Life / What is Poland B as opposed to Poland A and the otherway-round. [45]


Oh, that too. They call PO "Liberals" - but they really aren't liberal at all. Some members are, sure - but as a whole, they're quite the conservative party - similar to Germany's CDU I guess?

About the only clear cut thing in Poland is that the socialists are genuine socialists!

Life / What is Poland B as opposed to Poland A and the otherway-round. [45]


I'm not dreaming though. Look at Solidarity et al these days - they are demanding more or less communist ideals. They'll never say it, but why do you think Solidarity accepted power-sharing? They didn't want (as a whole) a free market - they just wanted their share of the spoils.

Even Solidarity's 21 demands are hideously socialist in nature.

Come on, listen to Kaczynski talk - the man isn't interested in democracy.

Life / What is Poland B as opposed to Poland A and the otherway-round. [45]

I haven't forgotten, but there are a significant amount of people out there who want a truly Polish version of it. I get the strong impression that if Poles had been offered true Polish communism along the Yugoslavian model, they would've taken it.

Just listen to Kaczynski speak - he'll never say "socialism" - but he's as socialist as it gets. And his message *is* very popular.

Law / Motorcycling Business In Poland [10]


I hope the rainy has stopped and the cold has started!

Life / What is Poland B as opposed to Poland A and the otherway-round. [45]

And to be fair, this represents almost perfectly who is voting for who. The election was a clear battle between socialism and capitalism, nothing else.

In some respects, you can hardly blame them - what do mohair berety, uneducated workers and those without much have to gain from Komorowski? Nothing. He's not going to do anything about making Poland a more fair, just country. Kaczynski, if nothing else, gave them some sort of knowledge that they would get to continue as now.

I think people are very, very stupid when they ignore the real socialist tendencies in Poland.

For what it's worth, I'd like to see Poland do a hell of a lot more for village kids who are all but written off from the first moment.

News / Giant Jesus Rising in Świebodzin ( Tallest in world ) [323]


Anti Jewish, homophobic and illiterate.

Not a bad combination, I must admit. Certainly says "Poland B" to me.

News / Giant Jesus Rising in Świebodzin ( Tallest in world ) [323]


Because sadly - the people in Poland who fund such things tend to be the same ones who will give up money to Radio Maryja and suchlike. I don't think it's much of a secret that in rural, deprived areas - priests carry much more influence than in the cities. I suspect Swiebodzin, being notable for absolutely nothing except being the first traffic jam in over 1000km, is such a place.

I think it's very notable that the priest in charge has declined to say how much it cost - probably because it would be denounced as a massive waste of money in a town that desperately needs it.

It's why I think saying "West is A, East is B" is nonsense - Lubuskie is pretty damn poor.

News / Giant Jesus Rising in Świebodzin ( Tallest in world ) [323]


Fits, doesn't it?

I don't know one normal Catholic who supports this statue. Even some of them who weren't against it as such were pretty appalled by the golden crown.

A crown of thorns, yes...but a golden crown? Hardly strikes me as something that Jesus would have wanted.

News / Giant Jesus Rising in Świebodzin ( Tallest in world ) [323]


No, but I'm going to go to bed now and watch it, cheers :D

News / Giant Jesus Rising in Świebodzin ( Tallest in world ) [323]


They didn't have planning control then ;)

Life / What is Poland B as opposed to Poland A and the otherway-round. [45]


Hell yes. Lubuskie especially is hideously deprived - if you drive from Poznan to Kostrzyn nad Odra, you can see quite a few random, seemingly ex-PGR places that look economically ruined. They don't even seem to be doing a good job of attracting people into the Kostrzyn-Slubice Special Economic Zone.

I've always thought that the modern day Poland A/B wasn't based on location, but rather education.

News / Giant Jesus Rising in Świebodzin ( Tallest in world ) [323]

Possibly being the magic word ;)

No doubt there'll be rumours of miracles there next year.

I still want to know what idiot gave planning permission for this in the first place. Or was it the age-old problem that because it's the Church, you can't say no?

News / Giant Jesus Rising in Świebodzin ( Tallest in world ) [323]

I don't think it's any coincidence that this statue has gone up in one of the most economically deprived areas of Poland.

I just think it's sad that they chose to spend so much money on vanity projects rather than improving the quality of life of the people living there. I've been there, and the place is going to suffer a hammer blow when the motorway bypasses it - economically, it's ****** already - what hope does it have next year?

News / Giant Jesus Rising in Świebodzin ( Tallest in world ) [323]

Indeed. Yet the same people who profess Jesus to be "KING OF POLAND" are the same ones who rant about Jews. Rather funny, given that he was born a Jew, lived as a Jew and died a Jew.

By that vein, Michnik is far closer to Jesus than any "Gazeta Polska" reader.

News / Giant Jesus Rising in Świebodzin ( Tallest in world ) [323]


Ah, paranoid about Jews yet again. Funny - almost everyone that attacks Gazeta Wyborcza is almost certainly anti-semtic too.

As for telling lies - remember, it was "Gazeta Polska" that was lying about the last moments of a dead person, not Gazeta Wyborcza. Easy mistake, I know - they both start with "Gazeta".

Anyway, you're just jealous that Michnik is far more of a hero than you'll ever be, keyboard warrior!

News / Giant Jesus Rising in Świebodzin ( Tallest in world ) [323]


Well, how the hell something so tacky (the crown? please...) got planning permission is beyond me!

Still, being Poland, no doubt it'll be covered in reklama soon..

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


I think a lot of that can be attributed to older, stuck-in-their-ways men refusing to change their habits. For a lot of older Scots, the pub was a ritual to be taken seriously. Once the smoking ban came in, they stopped going (stuck in their ways) - especially to the "social clubs" that provided ridiculously cheap booze for them.

A lot can also be attributed to the high price of alcohol in general in pubs - before, people would go out to get drunk. Now, because supermarket booze is much, much cheaper (even cheaper than in Poland for a normal beer) - people are staying at home, getting drunk and then going out.

How can pubs possibly compete when a pint is about 50p in the shop and 3 pounds in the pub?

Genealogy / Adopted from Poland - share your experience [6]

You know convex, one day, I'd like to help those people who were adopted from Poland. Not sure how, or what, or anything really - but it strikes me that many of them would be really grateful for being able to write an e-mail or phone someone to talk about it.

UK, Ireland / UK residency without living in the UK? [15]

It's the "umowa o dzielo" contract - the legality of using it for ongoing employment is of very dubious legality, but as it stands, they aren't doing anything about it. You'll find a lot of teachers in Poland are employed under this - technically, they are "creating" works - and they have costs of 50% - meaning an effective tax rate of 9.5%.

No ZUS, of course.

It's a great option if you just want to earn a lot of money quickly and you do something that involves some sort of "creativity".

Law / EU citizen's residency Registration Certificate: Poland application form [14]


There's no restrictions anymore for EU citizens, as far as I understood?


In theory, you can't - the letter of the law says that you must apply for the permanent residency certificate. But in practice, as always, it depends on the situation - if you don't apply for permanent residency within 6 months of the expiration of the temporary residence permit, then you simply go back to square 1.

(and of course, they might just process a renewal of the temporary residency certificte too - depends on who is dealing with it)

UK, Ireland / UK residency without living in the UK? [15]


Sure, it's quite common where someone refuses to disclose what they've been doing - it's one way to force them into admitting what they've actually been doing.


It's not that bad really, when you take into account all the deductions that can be made.

Certain professions can attract a 9.5% tax rate - which is very good!

UK, Ireland / UK residency without living in the UK? [15]


And more to the point - Poland knows fine well about people trying such a stunt, and they've been slamming them with huge ZUS and tax bills. I have a friend in the tax office who told me that very often, they're tipped off by jealous neighbours - and that if the person isn't forthcoming with informationa bout their income, then they just hit them with a tax bill "based on the judgement of the inspector".

USA, Canada / Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why. [868]


Wroclaw MPK is a joke - totally disorganised, old trams...I don't blame you for not wanting to use them!

Travel / Very dangerous defrauding trend started in some hotels in Krakow [49]

How can they be used, tell us?

Law / Have a Polish drivers licence for one year. And 16 points already. How bad is it? [8]


Yep. If they catch you driving when over the points limit, then they'll seize the licence and prosecute you for driving while banned. The licence will then be returned to the home country, with a note saying that they've been banned from driving. Driving bans are (in theory) respected throughout the EU, EEA and CH - though there's no effective system as of yet to actually track these.

Law / EU citizen's residency Registration Certificate: Poland application form [14]


Usually, no, there isn't two options available. But in Harry's case (as the 5 year card is expiring) - then yes, there is. In fact, some offices won't even allow another 5 years - they'll insist on going for permanent residency. But for most ordinary people, they can only register for 5 years in the first instance.


Harry, don't reapply for the 5 year piece of paper, it's a waste of time. You want to go for the permanent residency paper instead - it's valid for 10 years and involves pretty much the same nonsense as the temporary EU residence permit - so you might as well go for the piece of paper that lasts for longer ;)

Work / Do they have language cafes in Poland? [12]

Hobby group, there's really not much scope to commercialise them. Of course, a dedicated place for such groups could work - I know in virtually every city, they have problems finding a stable venue - all because they tend to take up a lot of space without much in return. A lot of people don't drink or eat anything at such events - so it doesn't really work economically.

For such a dedicated venue to work, the trick would be to make the place stand on its own for lunches and early dinners - then for it to be turned over into "language exchange" in the evening from say 8pm onwards. That could work nicely - but still, I don't think it would work economically.

Work / Do they have language cafes in Poland? [12]


It's an interesting idea, but it would probably be best to use the concept in an existing location that's doing well as opposed to trying to get it off the ground from scratch. The problem is that you'll get plenty of people who will only come to socialise and not spend anything. I know the Language Exchange Clubs have had huge problems with this - thankfully in Poznan, our one is fine because we only have one meeting a week in a place owned by someone who likes the idea.

USA, Canada / Being a Pole, Do I need a USA visa when changing flights in NY? [12]

Err...

140 U.S. dollars = 390.362507 Polish zloty.

I'd say that you need to read more carefully in future ;)

Study / Considerations for US Family Moving to Poland (esp. Int'l Schools) [36]


It's more that the ESL market is so fragile that it's no place for someone in her position. So many schools are full of nonsense and false promises - fine and well if you're like me or Fuzzy, who can simply turn up, explain the situation to the students, then wait for the fireworks. But someone who absolutely needs the money at the end of the month to pay for the rent, the child, etc doesn't have this luxury - because if they get fired, they'll be in a tough spot.


Sure, it's not a bad way in. But who looks after the daughter if both parents are working? His first job is going to be a badly paid Callan-esque job - and those kind of jobs will almost universally demand evenings and mornings. She has more of a chance (there is a distinct lack of female native speakers) - but again, with teaching, it's mostly mornings or evenings. Childcare isn't that cheap in Poland, and to make any reasonable amount of money, you'll have to commit to the 5-9pm shift.

Likewise, she's inexperienced - so she's going to have to get to grips with the Polish mentality towards business (worthless promises, made up stories, etc) - again, that's not a nice situation to be in. I'm sure if someone like Fuzzy was told "we can't pay you, we don't have the money" - he'd know how to deal with it. But someone new to Poland would be all "...****, now what?" - which is probably ok if you're single and carefree, but not ok if you have a daughter to house and feed.

The best advice I can give is that if she's set on Poland, then she needs to find something with accomodation included. It's just too risky otherwise.


As is the case for the vast majority of newbies in Poland. Don't get me wrong, there are people doing very well for themselves who have families - but they have the distinct advantage of having lived here for a while, they know how Poles behave and most crucially - they have plenty of contacts with a partner who has a stable job with a permanent contract.