German automotive industry, complicity during WWII completely notwithstanding.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Haber, Ernst Lissauer ("Hymn of Hate" - "Bomben, Bomben nach Engeland.." Bombs, bombs, bombs a-way to Merry Old England..), Otto Weininger...numerous Jewish-born conflicted German Jews who almost seemed behind the Nazi cause, yet wound up in the same ashtray aka oven as some poor wretch from the shtettls of Poland.

News / "It's too late for Germany" (but not for Poland) [1798]

Slavictor9,

Apparently you're not aware that the Jews en masse were blamed for the Kurt Eisner fiasco, although many of Germany's half-a million or so Jews often remained staunchly 'kaisertreu', others (a minority though) even tried to curry favor with Hitler, hence the infamous "Judenraete" just before the outbreak of war.

The old saying still applied: "Was man GLAUBT ist einerlei, in der RASSE liegt die Schweinerei!" With Hitler, compared with Stalin for instance, it was never the Jews' faith or creed which was the issue. Had that been the case, Jews would have mostly converted to Christianity, said a few words, been blessed by a cleric and end of story.

The ghastly reality was that no matter how hard even the most patriotic Jews attempted to "become German", they were NEVER "German enough" for the Nazis.

Sadly too, after WWII, certain respected and well-published historians, among them Andreas Hillgruber of Cologne University, sought to tacitly justify the Shoah by claiming that the German people were so terribly afraid of a repeat of 1918 and the Eisner Putsch in Bavaria, that their fear extended to associating ALL Jews with Communism, again, throwing the baby out with the bathwater...even if the waters were still clean.

News / Polish Domination by Germany [69]

Perhaps the economic success of the mighty German motor has given the impression of somehow "dominating" Poland, but I can assure you, Ms. Merkel is no fool and no jingoist, Polish domination being the absolute farthest thing from her mind, y'all can trust me on that one!

Incidentally, The Federal Republic doesn't discriminate; she makes practically EVERY European economy feel inferior.
:-)