News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

BritinP, it's too politically sensitive and will give rise to spurious claims. PO don't have that money to burn. Postponed, maybe. However, it's in the pipeline. Fine, have principles but most ministers in the Sejm deny its practical viability, as do I.

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

It's the lesser of two evils for many Poles. I ask them and this is the distinct impression I get. I personally think a fair part of Poland fits the socialist model but it carries a bad rap and so falls by the wayside.

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

Ah, layoffs, how did that word mysteriously appear? I mentioned it in the debt thread by milky earlier.

I see you are a fan of rising prices, bankrupting Poland for Jewish compensation, giving land to rich Arabs, rising unemployment and a host of other crippling measures, pawian. Well done, the Poles have really spoken this time ;) ;)

Food / Mayonnaise and ketchup in Poland [47]

Many Poles believe cabbage is Polish but is was passed from Asians to Celts in around the 6thC, I think. The same with ketchup. It originates in Asia so cannot be considered Polish or American. However, Heinz was American long before it started operations abroad. Saying one food is from this or that country based on common association is fraught with pitfalls. As another poster said, it is often passed on and adapted from long, long ago.

News / Over 2 million Poles drowning in debt [19]

I don't think being in debt is such a major shame given the disproportionate salaries to the cost of living here, esp cars and property. Many employers just don't pay that much so there is little choice but to slide into debt unless you are incredibly frugal.

Food / Mayonnaise and ketchup in Poland [47]

Globalisation, exactly what I wanted to say. An American company decided to go global and share its experience. Pudliszki are the benefactors of American experience. Heinz Ketchup is not a kind of Polish food in origin.

Food / Mayonnaise and ketchup in Poland [47]

wikipedia.org/wiki/H._J._Heinz_Company

it's an American company, AS. It's HQ is in Pittsburgh.

Food / Mayonnaise and ketchup in Poland [47]

Heinz is British-American. The fact that some offices are here doesn't make it Polish.

Food / Mayonnaise and ketchup in Poland [47]

I think no-one mentioned Heinz because it's not Polish.

News / Over 2 million Poles drowning in debt [19]

I really wouldn't be so sure about that at all. Do the math and you will see that debt very much comes into it.

News / Over 2 million Poles drowning in debt [19]

I stayed on topic with my post but then why the talk of GB? This is about Poland.

News / Over 2 million Poles drowning in debt [19]

I can well imagine this. An element which, to my knowledge anyway, no other member seems to have raised in conjunction with this point is the level of layoffs from businesses and other workplaces in Poland. Many people in Britain often say that 'finding a job is a job in itself'. It can take a long time after having just been made redundant. There is always the lingering threat of cuts in the workforce. If indeed the level of people getting the heave-ho is high here then 2.1 is a highly conservative estimate. We must remember that these are times of relative capitalism in Poland and there will be winners and many losers in such a system. We should also remember the natural (uninformed) response of people to phenomena. Look at the Irish Tiger. Many thought they were well-heeled folks and it all came crashing down. Many Poles have also taken to being flash and it may well backfire on them somewhere down the line. Debt is a reality when you put credit cards peoples' way.

News / Jerusalem Post: Poland's good intentions [30]

They have no concept of proportionality which is a standard norm of international law. Poland should reciprocate and give them 1/10th of what they think they are due.

Life / Uptight Poles [262]

Let's not get uptight here as Brits would say Cracov and Americans Cracow (ow like they've been hurt, like they say Moscow).

Back to the central topic, please.

This is well off topic, guys. I'm watching uptight Poles on a Polish programme. It's quite funny.

Life / Uptight Poles [262]

Yup, another Pole who cannot ask a direct question in AS ;) ;) Still time to edit :)

I think a lot of Poles are indifferent to the extent to which they cannot really be uptight. That's one thing I've noticed in different places.

Life / The Polish Way to Ask Questions [41]

A cosmopolitan what, Maaarysia? Time for that article thread again, methinks ;) Cosmopolitan is an adjective.

A lack of directness may not be good in clubs.

News / Jerusalem Post: Poland's good intentions [30]

They are, in blood :( :( :(

I fear that the current Polish govt will bend over backwards but it will be at their peril. In law, the proximate cause would be the deciding factor and that was Nazi Germany. It has long gone so who should foot the bill now?

Life / Uptight Poles [262]

It's like Korea and Corea :)

I find that Poles tend to be most uptight in administrative centres where they can't be natural but have to adopt anal behaviour. There is a certain convention involved there. A bit like the Japanese ramen restaurant I was at in Kitakyushu. Everyone was frowning quite visibly and tense. My then GF, Mayumi, told me that it is part of the feel of the place, they do it on purpose. Poles seem to be the same when waiting for documents or stamps.

News / Jerusalem Post: Poland's good intentions [30]

I was trying to make the point that the Polish govt should stall, stall and stall some more. The Israelis talk of peace but bulldoze, beat and make the lives of Palestinians miserable. Now, I know that this shouldn't deflect attention from the merit of individual claims but we all know how things work and such considerations ultimately play their part. The Israeli politicians don't want peace, they want revenge and to torture through their IDF. If they can stall on sth so important, so can Poland.

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

Rybnik, many Scots would see them as a food for winter. In heat above 30c, I wouldn't even think about eating them, tasty as they are. Fresh white fish and salads are far better in that kind of weather.

News / Jerusalem Post: Poland's good intentions [30]

There is a term 'The Holocaust Industry'. People like those shown on Defamation milk it to the max. The best thing Poland could do we be the following:

Talk about it till the cows come home and then talk some more. Disagree on certain aspects of it and then enter into more talks. Give them a taste of their own medicine. Endless talks is the way to stall indefinitely. Why should Poland be complicit when their land was violated?

Life / The Polish Way to Ask Questions [41]

It's called tact ;) ;) I'd rather they said, 'have you run out of shaving blades?' rather than 'why are you a scruffy sod?'.

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

Check out Baxters of Speyside soups, Penn, and see if there's anything there you'd fancy. Oh, thanks for the link, btw. Sorrel instead of lentil. Hmm...ok

Scottish home soups, like many Polish ones now that I think about it, tend to be simple. Lentil and broth are the 2 most common ones. Broth (rosół) is very common, esp here in Silesia. I have to be careful when telling a Pole that I like lentil soup as I sometimes say 'contact lens' soup by mistake. The two words, for me anyway, are similar.

I recommend the sour rye soup (żurek) here. It is with eggs and sausage. Those Varsovian snobs (in a restaurant on my way back from the Baltic states) told me that theirs was the best so I tried it out and it just didn't have the characteristic sourness that you find here, not to mention the lack of egg :( :(

News / Jerusalem Post: Poland's good intentions [30]

Opening Pandora's box will only give rise to spurious claims. Correct me if I'm wrong but WW2 finished 66 years ago. Why the plethora of cases now? Keep the can of worms closed unless a fully workable solution can be found.

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

I'd say Poland is world leader in soups. I say this as sb from the 2nd best country for soups, IMHO. Clam chowder is one of the best soups ever but that alone cannot raise the profile of the US (Canada?) above Scotland and Poland.

Food / Mayonnaise and ketchup in Poland [47]

I don't want to gain weight, AS ;)

Hellman's Babuni gives Kielecki a run for its money but Kielecki is distinctive :)

Food / Mayonnaise and ketchup in Poland [47]

I second that, Penn. That's a major compliment as I'm a fan of Hellmans too :)

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

I like that one but I've been eating Roleski's English mustard imitation. Very good :)

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

Polish sausages are nice once in a while. There is good mustard here to go with them.

Life / Uptight Poles [262]

Maybe you are right, sascha. However, there are quite a few uptight Poles but society permits a lot of slackness and bumbling here. If you gibber on in a friendly, Polish way then the chances are that you will not be so uptight. Worries tend to be self created here.