USA, Canada / Do many Polish people in America hate Americans? [592]


Bull$hit. I'd be so happy if I could commute to work on train or bus. Instead I have to spend 45 minutes in a damn car, and that's just one way. I could read about 50 pages of a book in that time.


I really don;t get it. Are we talking about wealth or quality education?


Wow! Shouldn;t you have been doing some research instead of typing 25,000 applications? What a fvcking waste of time! See, I sent 0 (that's zero) applications but I was asked to come to the US.

Again, don't blame the school. Blame yourself.

You know what your problem is?
You don't concentrate on yourself or on your own studies and work. Instead you rely on the reputation of a school you did, or will attend. That reputation, however, is not yours, it that of generations before you and perhaps of some of the current one. With thta attitude you will remain mediocre whether you have a diploma from Bialystok or from MIT.

Kant was a prof at an obscure university. He didn't care, but he had something to say and everybody has been listening since.

USA, Canada / Do many Polish people in America hate Americans? [592]

It says a little about you, but not about Warsaw University of Technology.

I graduated from Wroclaw University, Dept. of English Philology and I was invited to an Ivy League School in the US. And hey, Wroclaw University wasn't even considered a very good one for English studies at the time. You must have done poorly at school, didn't you?

Here where I live, a local university has a small computer science department. Three of the profs. are Poles (graduates of Warsaw University and Silesian University) Top rated computer department in Canada (Waterloo University) employs even more Polish profs. The general buzz is that Waterloo is so hard and so good because the Polish profs won't allow students to just squeeze through.

Don't blame the school. Blame yourself.


Brains can hardly be upgraded for cash. If you ain't got it then you ain't got it.

USA, Canada / Do many Polish people in America hate Americans? [592]


Same here. Some people do have AC in their homes in Poland. The climate is different, not as humid as in many US states.


Excuses, excuses :)
In Poland they don't use their lungs to think. For some reason they decided brains are better suited for the purpose.

USA, Canada / Do many Polish people in America hate Americans? [592]


Fatherland? And you are learning German only now?


Didn't you say Poles have no computers?
Don't you have one or two?

USA, Canada / Do many Polish people in America hate Americans? [592]


Depends on individual circumstance. Also, Poles are very resilient, often not used to what Americans consider basic needs (5 cars per 3 member family, fast food etc)


I studied in Poland, US and Canada. My daughter went through highschool here. In other words I do have some real experience. I'd say Polish schools compare favorably with North American schools.

What schools in Poland did you go to?


True in many cases. I came to the US with $10. That's all my (communist) government allowed me to take out of Poland.


Not as many as Americans per capita, but sufficient number to allow some Polish universities (COSC departments) to be rated ahead of top notch US and Canadian ones.


What does limited access to AC in Poland have to do with success in the US?


Have you seen dorms at Fordham in NYC? (one of the best schools btw.)


And yet, in spite of all the ammenities available to American students, you still make spellling errors?

News / 10,000 ISRAELIS READY TO CLAIM FOR POLISH CITIZENSHIP AND POLISH LAND! [628]


Must be easy (although boring) to live in a black and white world.


They were NOT SINGLED OUT. They awere ONE OF the ethnicities to be wiped out.

News / 10,000 ISRAELIS READY TO CLAIM FOR POLISH CITIZENSHIP AND POLISH LAND! [628]


I still wouldn't call it stealing.

What would you expect people to do in a country where over 65% of building was destroyed? Keep the vacant properties that nobody claimed and care for them just in case there will be a State of Israel and 10,000 of its citizens make claims?

I hear of no protests against those who now live in Polish homes in Ukraine. Those homes and entire properties were not sold to their current owners. Ther were taken by the Soviet government, along with thousands of square miles of good land. About 10 milion Poles were relocated elsewhere. What happened between 1939 and 1945 and beyond was terrible not just for Jews.

Well, time goes, and so Poles and Ukrainians managed to draw a line and move on. Shouldn't Jewish people move on too? Otherwise we'll get back to old attrocities and animosities shine with the new dangerous light?

News / 10,000 ISRAELIS READY TO CLAIM FOR POLISH CITIZENSHIP AND POLISH LAND! [628]


I don't think we are dealing with theft here. Not by Poles, and not in all cases anyway. Poland was invaded by Germans, remember? Needless to say, after the war the rightful owners either owned ruins or they were dead.

Moreover, not only many properties were destroyed, but also the documentation proving ownership. The damage was done by Germans, not by Poles. This prsesents a difficult situation as there may be (and have already been) a lot of fraudulent claims.

I personally knew a group of NYC Jews who planned to claim some properties they used to own, but were not legaly elligible to get them back. Here's an example (true) story they told me (I will use fake names):

Ytzhak was a Polish Army officer before WW2. They family owned a large store in North East Poland. In 1938 they got the wind of troubles to come, so they sold the store, bought gold and a modest property in Warsaw. On September 1 when hell broke loose they went to Hungary and from there to France and finally the US, now mostly living around Great Neck, NY area.

When Poland, in 1989, finally shed the Soviet occupation, the country became open and free. In 1990 Ytzhak went to his original hometown and saw that the store was still there, and even being used as a store. All fixed up, taken care of and operational. Upon return the family decided they will pursue reparation claims for the property.

So here we have a deserter and a coward, who legally sold a property now trying to claim that property back as stolen. I don't know how these plans went since I left the US in 1991.

I don't know how isolated or prevalent the above was, is or would be if the 10,000 Israelis made calims for some properties. The point is that history hasn't been kind to this part of Europe and the whole proposition is open to a huge number of abuses and false claims. The only sure winners will be laweyrs.

Additionally, in Poland, since before WW2 there had been some regulations in regards to property ownership, which might make it hard to allow the original owners to claim those properties even under optimal circumastance (i.e. existing paperwork, documents, photographs etc). The regulation stated that a person becomes a legal owner of a property after a given number of years if:

- the person lived there in good faith (ie didn't know the property belonged to someone else)
- the person lived there in bad faith (ie was fully aware the property belonged to someone else)

The length of time required by the above differs but in both cases it is far shorter than the number of years after 1945. Not sure about the numbers now (or even if the regulation is still in force though)

The we have the building maintenance and care. How do you estimate the cost to maintain the building over the period of 60+ years. Modifications, additions, modernization. In some cases, I imagine, that cost could even exceed the value of the property.

Language / Dwa vs. dwie in Polish [85]

Many ways.
One of the most convenient for those using US or UK keyboard is this:

auburn.edu/forlang/russian/cyrillic-setup/cyrillic.html

Language / Dwa vs. dwie in Polish [85]


It's not at all. But since you continue to describe Polish as some simplified/bastardized form of the Russian language then the assumption is that you have some knowledge of Russian, and that might further lead some to thinking that in fact you are capable of writing in Cyryllic on your PC.

Language / Dwa vs. dwie in Polish [85]

An interseting topic so I decided to bump it.


Yet another home grown lingustic comedy authored by one Englishman, nickenamed Michal.

Neither is a derivative or simplification of the other. The two languages have the same origin, ie. PIE and Old Slavonic. Both contain complexities not found in the other, but just to show how stupid your statement is, let's look at some basic fatcs:

Russian has 6 noun cases, Polish has 7 of them. I find it hard to see how adding more linguistic elements makes things simplified.

Now let's look at some conjugation. I will use the "~" symbol to denote elements which are NOT found in one language, while they are present in the other. If they are found in one of the languages, but not in the other, then I will use bold font to indicate this:

(to be, present tense)
Polish | Russian

byłem | был~~
byłeś | был~~
byvaś | была~
był | был
była | была
było | было

byliśmy | были~~~
byłyśmy | были~~~
byliście | были~~~~
byłyście | были~~~~
byli | были
były | были

Of course it is apparent that the Russian conjugation of the word in plural shows exactly the same word form for all persons, unlike in Polish where each person is conjugated differently, and further, it differs among genders.

So, for singular, there are 6 dsitinct forms of the verb "to be" in Polish, while in Russian there are only 4. For plural, in Polish we have 6 distinct forms of the same verb "to be", in Russian there is only one for for all persons and genders.

To sum up, in Polish there are 12 distinct forms of the verb, while in Russian there are only 5.

The conjugation of the same verb in the present tense in the Russian language is even more interesting. While there is exactly the same number of forms in both languages (есмь, еси, есть, есмы, есте, суть), in Russian (unlike in Polish) they are not always used. For instance:

Polish - On jest Rosjaninem - He is Russian
Russian - Oн ~ русский - He Russian ("is" not used).

Does that really look like Polish is a simplified form of Russian? Or is it that you recieved a simplified degree from Moscow University?


There must have been some new developments in the Russian language I probably missed. The last time I checked (about last week) it was "takaya zhyzn" (такая жизнь).


As for ku, it is an archaism and russicism, sometimes used in poetry, but general use is rare, although not completely absent. The expression 'ku Warszawie!' indicates someone who decided to learn Polish from some pre-WW I manuals.


I agree. There are no problems with any Polish words. The problem is when and how you sometimes use them.

Travel / Just back from Krakow [120]


And that's exactly what I said - you were in Poland an epoch ago. The Poland you remember doesn't even exist anymore. You keep on Posting about some long gone country.

And I guess you still consider yourself young and beautifull too. After all you may have been 20 years ago, so what could have changed, right?

Work / Salary expectations in Poland [373]

norgean,

I would think that if you received a job offer then the offer should include the conditions of employment. Renumeration is sure to be included.

Travel / Just back from Krakow [120]

Michal, wake up!
You have been in Poland an epoch ago! Life went on and left you behind.

Travel / Just back from Krakow [120]


It's not Poles. It's foreigners.

Why would Poles call Krakow their Prague if Krakow is lately more popular than Prague. It would be like having driving a truck and bragging about being able to ride a bicycle.

The most popular destinations for EU travellers:
Florence
Rome
Venice
Istambul
Krakow
Paris
Prague
Siena
Sevilla
Barcelona.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigration in UK [491]

To shift the attention to another "detail", have there been many posts blaming UK employers for hiring Poles?

The principle is simple. Market economy.

Hit the streets and protest the hiring policies of big and small employers. Poles will go home within weeks. Those UK companies may follow them to Poland (similar to outsourcing to China, India and elsewhere), but that's a different story. What counts is that then the unemployed Brits will be happier (or sad because of the lack of someone to blame?)

Life / What is the reason for POLISH jokes ? [486]

Ethnic jokes are a political tool. The mechanism is simple:

Most people have sympathy for the oppressed but few have sympathy for fools. Since the West took most of its information from German sources (until a few years after WW2 that included history "studies" of Poland) so this is not surprising. Polish jokes in the US are mainly of German origin too. The second largest (at one time) ethnicity in the US were Germans, aka Pennsylvania Dutch (which is really English/American inability to tell Deutsch from Dutch) were at the root of the jokes.

After WW2 Polish jokes were perpetuated eagerly by... Polish Jews. Their struggle for the sympathy of the World is no secret (see The American Holocaust by Kent Kelly, or Ellie Wiesel's approach to Gypsies' plight during WW2), so jokes were a logical choice that helped put Poland as a country to be ridiculed rather than helped and sympathised with.

Similar scenario occured in the UK, where Irish and Scottish jokes presented the Irish and Scotts as fools and drunks, rather as those who were dominated by invading English forces.

There.

USA, Canada / Southern Ontario (Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo) and Polish Women [32]


Well, you've been just caught dead being... sketchy.

Travel / Starbucks in Poland? [149]

Best coffe come from Europe. After all these years I still buy German Gala Coffee, roasted exactly the way it was meant to be. Austrian and Polish roasts ar good too. After all, it all really took off after the Siege of Vienna when Poles got hold of large quantities of Turkish coffee.

As for Starbucks, they sell some kind of stuff in various flavors, and they add coffee to it :)

Love / Why do Polish women prefer foreigners for boyfriends and husbands? [418]


If Polish woman really wanted to have a boyfriend and a husband, then perhaps I'd agree to be the boyfriend, but I would hesitate to be her husband.

USA, Canada / What do Polish people think of the USA [287]


Do you think the next US president will come to Warsaw and say "Ich bin ein...", oops "Jestem Warszawiakiem?"?

Food / Mother of all hangovers....Polish Beer! [71]

A few centuries ago, when I was still very much into experimenting with all kinds of alcohols, I noticed one rule that worked with me; local microclimate had a lot to do with how I felt the morning after a night of drinking. Tatra mountains, and most mountains in general were good. Almost no hangover the following day. Upper Silesia was by far the worst - I felt like Zeus about to give birth to Athena.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigration in UK [491]


ever heard market economy? The loosers... well, lose.


Speaking of idiots... do you think posting on this forum will change that?
Why don't you notify proper authorities.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigration in UK [491]




So Brits sit on their asses, collect free cash, while Poles work, and that makes you think Poles are communists?

UK, Ireland / Polish immigration in UK [491]


There are an estimated 20 million illegals in the US. A vast majority are Mexicans, of whom... a vast majority are peasants working American farms.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigration in UK [491]


Actually, Poles and trade unions in the UK are pretty cuddly. You need to get informed.

Some things for you to read:
With the help of Polish members, the union managed to organise a 24-hour stoppage of the transportation of medical items in protest at a management decision to transfer a £3.5-£4 billion, 1.6 billion contract from the UK to Germany..

or this:
Amicus launches initiative for Polish workers:
amicustheunion.org/default.aspx?page=4590

In short, Poles may be actually saving trade unions in your country.

UK, Ireland / What do Polish people think about Wales and Welsh people? [191]

the problem with Wales is that it is missing an "a"

Food / Pierogi Dough [30]


Of course you are, but only half of what 100% Poles are entitled to ;)

UK, Ireland / Polish immigration in UK [491]

That may be a touch to harsh.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigration in UK [491]


Be realistic. It will take at least 4 days.