News / Hungary Veto on Poland Sanctions may not happen [108]


Sounds like a nice idea but impossible in practice, the best solution (minus evidence of actual crimes or treason) is to let time and attrition take its toll.

To be quite honest, the desire to dismiss officers wholesale and bringing in inexperienced loyalists is a planned move to plunder the resources of the state (did the 15 million zloty credit card bill Macierewicz racked up not alarm you? it should)

How much money has Macierewicz plundered from the public tills on his personal torture **** fetish (aka smolensk "investigation" which has yielded nothing)?

Does the transparent attempt to stuff election oversight by loyalists to a single part not bother you?

Yes, the constant calls for EU "unity" are a pain when it means "do what Germany and/or unelected technocrats have decided" and Atch seems to have a lot more tolerance for that nonsense than you or I do but what PiS is doing is an attack on the basic fabric of civil society and a return to the worst practices of the PRL with nationalist and church slogans instead of communist ones.

It's not terrible at this second but it's getting worse and the obvious and transparent goal of PiS is to make delegalize resistance once a critical mass of the population want them out.

History / Is there a Western/Eastern divide in Poland like the Northern/Southern divide in Italy? [38]

short answer: yes, Poland has a major... civilizational divide between East and West similar (if not as extreme) as the Italian North South divide or the English North South divide. Hungary also has an East West divide with the Danube serving as the dividing line.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland_A_and_B

the biggest differences in Poland are traced to the partitions with those parts that had been under Russian or Austrian control lagging in infrastructure, economic (and sometimes social) development though the major cities of Warsaw and Krakow are exceptions to that (though following the general rule of developing cities and neglecting the countryside

History / Do Prussians still remain in Poland? [33]


was it grozdova (grape in bulgarian I assume serbian's similar) mixing grape (rakija) and grain (vodka) sounds like an express ticket to a massive wish-I-was-dead hangover...

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


I know some of the the theoretical historical differences, what I'm saying is they don't seem to count for much in a globalizing world and they are liable to count for even less in the future.

From an outsider's point of view (who's known some people from both though I've never lived in either) they seem like different types of apples rather than apples and oranges (if you follow the metaphor).

History / How come Poles like Russians but not Germans? [216]


An old joke, in the US if youaccidentally bump against a stranger on the sidewalk you both apologize (unless you're in NYC in which you sue each other)

In Germany, you're outraged at impertinent cheek of the clod who just had the temerity to get in your way.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


boo hooo

I'll assume you mean 'culture' in the socio-anthropological sense and compare the two as they scored in the international values survey pioneered by Geert Hofstede

Anyway, in turns of comparative values, according to Hofstede's framework Ireland and the UK are overall pretty similar with significant differences in just 2 of the 6 dimensions measured

individualism - Ireland is about two standard deviations below the UK (meaning they're traditionally have bigger families and group loyalties are a little more important)

long term orientation - Ireland is about two standard deviations below the UK (meaning that the Irish value (religious) Truth over secular Virtue and are more interested in the past and present rather than in making longterm plans for the future.

where I would expect Ireland to differ (Uncertainty avoidance) due to Ireland's catholic past.... they have the same scores.

So... a little different, hardly completely different.

History / How come Poles like Russians but not Germans? [216]


nearly? my impression is that Germans are only happy when they're antagonizing everyone around them

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


English is the overwhelmingly dominant language in both and that is unlikely to change (especially in Ireland)


Maybe, how religious are the Irish now? AFAICT the UK is mostly formerly Christian post religiou except for maybe a small practicing christian minority and a muslim minority and a few smaller groups

What percentage of Irish go to church regularly, abstain from meat on fridays, go to confession, are against state sanctioned divorce?

What do you mean by culture and howare they different? In comparative value surveys I think they're pretty similar except that the Irish show lower individualism (more or a preference for larger families)

landmass, they're both part of the british isles...

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


So.... name 5 things that are completely different between the two countries.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]


What BS reason did Belgium give for not extradicting the criminal Puigdemont who organized a referendum clearly in violation of the constitution (approved by a majority of all eligible voters)?

Like so many appealing ideas about European unity it crumbles the first time it doesn't suit...

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]

The original German article says that when the culprit was unknown/not found they (the vast majority of cases) they 'assumed' that the cultprits were native Germans. In other words the government and press are lying.

In other news, the state of Saxony-anhalt had its first gang rape report in years when four asylum seekers attacked a 56 year old woman with a broken bottle and raped her. their defense is they're muslim and they had no idea what would happen if they drank alcohol (they were all drunk).

mz-web.de/dessau-rosslau/brutal-und-hemmungslos-ueber-eine-stunde-und-im-wechsel-an-opfer-vergangen-29829854

Thanks Mama Merkel! Thanks Greece for being so useless! Thanks expats in Poland who support this evil!

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]


Good, you've been here, didn't like it and now you're back in your home, that beacon of prosperity and fiscal responsibility.

There is absolutely no need for you to ever think about returning to Poland or writing on this forum. Go somewhere else and be happy.

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]


All you're saying is that she's stupider than a box of hair. Muslim migrants in WEurope have a terrible track record in terms of employment, she'd have better luck importing rocks than getting middle easterners and north africans into productive jobs.

If they want hard working immigrants who'll try to assimilate then she should have looked west to Latin America (ime Latin Americans love, almost worship, Germany).

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]


Craziest thing written by Crow..... Now _that_ is one intense horse race. I hope someone is collecting them for posperity.

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]


That is not the job of the German Chancellor, the job is to safeguard the interests of citizens, legal residents and others in Germany in that order, it's not to relieve the suffering of dysfunctional crazy middle easterners (except ot the extent that it doesn't interfere with job number one)


More fool her for getting into bed with a bunch of leftists with a track record that screams "we can't be trusted.

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]


the problem with that is there are far too many waiting for a chance to be the next one off the boat to Germany compared to actual Germans and most of the ones she invited in (metaphorically if not literally) are too culturally alien and/or too stupid to ever be anything but a massive anchor pulling the economy down.

Did you see the story about how only 20% of thos in a special intensive language course could pass a German test at the B-1 level (rock bottom for being able to hold a job) afte 1300 class hours?

Travel / Anyone here use/used Ryanair? Flying from/to Poland [31]

I flew them once roundrtip (Poland-Malta) and from what I'd read and heard was almost expecting them to whip the passengers while rifling through their wallets. It was actually pretty okay, very comfortable (no sardine crowding like wizzair) and cabin staff (Italians on those flights) was polite and competent.

But there do seem to be management issues, I suspect this tantrum is cover for deeper organizational problems...

UK, Ireland / 31 year old Polish man causes accident under influence of alcohol and kills 8 [198]

In American usage 'nationality' tends to refer to citizenship and a phrase like "a French national" means someone with French citizenship (not necessarily from native stock)

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]


yeah, she needs to money for her 2015 welfare pets

UK, Ireland / 31 year old Polish man causes accident under influence of alcohol and kills 8 [198]


Agenda, agenda, agenda.

His new kick is trying to make Poles feel collective guilt (so that can be tied to WWII and reparations to a certain group unhappy at a recent law)

Agenda, agenda, agenda.

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]


sorry I don't have his number, you'll have to set up a date on your own

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]


young mens' rear ends? ka.....BOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]


sodomy, dont' forget the sodomy

old joke: How do separate the men from the boys in Greece?

answer: With a crowbar!

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]


Four sizes, chumpo! Four sizessss!!!!!!


If you think that it's possible to open reparations back up without opening up issues like borders then rotsa ruck.

News / Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]


I'm not Polish but this is a dead-end issue and raised by the government for the sole purpose of diverting attention from PiS hijinx

(bubbling up into public view with ministers giving themselves bonuses and ridiculous credit card charges by Macierewicz and company)


those talking about reparations absolutely do not want good relations between Germany and Poland, they enjoy the mutual hatred


Will Greece sue Turkey? You can't squeeze blood from a rock (or induce feelings of responsibility in a Russian government)

Law / Question about Polish public nudity law [54]


Wouldn't the details of why he was kicked out of the US have been passed on to Poland? I was assuming he's under some kind of passive observation (or would be if the police were more competent)

Part of his shtick here is to provoke outrage, why give it to him? He and his fixations are boring and the quicker he realizes that the better the chance that he'll look for the type of psychoanalytic help he needs.

History / De-communisation in Poland? [38]


because the definition of 'tricky' changes over time? I think that name changes should be thoughtful and considered and not carried out under the influence of emotion... but that's the only way they were changed...

Love / Marriage problems in Poland [50]


Preachin' to the choir.... remember when there were rumors that ole Kaziu was a secret member of Opus Dei? I guess there's no glimpse of a cilice on his thigh (I have noooooooo intention of seeking out the video, just the stills are enough to instill trauma...

Love / Marriage problems in Poland [50]

I would happily spend the rest of my life without seeing that... brrrrrrrrrrr

Love / Marriage problems in Poland [50]

Some quick googling and reading between the lines in the Marckiewicz / Isabel case...

He got sick of how stupid and lazy she was (not uncommon in such marriages) and she wanted a baby and he didn't.

I'm not sure if her desire for a baby was the normal biological desire, a desire for a financial hook into his hide or some combination of both (probably the last)

Not sure how that translates into the niceties of the legal system though my common sense says, she's young and doesn't deserve anything more than transitional support (with a deadline) while she looks for and finds a job.

There doesn't seem to be any indication of him cheating (she surely would be trumpeting it all over the media). If there was cheating it was probably her (he'd be less likely to publicize that)