Travel / A good kebab place in Warsaw? [45]

Cross streets?

News / American SM-3 ballistic missile site in Poland by 2018 [86]

I agree. It seems pretty clear that the Mid-East is currently the world's "hot-spot" and therefore the most likely source of incoming missiles. I may not be picturing the triangulation correctly but I doubt this has anything to do with protecting Israel from this far away. Certainly though it offers protection from anything originating out of Iraq, the -stans or to the east targeted to the Northwest.

I hope there was no trading of visa-free agreements involved in this agreement.

Travel / A good kebab place in Warsaw? [45]

I enjoyed a place over by the Polonia Palace. If you walk out the door facing onto the main street, turn left and go about 50 yards and it is on the left. YOU order downstairs and then go to the dining area upstairs. Reasonable prices, good food.

Life / Foreigners in Poland - the identities of our native or the host country [66]


Oh, make no mistake. I appreciated your post a good deal. I was just curious if you had considered that some leave their countries and consider their new country "home" even when they don't change their citizenship. It triggered with your "American" emphasis.

Always remember that forum conversations suffers from no smiles or body language, little or no timing and no beer or coffee to lubricate the camaraderie. IIt was a simple question, without an agenda. If we were sitting in a pub/cafe and I had asked you with a smile while looking you right in the eye you'd have seen there was no guile or hidden agenda behind the question, just,...curiosity and conversation.

I remember the first time an expat told me he had made arrangements for burial (Ukraine), another who was just as matter-of-fact that he had not been "home" in over 17 years and no longer thought about going back even for a visit. I remember when he died his daughter (mid-to-late 40's) took the news with an "okay, thanks for telling me", hung up the phone and didn't even come to get his money from the bank (almost $17,000) or pick up 3 un-cashed social Security checks. Friends took up a collection for his burial expenses and the last I heard the money was still stuck in the bank since no relatives showed to claim the account. Another friend died overseas after a relatively routine surgery and was buried over here as well.

I like the places I have been, even say I "love" the ambiance and sense of being surrounded by history every day, but like yourself, I expect to return "home" someday even if it is just for burial or being scattered after a memorial service.

Life / Foreigners in Poland - the identities of our native or the host country [66]


Can you not conceive that some come over and expect to die outside their original home country?

USA, Canada / Shipping alternatives from the States to Poland? (large items) [6]

From Nashville, TN to Gdansk.

UK, Ireland / What does English sound like to the Poles? [30]


+10 but I would add a long list of languages that sound "beautiful" to me.

Beauty is in the eye, or ear, of the beholder, or listener. ;-)

Life / Foreigners in Poland - the identities of our native or the host country [66]


Not quite. Even a purely capitalist ORGANIZATION is formed from HUMANS. And humans do stupid, sometimes illegal, things. I know an HR Manager that was offering jobs in return for sex (the fifth woman was an undercover detective wearing a recording device). Subordinate workers who destroyed their Director's ability to work in a company with a series of jokes about how disgusting it would be to have sex with her, speculating on her body parts and her supposed lack of sexual fulfillment (2 men fired, 2 others reprimanded and the Director ultimately left her position as a result of the realities of the office perception of her). I have had to call police on a sub-contractor who ONLY hired blacks and then raped a woman (one of their own employees) in one of our company break-rooms (tons of trouble and, ironically, one of my bosses first comments was "Why did you get involved, you should have let her call the police!").

Your point probably is that the organization will hopefully deal with these issues internally but too often they are hidden or ignored. The damage to the individual victims (and society) is still real with life-long consequences. So it seems, unfortunate as it may be, that there does need to be a mechanism to deal with this more aggressively and punitively.

Life / Foreigners in Poland - the identities of our native or the host country [66]


Anti-discrimination laws, in themselves, don't create this problem.

The law is redundant (IMO) where there is a basic concept of all citizens being equal but does fulfill a purpose in spelling out punishments for violation of equality. The problem arises in situations where "de facto" discrimination is determined to exist based upon a purely statistical analysis of the company's employee group by race, nationality, gender, age, etc. That is what you bring up mid-way through your comment and it is a shame that this method of judging compliance is used.

Rather than consider the individual selection, the government determines you are discriminating against a group by pointing out that your employees don't meet the statistical profile of the society at large. As a hiring manager and as a Human Resource Specialist I have been forced to make decisions as to the best FEMALE electrician rather than the best ELECTRICIAN. I have searched for a COMPETENT Mechanic and delayed hiring the BEST MECHANIC available. When hiring 200 for summer work requirements, I have had to divide the applicants into two groups (M and F) then hire as many COMPETENT females as possible while rejecting BETTER-QUALIFIED males in a numbers game. Sadly, I was congratulated for managing to hire a FEMALE, HISPANIC electrician despite the fct that I had better qualified electricians, male, who needed work and appeared likely to perform better than the woman hired.

However, all that said, there ARE times when the quotas and forced hiring become necessary to break patterns of prejudice and discrimination with regard to all sorts of demographic factors. They should be a last resort though, not the quickest way achieve integration and assimilation of diversity in the workplace. The facts are that Blacks, Hispanics, Women, Gays, Older Workers, Asians, Jews, Muslims, Arabs, etc. were and still are discriminated against despite their being better qualified. To me, these always made more sense to consider individually but the reality seemed to be that our government suddenly realized it would take a massive agency to deal with judging qualifications on a case-by-case basis.

Then there is the argument concerning the right of the employer to hire who they wish, qualified or not. It's their money, their investment, their risk. I support them as well but proving that they discriminate AGAINST one type of person is often difficult. Somehow though, Hooters still hires female waitresses with attractive bodies, car dealerships hire mostly male sales staff and the Marines are saying some women are simply not going to cut it in certain combat roles.

Life / Foreigners in Poland - the identities of our native or the host country [66]


I have never encountered this in the conservative element. I see it continuously from the liberal side of the aisle though.


Depends on how you identify "benefit".

Some will try to say that it must all be spent with companies from the country that received the money.

Infrastructure improvements (ports, railways, industrial developments, airports, highways, etc.) should be spent with the company(-ies) which provide the best value received (Return On Investment or simply "payback") for the dollar. That might include factoring in jobs for Polish citizens at some weighting point depending on the quality of work performed versus benefit received.

USA, Canada / Shipping alternatives from the States to Poland? (large items) [6]

Clothing, some electronics, DVD's, camera, that sort of thing. Weight about 65 kilos.

History / I want to meet Lech Walesa, can anyone help me? [29]

I live about 200 m from his office, want to rent my couch and stalk him from my kitchen window OP?

His favorite restaurant is close by as well, plenty of opportunity.

Life / Foreigners in Poland - the identities of our native or the host country [66]


You don't quite get it. You owe them the same. If that means nothing [from you] then that's what it is. Nothing special about being an expat businessperson instead of a Polish businessperson.

Life / Foreigners in Poland - the identities of our native or the host country [66]


You owe them/us nothing more than you should owe a Polish businessperson for opening a business.

Life / Polish vs British vs American - Clash of cultures [390]

Right you said you didn't know because there weren't too many of them. So, no experience of a word for them per you. Sorry if it drifted on you a bit there.


Yes and we rent places like that (first example) in a very few places. They pretty much replaced boarding houses in our part of the world. Universities and military examples were just giving a frame of reference that we don't have places like that in common use by average people, mostly students and soldiers.

Life / Polish vs British vs American - Clash of cultures [390]


That's what I am asking, you seem to be saying there are none of those here so you're saying it is a bedsit in the UK?

We do have a few small places, similar to hostels, where people have a private room and share a bathroom, sometimes even a kitchen.

Our university dormitories also are one room, often shared by two people, on a hallway with a common bathroom facility.

Other university dorms (also many military barracks facilities) are more like a communalka with 2-4 rooms sharing a common sitting room and bathroom.

Life / Polish vs British vs American - Clash of cultures [390]


That's how it would be advertised in Poland? or the UK?

Life / Polish vs British vs American - Clash of cultures [390]

In the US we would call it "2BR/1BA" for a house or apartment which has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom (toilet with bathtub), a living room (sometimes called a "den") and the kitchen. It might have a dining area as part of the den/living room or a kitchen big enough to have a table in it.

An apartment with one room which serves as kitchen. den and bedroom along with a private bathroom would be advertised as a "Studio".

Love / Woman 23, man 47 years old. What do you think about ? [162]

Children make mistakes, when they do, parents are probably best advised to be there for them, love them and help them recover.

If my sons got involved with a much younger (but legal) or much older woman I would tell them my thoughts (IF THEY ASKED), let them make their decision(s) and just be there for support later. Of course there are all kinds of things that COULD occur but generally it is their life to lead. Unless someone is being hurt by it you just have to let them lead it.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]

Guess we'll see.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]

Things have gotten worse these last four years but part of the problem in lack of understanding our system. We have private pension plans, several forms of them so what you see as a pension ((probably US Social Security payments) is not the sole source of income.

I know of a fairly typical middle-class family in which both husband and wife worked in government jobs. Neither graduated college. The husband served for 4 years during World War 2. The husband worked for a total of 38 years for the government and the wife for 34. They retired at age 55. Between the two of them they make approximately $100,000 a year as pensioners from their government employee pensions, their private pensions and their Social Security pensions.

Without educations and with the failing economy and massive debt of the US, you are correct, we could see 2/3 of the country near the poverty line in the next 20 years.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]


Largely correct. This happens when the unemployed become discouraged and cease to look for work. It can include those going to school or seeking other training for different, often lower-level, jobs and professions. The real rate of unemployment, which still doesn't include that underemployment number of people who accepted jobs at lower salary and skill levels, is presently sitting at 14.4% according to the US Department of Labor. The American Enterprise Institute places the number at 15.6% and other sources place it as high as 23%.

The Dakotas and Nebraska are benefiting from increased oil and gas production drilling activities the last couple of years. They are also the states which will see the effect of the new pipeline if this administration will approve construction so some workers are moving into the area in hopes of being better positioned. The problem, as mentioned, is that these are low populations density areas so if 10,000 people show up a much higher percentage will be unemployed since the jobs that ARE there are largely filled. Housing, food and schools are stretched to the breaking point and there are hundreds of mobile home and camper vehicle parks setup, many without sanitation facilities or utilities.

UK, Ireland / Why are Brits so left-wing? [60]

I wasn't talking about the travel changing them into a more liberal group. It's people being willing to venture outside their comfort zones and and establishing new boundaries. If anything I would expect that travel moves a few of them to conservatism.

For instance, I see Democrat Abroad groups far more often and with far higher membership than I have comparable Republican groups except close around the military bases.

UK, Ireland / Why are Brits so left-wing? [60]

It shouldn't surprise you so much if you think about it. Expats, almost of by the definition of their situation, are not going to be evenly distributed between liberal and conservatives. Conservatives will TEND to stay at home, liberals will TEND to be a bit more mobile. You see the same thing in that military and business people TEND to be conservative while journalists, artists, teachers and the like, TEND towards liberalism.

So, doesn't surprise me at all.

For that matter, I would not be surprised if computer usage, forum participation and using the Internet for social networking were to show a similar slant in their participants.

UK, Ireland / Why are Brits so left-wing? [60]

I don't know, the recent polls show increasing support for pulling out of the EU, toughening immigration laws and getting tougher on crime to bring down the violent crime rates. These all seem pretty conservative stances to me.

I have yet to meet any Brits with anything nice to say about their Council Estates (boy did I misunderstand THAT term the first time I heard it) and the riots back last summer seemed to have solidified a few of their citizenry. Many do seem a bit unhappy that they destroyed so much of their heritage and lost some traditions in the name of multiculturalism. Whether that will translate to a relatively stronger Conservative leaning, I don't know.

Was talking with a Brit last week about the differences between London, the other major cities and the countryside, there could be a side of the UK that many don't see due to trudging along on the tourist trails. The small towns I visited were far more easy-going and the people quite a bit more mmmmm,.......curious and tolerant than the masses in the city areas.

The Scots I run into seem to be more comfortable albeit holding on to their opinions very strongly as well.

Polonia / Egyptian wanting to visit Poland - help about getting a visa [12]

You don't say how long you will be here but I would consider not showing the invitation letter. It can make them wonder if you are "in love" and a possible risk. Just tell them you are coming as a tourist to experience Poland.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]

I have never seen any real envy of the US or racism exhibited by Canadians. I lived at a Washington border crossing (Linden) for a couple of years, have friends in Vancouver, Abbotsford and on Victoria Island, all seemed happy and comfortable. Ottawa seemed open and friendly, Montreal a bit aloof and less friendly as they tried so hard to be chic and cosmopolitan. Most I worked with and met are mellow, enjoy their beers and seem to be content. The Kiwis remind me a bit of Canadians in their general approach.to life and satisfaction with their own country.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]


That's a fair comment. Still, there are trade-offs.

The US allows a lot more choice in climate, job searching and education, all of which give you more options in lifestyle.

Few negatives up there unless you really hate the cool to cold weather.

Classifieds / Language exchange group, Tricity [60]

I am definitely interested in this.