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Posts by bullfrog  

Joined: 23 Apr 2009 / Male ♂
Warnings: 1 - A
Last Post: 19 Aug 2015
Threads: Total: 6 / In This Archive: 4
Posts: Total: 602 / In This Archive: 446
From: istanbul
Speaks Polish?: trochke

Displayed posts: 450 / page 4 of 15
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bullfrog   
12 Aug 2014
Law / Is it possible to get an MOT on a RHD car in Poland? [28]

when i arrived in Poland in 2005, had a rhd car. Couldn't register it in PL and thought "this is anti EU law, how dare they?". After a year, changed my mind. Having experienced Polish driving, thought to myself: " My God, given the number of Poles living in the UK, imagine if each of them brought a rhd car to Poland, what a carnage that would be!"
bullfrog   
22 Jun 2014
Food / Which Polish milk brand is closest to UK supermarket style milk? [31]

Quite remarkable that in Poland it's "ok" to have raw milk, if that US FDA advice is accurate. I am perplexed, to say the least.

Doesn't this advice come from the same country that injects hormones into its cattle, that cleans chicken with chlorine and that is one of the world's leaders (thank you Mexico!) with obesity?
bullfrog   
16 Aug 2013
Work / About taxes ("Umowa o dzielo") and minimum wage in Poland [30]

Well done, and deserved may I say given the positive attitude shown through your postings (recently tumbled accross a definition of optimist vs pessimist that made me smile: an optimist is someone who thinks a night is sandwiched between 2 days, a pessimist someone who thinks a day is sandwiched between 2 nights..)
bullfrog   
15 Aug 2013
Life / One of more conspicuous Polish traits - inconsequence? [37]

Poland being nominally a secular, religiously neutral country but with crosses

Indeed, it is bad to have a situation where the constitution says one thing (Poland secular state) and one where everyone can see that reality is different (crosses in the Sejm). It gives the population the feeling that it is OK to have inconsistency between what one says/what is written and what happens in practice and that double standards are OK. In my view, it can explain certain characters traits commonly found among Poles.
bullfrog   
9 May 2013
Language / Is math in Polish different than in English? [59]

Maybe, but the bottom line is that Polish students are doing better than British students at maths (since that's what the thread is about)..

guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/dec/07/world-education-rankings-maths-science-reading#data
bullfrog   
9 May 2013
Language / Is math in Polish different than in English? [59]

Not in scientific subjects, eg in physics or maths. I found the UK teaching to be more 'recipe learning ' driven, less based on understanding the issues.

I don't have experience of continental school systems,so I can't comment on whether they're better or not, but that isn't what I was talking about.

I'm not saying that one is better than the other, I am saying that the UK system is more focused on building a personnality/social skills and less on pure academia. If anything, I prefer the first system (and my children are now in the UK system), but I stick by to the fact that the academic level, especially in maths, is lower in the UK.
bullfrog   
9 May 2013
Language / Is math in Polish different than in English? [59]

dear Pam

I'm afraid you are the one talking bull. I have personally experienced both the British and French systems, and my kids have been in the British and Polish systems, and what I say is certainly my experience of UK vs French/Polish. What is your experience of other systems than the British one?
bullfrog   
9 May 2013
Language / Is math in Polish different than in English? [59]

Difficult to generalize, but I would say that in general, the academic level in schools in the US and UK is lower compared to the Continent (not only Poland, but also Germany, France..). In the UK and US, the focus is more on building social skills (building a personality, being popular with other kids..) whereas on the continent it is more academic performance. Or at least that was the case 20 years ago. Both systems are converging now..
bullfrog   
28 Mar 2013
Law / Zloty climbs as ratings agency upgrades Poland [34]

Meathead

That's my whole point, the US doesn't manufacture anymore because of the overvalued dollar. Why do you think China pegs it's huan to the dollar? and Switzerland's franc to the Euro? This isn't rocket science. All a strong currency does is encourage imports at expense of local jobs.

That's wrong. First of all, the dollar is not overvalued, certainly not against the €

Second, how do you reconcile the fact that Switzerland, a country with arguable the strongest country in the word has still a very strong local industrial base. It is , with Germany, the european country where industry represents the highest proportion of gdp (ca 28% vs less than20% in the USA)
bullfrog   
24 Mar 2013
Law / Bank accounts taxed by up to 10%. Can it happen in Poland? [150]

You mean the same way Swiss was place of choice for the US tax avoiders,

No skin off my nose, I'm not Swiss but you should try to get more reliable sources than the Sun or the Daily Mail.. Switzerland never held more than ca 2% of US offshore assets, the bulk being evidently in the various Caribbean tax havens (Cayman, Bahamas..). Simple common sense, Warszawski, being based in Europe, if you had money to hide, would you cross the Atlantic to hide it??
bullfrog   
24 Mar 2013
Law / Bank accounts taxed by up to 10%. Can it happen in Poland? [150]

The reality in Cyprus is the following:

1) for years, Cyprus banks have been home to a disproportionate amount of Russian deposits, thanks to a unique tax treaty between the 2 countries. Some (little) of this money is legitimate, most of it is not and is escaping Russian taxes through structures. The Cyprus government had been warned repeatedly by Europe to tighten its anti money laundering procedures.

2) Because of cultural proximity with Greece but also because they gave a superior yield (the riskier, the higher the yield), Cyprus banks have been investing those deposits in Greek bonds. When the latter country went down the drain, the bonds collapsed and the Cyprus banks got burnt hence the current situation.

Bottom line is that in all other European countries where banks made a mess (UK..), the people had to bear the brunt of the cost of saving them (through austerity..) . Why shouldn't it be the same in Cyprus? It is after the people who choose the goverment..
bullfrog   
28 Feb 2013
UK, Ireland / What does English sound like to the Poles? [30]

Sorry to say but most Polish/Slavic/Russian languages sounds "ugly".

Worse for me is English spoken with a southern drawl (think Texas or other similar states..). Awful.. I also dislike the Manchester/Liverpool accents..
bullfrog   
25 Feb 2013
Food / "Poland - it's the new Provence of food" [56]

It is getting better, but it will take time.

Yes, and it can change quite quickly.. Just look at what happened in the UK . 30 years ago, it was difficult to have a decent meal in most parts of the country (unless one decide to opt for the "3 breakfast formula"!), now one can eat quite well almost anywhere in Blighty!
bullfrog   
22 Feb 2013
Food / "Poland - it's the new Provence of food" [56]

I just heard something how Poland is looking at becoming a major producer for kosher/halal meats because there is such a huge market for it.

The way animals are slaughtered to be kasher/halal compliant is simply revolting...
bullfrog   
22 Feb 2013
Real Estate / Astounded by the poor value of residential property here in Wroclaw [92]

,

The fundamentals say that prices here are way too high. No amount of denial will change that.

It's all relative. You're looking at it with UK eyes. For most people in Europe, the UK real estate is one which is extremely overpriced (and has been for years) compared to fundamentals (eg wages). The fact that some markets are even more out of kilt (eg Woclaw) doesn't change that.

90000 is quite a big place. UK is twice the population of Poland so BF, he has a point.

Again relativity.. Go tell this to a Chinese or even an American. Even by European/UK standards, 90 000 is not big , it is medium. Big for me (for Europe) would be 200,000 plus.

But actually Stevenage is pretty well known. I think you are arguing for the sake of it, you must be a tad bored.

BTW who's heard of Wroclaw or rock-law outside of Poland

Ha ha , you've made my day inWroclaw..Did you get any history lessons at school? Ask any one around you (especially German speaking people) whether they've heard of Breslau and then try again with Stevenage..
bullfrog   
21 Feb 2013
Real Estate / Astounded by the poor value of residential property here in Wroclaw [92]

Thanks for your post, but no the town (or actually city) I was referring to isn't little.

The links you posted (post # 50) refer to Stevenage. Now I don't want to appear patronizing, but who's heard of Stevenage outside the UK (or even England)??. And it can hardly be considered as one of the UK's major cities : with ca 90,000 inhabitants, it ranks somewhere around #90 among Britain's top cities by population..