News / Victory in 'anti-Polish camps' campaign in US [170]


Blimey. If you told certain elements of Polish society that Poles were working alongside Jews, they'd get very very angry. Nice to see that the American Polonia doesn't have such issues. Unfortunately, Poland proper still has lingering anti-semtic issues that need to be resolved.


Wasn't the last "free" election in Poland sometime in the 1920's?


No-one cares that much about Poles and Poland. It's a poor Eastern European country of little importance to anyone. In fact, the only people who care about Poles are Poles themselves.

Law / Polish Citizenship for a foreigner whose parents was born in Poland [174]


You're not eligible - your great great grandmother wouldn't have been a Polish citizen, because Poland wouldn't have existed at the time of her birth. Ancestry doesn't count alone. For what it's worth, even if there is entitlement, your grandmother has to claim her Polish citizenship before you can attempt to do so.

But I think it's almost certain that your great-great-grandmother would have been stripped of any citizenship at some point.

If you want, I can point you towards a Polish lawyer who speaks fluent English who can deal with such cases, but be warned - it's not going to be a cheap process.

Life / Why Poland is "surprised" by winter and snow every year? [192]

Haha, so it happened in one city, and it was only on a temporary basis to keep the rest of the city open. It was also only trucks that were stopped - so ordinary people weren't prevented from entering, either.

Looks like you're the anti-Polish person here, because it's not me that's spreading lies about Poland not being able to cope. Wolf in sheep's clothing, huh?


The UK, France, Germany and Spain all have problems with this. As the "Big Four" in the EU - if they can't manage, what hope does Poland have?

Heck, even the USA can't cope -

Life / Why Poland is "surprised" by winter and snow every year? [192]


I don't, but I'm half your size and not able to beat off murdering axe-wielding Poles :P

Life / Why Poland is "surprised" by winter and snow every year? [192]


Where did this happen, exactly? Proof or it didn't happen.

News / Victory in 'anti-Polish camps' campaign in US [170]


Ooh, anti-semtism as well now?

Keep on going, racist.

Life / Why Poland is "surprised" by winter and snow every year? [192]


Yes, because you can compare a poor European country with two of the richest countries in the world on any meaningful level.


Really? Why do other European countries have just as much problems? Germany suffered badly last winter, for instance.

Ah, I forget, any excuse to criticise Poland. Certainly the sign of the expat that's stuck in Poland.

Life / Why Poland is "surprised" by winter and snow every year? [192]


In Poland, as far as I know - they're not compulsory. The law is only that if you're involved in an accident, then the lack of winter tyres will be taken into consideration. Probably the most sensible compromise - for there's no guarantee that it will actually snow enough every winter.

Life / Why Poland is "surprised" by winter and snow every year? [192]


Nothing wrong with the public transport in Poznan - buses and trams are running as normal, despite tempatures of -14c just now.

USA, Canada / CULTURE SHOCK! (of my Polish finance who visited the US) [210]


That's why Poznan has a higher quality of life, because that appalling practice (outside of the cheapest supermarkets, where it's to be expected) doesn't exist here.

History / BBC - Center for Military Studies - Gerald Kochan [28]


So - essentially the things in question have been sold to a private collector?

Must admit, I'm not sure what the problem is.

News / Smoking ban in Polish bars and restaurants (AT LAST!) [400]


Some places are doing this, but as I understand it - it's not legal.

Mind you, I've seen quite a few cases where the law is being blatantly broken anyway.

News / Will Komorowski be Poland's worst ever president? [72]


Because you, as a typical foreigner, don't understand how Polish politics work. You especially find it difficult to understand that in Poland, "liberal" doesn't have the same meaning at all as it does in the USA. Nor do you understand that the "conservative" Kaczynski actually has very socialist leanings - and certainly, he's far more socialist than Obama.

Kaczynski, with his seducing of the "have-nots" and the trade unions is your typical socialist. He supports the nationalisation of industry, is suspicious of the free market, wants to grant State funding to selected "Solidarność" companies, he supports such socialist policies like giving everyone 1000zl for every child - really, the list is endless. By American descriptions, he would be called "Socialist".

Komorowski on the other hand is your typical conservative - all for the free market, doesn't believe in any such policies, isn't a fan of trade unions. You know, the type of thing that American conservatives like - especially the way that he likes low taxes and isn't a fan of social welfare either.


Evidence? From what, biased, hysterical pro-life sources? Komorowski is close personal friends with several bishops - would they really be friends with someone who was against Catholic teachings?

No, what Komorowski defends is the status quo in Polish politics, whereby it was agreed years ago that they wouldn't bring up the abortion debate in return for the present situation - where it's allowed in very limited circumstances. This is what Polish society (something that you're obviously unfamiliar with) supports in general. We don't need or want the abortion debate to be brought up again - it's better to have a steady law than the situation where the law keeps changing according to which party is leading the conutry.

Incidentally, can you provide me with "evidence" that Komorowski has ever supported the abortion of disabled children? You can't, because he hasn't.


Hahahaha. Marcinkiewicz fell out with Kaczynski long ago over economics - but it was because Marcinkiewicz believed in the free market, not in Kaczynski's socialist policies. Where do you read this rubbish?


Who wants socialism? I don't - but Jaroslaw does.


How can you explain Kaczynski's friendship with and support by Solidarność, hmm? Why does he support the subsidising of inefficient, State owned enterprises? Why does he oppose the privatisation of many Polish businesses? Could it be because he's...a socialist?


Yup. And this is why Kwasniewski mostly enjoyed huge popularity.

Life / How popular is Radio Maryja in Poland? [163]


My feeling is that they were warned by the Government to stay out of it. It was very very suspicious that they kept quiet and didn't attempt to provoke things - I can only assume that Rydzyk knew fine well that taking their side would result in the Government taking a close look at them.

Travel / Accommodation (student friendly) in Poznan [11]

I can recommend this - retrohostel.pl. It's in almost the perfect location, and they have decent standards.

And - well, I can recommend many pubs :P

No, seriously - give me a shout nearer the time and I'll show you round if you want :)

Work / Cost of Living, Average Salaries and Job sites in Poland [263]

Netto or brutto?

News / Polish Foreign Ministry 'prepared' for new Wikileaks material [100]


Ever wonder why a Pole would support the right of the authorities to keep things secret from the people? Very strange.

Work / Cost of Living, Average Salaries and Job sites in Poland [263]


Anyone who deals with qualifications on a professional basis will tell you this. The old "magister" is simply not equal to an English-speaking Masters degree. The post-Bologna Masters is, but - Polish education simply doesn't have a good reputation abroad.

Any Pole who wants to seriously get ahead educationally would be wise to do a BA in Poland and a Masters degree abroad.


Unfortunately, most people don't treat it as equal. There's not a damn thing you can do about it, until Poland reforms the education system to remove the absurdity of someone gaining a Masters degree with 5 years study during the weekends.

Life / Winter 2010/2011 in Poland, is it going to be bad? [114]


Tailgating being the big one, but the usual Polish antics of cutting people up and driving aggressively are being seen here. Worse still, I've witnessed someone pull out in front of a truck - talk about stupidity!

Still odd seeing public transport running, though.

Life / Winter 2010/2011 in Poland, is it going to be bad? [114]


Worse still are the drivers, seriously, what the **** are most of them playing at?

News / Polish Foreign Ministry 'prepared' for new Wikileaks material [100]


Sounds very like it, doesn't it?

Must admit, given that Poles (and Polonius too, if I'm not mistaken) have been screaming for full disclosure into Smolensk - why would any of them support keeping information confidential? Of course, a quick read of what's been released so far says only one thing - that it's interesting, but nothing particularly dreadful. The US obsession with data - what's new?

Though collecting biometric data of officials is something that they would've been proud of in East Germany, I guess :)

News / Polish Foreign Ministry 'prepared' for new Wikileaks material [100]

Well, that's not a surprise that you're against freedom of information :) Fits right in with your communist attitude, doesn't it? I mean - God forbid the people having access to information! They should only have the right to know what their leaders think they should be allowed to know!

And - you claim to be Polish? Any self respecting Pole would be all for information being released, especially where it concerns Poland.

News / Polish Foreign Ministry 'prepared' for new Wikileaks material [100]


Is anyone actually surprised?

On the other hand - I've been reading through the sites, and although there's plenty of insults, is there really anything that juicy here? Childish behaviour, yes - but nothing major.

Work / South Americans living in Poland, what are my chances of teaching English and Spanish there? [23]

Well, the official Polish unemployment rate according to the last data is around 11.5%. The UK is around 7.5%. Bear in mind that you're far more likely to get a job in a country where you speak the language (the UK) than in a country where you don't (Poland). As for being a nice place to work - many language teachers here are without even basic health insurance. If they do have health insurance, then they have to pay quite a lot in taxation (effectively, around 35%).


I've said it elsewhere on this forum, but the problem with Spanish is that it's seen as a "fun" language. It's not taken seriously, unlike English/German - so unless you have a decent educational background in Spanish (ie, Masters degree in Spanish or similar - a BA won't cut it) - it's unlikely that you'll find a good job. The old work permit always comes into play, as well as there being plenty of Spanish speakers already in Poland who want to find work and who have the advantage of already being here and able to talk to school directors.

As for English, it's not impossible, but put yourself in the shoes of a school director - what do you offer them that makes it worth getting a work permit?

If you seriously want to move to Poland, get at least a Masters degree in a discipline related to the Spanish language, work for a couple of years at a university and try and find a job that way. You'll then be worth something.

Law / DELL shifting ops from Ire to PL [30]


Yup, that's essentially it. I've got a book which quotes quite a few leading Germans at the time as saying that they would block any expansion if Poland wasn't included. Very hypocritical when they have kept work permits up until the last possible day, though!

But it was almost certainly a mistake - the difference in the cost of labour is astronomical.

Work / South Americans living in Poland, what are my chances of teaching English and Spanish there? [23]

You're right, it's very difficult. You'll need a work permit for every single job, even if it's for 1 hour a week. Most people won't bother to apply for work permits for all but the most exceptional candidates, due to the bureaucracy and time hassle involved.

If you have about 5000 Euro spare, then you can move here quite easily - you can start a limited liability company, and use this for the basis of applying for a residence permit. It's complicated and tedious, but it's really the best way.

Why Poland, out of interest? Why not Spain?

History / Poland, Lacking External Enemies, Turns on Itself [106]


Well - technically, she does. All she has to do is revoke the EU accession law and Poland is fully independent again. This is the crucial next step of the EU - anything post-Lisbon will have to introduce political integration. And I don't think we'll ever see it - Lisbon is the end of the road from Maastricht.

Life / What on earth is the fascination of Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalese with Poland? [112]

5zl beer?

(was 3zl when I first came here :(((()

Law / DELL shifting ops from Ire to PL [30]

And yet again, we see why Poland should never, ever have been allowed to join the EU at that time.

The only countries that should have been allowed accession between 2004 and now were Slovenia and Estonia.

Work / Average monthly salary in Poland is around 1000 PLN (few hundred bucks). [387]


It's a mystery to me how the real down-and-outs survive - the ones who drink themselves silly every day and who haven't seen a job for years. But then again - the problem is that a lot of them are unevictable from city-owned housing.

But there are plenty of people working on the black market.