UK, Ireland / British - Stupidest nation in Europe [127]


Here is something even more pedantic..Territorial waters extend for about 22 km from the shore line of each country.. So given that the Baltic is wider than 44 km, Poland and Denmark (or Sweden) don't technically have a common border since there are separated by international waters..

UK, Ireland / Polish is the 5th best languages to study for Brits [11]


Are you serious? Ever been to France? It's teeming with Brits owning properties, especially in the western part..

propertywire.com/news/europe/france-spain-second-homes-201204176424.html

UK, Ireland / Polish aversion to the truth about UK [10]


So what?? Nihil novi sub sole.. Most nations are the same, they accept criticism from inside (ie nationals) but hate it when foreigners (especially ignorant ones!) do the same..

News / 1.3% birth rate = Poland's slow death [221]


Kondzior, Enoch Powell was a die hard leftist compared to you!

UK, Ireland / Polish is the 5th best languages to study for Brits [11]


The US do not have an official language

Life / Poland and every aspect..... Please help me learn and understand the realities? [108]


I think the answer to that one is quite simple; it was until recently the norm (ie expected) in Poland for men to hold doors with women, to hold coats etc.. You usually don' t get thanked for "normal behaviour" but you get frowned upon if you don't do it. .. In Western Europe, it's the contrary:holding a door etc has become so rare that doing it for someone elicits a "thank you".


Poland was populated by several tribes and it is indeed under the Piast and Mieszko 1st that Poland as we know it was unified and created.

Life / Poland and every aspect..... Please help me learn and understand the realities? [108]


A few facts for a start:

- Poland has the 2nd oldest written constitution in the world (3rd May 1793)
- The Polish-Lithuanian was at one time the largest European state by area spanning from the Baltic sea down to the Black sea
- Polish kings were elected by nobility, unlike the rule prevailing in Western Europe (hereditary monarchy). That explains why Poland had many kings/ queens of foreign origin (hungarian, french, swedish..). It is thanks to a swedish king that Warsaw became capital at the end of the XVI th century (before that , it was Krakow but the swedish king wanted to be closer from Sweden!)

Travel / So where are Warsaw's slums? [30]


It is one of the very rare few positive things that came out of communism:no real ghettos in the western (esp US) sense, a real mixity where you could find ordinary workers and people having high social positions living in similar flats in the same buldings.

News / 1.3% birth rate = Poland's slow death [221]


Maybe not such a bad thing after all? All these fashionable ideas about preserving the environment and the planet make me wonder.. Isn't the destiny of humanity to aim for the stars and spread on other planets?

Travel / Travel to Poland (through Vancouver and Berlin) [8]

i know but it doesn't make sense to state Schengen as a destination. it would be like saying ' I want to fly from London to the USA'..Whereto in the US? NY, SF, LA, Chicago...the choice is wide

Travel / Travel to Poland (through Vancouver and Berlin) [8]


But that's in Luxembourg not in Poland

News / 1.3% birth rate = Poland's slow death [221]

Polonius, I agree with your assessment, but that is not specific to the Poles; I would argue that in their case it is all the more understanble since they were deprived of all those 'consumerist' goods for 45 years..

News / 1.3% birth rate = Poland's slow death [221]

If ones studys carefully the evolution of Poland's birth rate over the past 30-40 years, one cannot help but to notice that:

- it was higher than today during PRL times and at its peak during the "state of war" post 1981
- it collapsed following the demaise of PRL in 1990.

So to bring it back up, there is only one answer: bring back PRL and state of war!!

News / 1.3% birth rate = Poland's slow death [221]

Although I am not in full agreement with your views, Polonius, I cannot say that I 100% disagree with them!

News / 1.3% birth rate = Poland's slow death [221]


well, you've answered it yourself:

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]


What kind of reasoning leads you to link the share price of Gant in 2005 to 2004 real estate prices??

News / 1.3% birth rate = Poland's slow death [221]


That must be one of the most frequently propagated myths. While it is true that some of the non French immigrants have many children, the "Françaises de souche" also have high fertility rates, thanks in part to a system which favours families (taxation, special discounts.); they are the ones who are responsible for the high overall rate

News / 1.3% birth rate = Poland's slow death [221]


That's rubbish. Sweden and France have fertility rates mong the highest in Europe.

News / Amber Gold and other Poland's suspicious institutions [139]

It's probably the first time I see the photograph of someone in handcuffs and smiling...

News / Amber Gold and other Poland's suspicious institutions [139]


That is the exact point that needs answering, especially since Amber Gold had been on KNF's warning list for some time. Why did the Prokurator fail to launch an investigation given this? Inept bureaucracy, sheer incompetence or something more murky??

Law / Rights of a consumer when dealing with faulty goods in Poland? [65]


Leroy Merlin like Auchan are French, whereby Castorama, which used to be French, is now in the hands of British shareholders. Could this be linked??


If it's Carrefour, you might want to hurry. There are press rumours they might be "reassessung their presence in Poland"

Law / HELP - Polish Tax on undeclared money from family [18]

You're not quite up to date with the latest anti money laundering laws it seems.

If you cannot answer or do not want to answer the bank's questions about the origin of the money, then there is a high risk that they will make a declaration to the Polish anti money laundering office (GIIF) who will or will not choose to investigate further

UK, Ireland / Crap parenting in our UK youth today (in Poland it's a little better) [52]

It is not only a matter of "knowing how to parent", but unfortunately also a function of the child's character. As parents, we all know that certain attitudes are effective with some children and not all with others. So while I agree on principle with you Pip, I agree on more practical terms with WP, sometimes a slap on the bum or a clip around the ear is necessary..

Real Estate / Buying an apartment in Poland or renting is better? [12]

Well, they're a little difficult to trust (despite their motto!!) when they can't even be bothered to issue a report written in proper English..

UK, Ireland / Polish Family stabbed to death in St Helier. [40]

Nothing could be further from the truth than the 2 post previous posts

no racism in Asia? Ask black people in China, Indians/pakistanis in the Gulf States, Lebanese/Chinese in Indonesia/Malaysia, Koreans in Japan

no immigration in Asia. Lol!! The percentage of immigrants in the Gulf States is among the highest in the world!!

News / Amber Gold and other Poland's suspicious institutions [139]

I agree Ziemowit, someone did not do their job properly there. I just hope that consequences are drawn and whoever was too lazy/incompetent is fired!!


Sure . All hunky dory in cloud cuckoo land!!

News / Amber Gold and other Poland's suspicious institutions [139]


So one thing and the opposite are the same? Pawian, you have just created by yourself a whole new branch in logical science !!


Here it is, the link to the KNF's site which states clearly that without a banking licence organisations are not allowed to take deposits from the public

knf.gov.pl/en/About_us/Public_warnings/index.html


Indeed. What is surprising is that Amber Gold, like a few others, is clearly listed on the KNF's site as an organization taking deposits without the appropriate banking licence. That in itself should have been sufficient for the Prokurator to visit them ..

News / Amber Gold and other Poland's suspicious institutions [139]


Unfortunately,that's wrong:
1) In most countries, you can only start a bank if you are approved by the banking regulator
2) to take deposits from the public, you need to be a bank

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-banking_financial_company

News / Amber Gold and other Poland's suspicious institutions [139]


In most countries (and I think that includes Poland, hence my questions), non banks are forbidden from taking deposits from the public. The quidproquo is that should a bank go bust, deposits are reimbursed through a guarantee scheme (to the tune of 50 k€, I think)


People managing a bank have to be individually approved by the KNF, and a bankrupt would never get approval.

News / Amber Gold and other Poland's suspicious institutions [139]

2 things I don't quite grasp:

1) is Amber Gold a bank or not (someone referred to it as a 'parabank')?
2) if not, how can they be allowed to take deposits from the public?
3) if yes, how can a former bankrupt be allowed to run a bank? I thought the vetting process of KNF was quite severe..