Life / Poland safe for a Greek? [93]

Kali spera, Marino_Kat!

I trust you've learned some bare minimum Polish for your stay? Apropos, I've known many Greeks who are both light as well as darker-skinned. Possibly, those from the mountainous areas, like Thessalonika for instance, have a different appearance from those in Athens.

Having unfortunately never been to Greece, I wouldn't really know:-)

Best of luck, or in Polish, Powodzenia!!

News / Polonophobia rising in Israel. [144]

Dialogue remains the only true key to understanding. This infighting has simply got to stop. Netanyahu knows this full well, but is fomenting distrust between Israelis and Poles.

Even the Israeli Jews themselves were complaining constantly the last time I was over in Israel (late '90's) that there's too much infighting among Jews(..forget about the Palestinians for a moment).

Law / Polish certificate exam level B1 and institution / few questions about the Polish language [39]

All of which I'm currently aware (although things might well have changed) is that ANY foreigner who wishes to work in Germany, except perhaps for some unpaid day laborer or equally isolated situation, is required to take, and pass adequately, a German language test (Sprachpruefung) in order to attest to at least basic proficiency in German.

About anything else, I'm frankly not sure, you probably know better.

Law / Polish certificate exam level B1 and institution / few questions about the Polish language [39]

Incidentally, I'm curious as to whether there is (or ever will be, do you think) a kind of mandatory Polish language "test" for foreigners entering Poland to seek employment, as there is at present in Germany, for example.

Law / Polish certificate exam level B1 and institution / few questions about the Polish language [39]

While DomincB may well be factually correct (and I'm not doubting such, as I'm less informed on the subject), the potential for fraud exists at the highest levels as well, and will probably continue to as well unfortunately:-)

Off-Topic / What Slavic language is closer to Lithuanian? [16]

What I've been able to observe, both Lithuanian and Albanian (although generically from different families, even if Indo-European as a major phylum) are exceedingly conservative languages, linguistically speaking, that is, with challengingly intricate morphologies and conjugational patterns, especially the latter!

Off-Topic / Modern parenting = bad parenting? [20]

Today's youth (even before the Millenials) are the result of a post-War malaise roughly corresponding, at least in part, with my "Four Coffin Nails" explanation for what is occurring nowadays: 1) the outbreak of suburbia, 2) the Woodstock Generation, 3) EST (Erhard Seminar Training), and last but not least, 4) the rise of Reaganism, in whose shadows were are still living (and on steroids) though the figure of Donald The Dastardly.

Yesterday's hellion has become today's "Leader of the Free World LOL!!!

Permissiveness on steroids, starting full strength by the end of the 60's, has finally morphed into a generation of clueless, chronically selfish, ahistorical, overly indulged, under entertained, often culturally ignorant beings, empowered by arrogance rather than abiltity and emboldened by work out rooms and botox (the women, that is), all the result of non-parenting of the worst order.

Ben Spock would be turning over in his grave.

Law / Polish certificate exam level B1 and institution / few questions about the Polish language [39]

@ dolno well, I know a whole bunch of ex-Silicon software engineers struggling to make ends meet as we speak:-)

Law / Polish certificate exam level B1 and institution / few questions about the Polish language [39]

You're not the only one of your compatriots, I'm sure, so don't feel too bad:-)
lol

Law / Polish certificate exam level B1 and institution / few questions about the Polish language [39]

Same though holds for the Cambridge Certificate Exam for English, which possibly only a teacher such as myself would have any hope of passing handily.

Law / Polish certificate exam level B1 and institution / few questions about the Polish language [39]

I "purloined" a copy of the Exam in question and I must confess, I'd be hard pressed to say whether I'd pass it or not!

Showed it to a Polish colleague of mine at work and even he admitted that for a lot of Polish native speakers, the test could be a challenge.

Who knows, perhaps he was just being polite:-)

Language / Learning Polish Book? Milo mi? [15]

Nice quip, Ziemowit. Will have to follow up when I can (...and in privateLOL).

Language / Learning Polish Book? Milo mi? [15]

True Atch, very true:-)

Language / Learning Polish Book? Milo mi? [15]

So true, Atch! Occasionally though, I'll have to re-read a passage to make sure I understood it correctly precisely because of the more flexible word order than English.

Law / Can a refugee in Germany come Poland to marry Polish lady [5]

If you can't speak Polish with her, just FORGETABOUTIT!! Put yourself as a German resident in the position of your fellow countrymen, tired of non-German speaking people coming to Germany to "marry", bed down with German Fraeulein in the hopes of gaining residence papers etc.

Poles ain't too crazy about it either:-)

Language / Why is Polish such an ugly language? [22]

Apparently Charmouche, you've never taken the time, much less made the effort to understand Polish or you wouldn't offer such flip and foolish comments!

News / Arrests made in Poland for Hitler birthday celebrations [35]

@Maf, a thousand pardons, sir! I mislabled Pan Bieganski's post, my profound apologies once again:-)

Thought you had too much common sense, and see, I was right. Wondered why your post seemed so vapid. That's because it wasn't.

You still have my respect.

News / Arrests made in Poland for Hitler birthday celebrations [35]

A wee bit surprised at you, Maf!

Sure, the collaborators and traitors in nearly every Nazi-occupied country didn't suffer; they sold their souls to the Devil in order to play ball with the enemy so as they could enjoy their own life and NOT suffer.

I was referring to Croats, etc. with a conscience.

News / Arrests made in Poland for Hitler birthday celebrations [35]

@kaprys, I've always been on your side, so go chill:-)

You've been agreeing with essentially everything I've been saying, so where's the problem? To be sure, ALL Poles, Croats, Russians, and Ruthenians suffered big time under Hitler, which is why the sooner the local fathers of Braunau am Inn do their job and tear down Hitler's birthplace, the better for everyone!

News / Arrests made in Poland for Hitler birthday celebrations [35]

The Nazis typically referred to the Slavs in general as "Untermenschen", although the epithet of "vermin" was reserved for the Jews, both Polish as well as foreign-born. Hitler saw the Poles, for instance, as not much higher than four-legged animals, at the same time, as useful slaves for the Reich, being as they were perceived as simple, yet strong and infinitely child-producing.

Such "accolades" weren't accorded the Jews of Poland, seen more as filthy pariah than anything else. Only the latter were automatically slated for immediate extermination as "useless eaters", since the Germans didn't see "value" in them, looking upon them as parasites on society and little else.

News / Arrests made in Poland for Hitler birthday celebrations [35]

Yet you can't seriously compare Roman Dmowski's "Kwestia Zydowska" with the impact of "Mein Kampf, can you?

News / Arrests made in Poland for Hitler birthday celebrations [35]

Perhaps the planned dismantling of Hitler's birthplace in Braunau, Austria will put an end to such festivities once and for all!
Then again, there'll always be idiots for as long as there's a planet earth:-)

Off-Topic / Is anyone in Poland planning a trip in Croatia? [26]

Indeed he did, and why not then?

Off-Topic / Is anyone in Poland planning a trip in Croatia? [26]

As far as politics are concerned, there's always Tito, Croatian on his father's side, Slovene on his mom's, honored by both nationalities and a partisan leader who fought against the Nazis to become first president of one-time Yugoslavia:-)

Off-Topic / Is anyone in Poland planning a trip in Croatia? [26]

What I've observed, Polish, Slovene, and Croatian are widely disparate languages, despite their common Slavic origins. Were I a Pole traveling on vacation to Croatia, I'd try to find a bilingual tour operator or use an interpreter unless I were either fluent in at least one of the two languages or had an acquaintance to practice English:-)

@delphiandomine, I too have heard that Slovenia's a lovely country. Think I might have mentioned a while back on another related thread, that a colleague of mine did a math conference in Bled and found it a charming resort area. He speaks some basic Slovene, however, and the conference was held (surpriseLOL) in English!

Off-Topic / Is anyone in Poland planning a trip in Croatia? [26]

The Slovenians are calling the Croatians untrustworthy and problematic?? That's a good one. Look who's talking!

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

@kaprys, thus far, you've gotten no facts on US history wrong, as I haven't re: recent Polish history:-) Bieganski's quite correct, that this is concerned with Polish, not with American history, therefore, I'm confining my comments to Poland:-) If you're interested in Jewish traditions, more power to you. I find much Catholic teaching actually enlightening, the concepts of Epiphany and redemption, for example. Then again, the Protestants deviated from Catholic teaching. However in the end, it all derives, at least in part, from Judaism.

@WielkiPolak, I feel that Poland, and Germany in particular, have been bled dry for so long, that it's enough already. You can lead someone to the sources, but you can't make them think!

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

I probably know as much about Polish history as the average Pole learns about US history in high school. Fact is, I was interested. What's your excuse?

If I don't question your credentials, kindly don't question mine:-)

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

I'm always grateful to learn something which I don't already know. Wish I could say the same for the rest of us.

On the other hand, my knowledge of Poland was being called into question and I merely wished to show the poster that knowledge cuts both ways!!

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

Ditto your posts regarding the US, kaprys. What are YOUR credentials, where is YOUR knowledge?

(That'll keep 'er guessin')