Feedback / What makes an excellent forum? [119]


What about an apology and a promise to do better - instead of being confrontional? You do the site's image no favours and are out of date. IF you were to have a header that says "PF shares no responsibility for posters' views...etc etc...." then that would absolve you of any responsibility.

Because the site is domiciled in the US you think that US sensibilities apply. Probably most of your posters are in Europe though, as the average PolAm couldn't care less about his "mother" country.

Just an opinion.

Feedback / What makes an excellent forum? [119]


Because I live here? And Poland is my second home, and I get some comraderie out of this forum? What's it got to do with you anyway? Raining in Moscow, is it?

Travel / Poland in photo riddles [3134]


Nah. I spent 3 bloody summers in that awful place Pawian with my infant daughter.
My message to others: Avoid!


I will dig out some photos when I have fed my guest. She is a pain in the arse, is very vocal and the black ones are the worst. I can't wait for her owner to come back and get her.

Feedback / What makes an excellent forum? [119]

One hundred percent behind Paulina. She is so right on many counts, and the demise of this once popular forum confirms it. And admin moved that abusive and disgusting post to Random rather than deleting it and banning the poster.

That's the low class of this admin!

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]

In London the starting salary is 28 thou Iwona - and I am not a trade unionist, but I do believe in collective bargaining and all this talk of "some teachers do nothing" obviously serves its purpose. As others have said, with a dedicated inspector of schools and continuous improvement, high salaries are achievable. But the government here would rather propogate mediocrity.

Schools here also have 30 plus pupils, so I don't see a difference in class sizes. Am I wrong? And of course, with the constant test, teach, test nature of Polish school curriculums, teachers do have to mark papers late into the night.

I have been married to a dedicated (ex) teacher for 30 something years now, and her team was as hard working as she was.
There is absolutely no excuse for it (low pay) and people should fight for their positions and with-hold their cooperation until the authority sees sense.

That's what teachers in the UK did, and this is no different.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]

So why not now? Generally speaking, in the Uk the public sector pay is 2.5 or 3 times what it is in Poland. Teachers start at a minimum 22,500 pounds (100,000zl) and in the sciences they start on a Golden Hello, and even then Brits are leaving the profession in growing numbers because they have no private life. Iwonka's post from wherever about teachers no necessarily working more than 40 hours is a seriously bad joke because teachers often have to spend Sundays marking students' work, and that's a cast iron fact - no matter how dedicated they be, sometimes they are behind schedule.

Terri says teachers should be paid 3,500 zl as an absolute minimum. From the above facts on GDP as opposed to western Europe it is clear that she is absolutely on the money, and there is NO excuse at all for PIS trying to deny the fact.

Teachers and the public sector have to grow some balls in the the autumn and hold this government to ransom for fair pay.


So why not now? Generally speaking, the Uk has GDP between 2.5 and 3 times that of Poland. Teachers start at a minimum 22,500 pounds (100,000zl) and in the sciences they start on a Golden Hello, and Polish state sector salaries absolutely should mirror that.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]


Starved back. Two of my friends have applied for office jobs with a Gdansk multi-corp giant which struggles to fill seats at 4,500 zl. I have great respect for them both. Schoolchildren are the losers. PIS are scum - the brain drain continues, especially as Brexit is scheduled for 2070.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]


Of course it isn't. There's nothing as important as the education of a young mind, but in a poor economy far too many parents don't understand that employing brain will always earn more than employing hands.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]

So those parents who actually care about their children's education know who to vote for in the elections then. Oh - wait - they already do. Time for a National Strike in support of the teachers, with local government strikes, unless you want a dumbo society.

Language / What do foreigners find the hardest part of Polish? [63]


Nouns and proper nouns changing....
Sosnowiec becomes Sosnowcu or Sosnowca - or whatever the spelling is - most confusing :(
I once asked for a (return) train ticket to Wisla....(the Adam Malysz place) and the repost was the ubiquitous "Co ?! " as I clearly didn't understand the correct case for "return from...." That can be a frightening word when spoken by an aggressive Silesian PKP woman employee - if it's a man I can "negotiate" or explain that I want to go return to "Wisle" - and tell him not to mess me about:)

Interesting that in Pomerania, not using the correct case is simply ignored, and I always get what I am asking for.
(PS no Polish fonts due to reboot...)

Language / What do foreigners find the hardest part of Polish? [63]


Nouns and proper nouns changing....
Sosnowiec becomes Sosnowcu or Sosnowca - or whatever the spelling is - most confusing :(
I once asked for a train ticket to Wisla....(the Adam Malysz place) and the repost was the ubiquitous "Co ?! " That can be a frightening word when spoken by an aggressive Silesian PKP woman employee - if it's a man I can "negotiate" or explain that I want to go to "Wisle" - and tell him not to mess me about:)

(PS no Polish fonts due to reboot...)

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]

Gazeta Wyborcza says today that presidents of major cities have guaranteed that striking teachers will be paid in full. I hopoe this is the case, and is a giant finger to PIS who stated, "if you strike, you will not be paid a groszy for your time" (even though the regulations state that striking teachers must be on the premises.)

If all the striking teachers stayed at home instead of obeying such archaic rules, what the hell could the government do about it? It's a complete misnomer - "Solidarnoscz.." There never was any.

Law / UK Citizen - Detox Centre Fine from Poland [26]


Absolutely. The police could round up anybody they have a grudge against. Much as the UK police have body cameras, there's nothing to stop the civilian doing the same.

Obviously they would have to stream it, like the OP says here. So, if she's unhappy, she could seek damages.
Of course - info for any tourist here - the police in 1. Warsaw 2. Krakow 3 Katowice (in that order) are as lawless as the population, so stay well clear - never have any dealings whatsoever with them, and you should be OK:)

Law / UK Citizen - Detox Centre Fine from Poland [26]


Nah - Rozumiemnic is alright. Obviously suspicious of your post, and wanted to express that. Also a feminist, probably had experience of drunks, and when you wrote "drunk tank" it set her off for some reason. We're all a bunch of ______ here - but my hunch is that you knew that already.

Law / UK Citizen - Detox Centre Fine from Poland [26]


Yes, the OP asked - and you went into your full Queen ***** mode and mocked her.
Very classy - you'd be well useful in a crisis - not. A waste of space, more like.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]


Yes. That's how it works. Quite right too. The idea of taxing people by how many live in a building would be a version of Thatcher's poll tax, and we absolutely can't have that. A tax on the poor, as if they don't contribute enough already. You want to live in a nicer area? That's chargeable. Market forces.

Of course here in Poland might be a different situation, but clearly something needs to be done, because this government is good at spending money but doesn't seem to have a scoobie on what economic policies to pursue.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]

No Rich, the strike "collapsed" because people are poor
Because of the theory of "If people are poor, pay them less, to keep them in their place".
National strike needed to bust this scum government apart pronto.
You wouldn't know because you have never been to Poland since you supposedly left.
My guess is you have never set foot on Polish soil.

Life / Retiring in Poland [39]

Miloslaw, Poland is **** for retirees. Ask your family.
No respect for old people AT ALL.
Sorry to shout. But absolutely useless. The weather sucks too for old people.

News / Polish Police Hunt for Bad Taste Boorish Brits [39]


Exactly Delph. And the fact is, Poles too drink to the max. The great thing is that in bars/pubs they don't. So the barman doesn't have to refuse Poles a drink. But the tradition means that Poles still don't understand the so called British concept of boozing in the pub. Many times I have been the last person standing and I asked for another beer, not realising that everybody else had gone home:) :)

(Cue Ironside with his usual tedious insults which add nothing to the sociological debate....)

News / What should Poland do to solve the population crisis? [101]

Sorry that you have an inferiority complex Ziemowit. Strange. Of course the truth is that you seem to be suggesting that immigrants shouldn't have an opinion.

As to the 45 million - not my theory, but the demographers'.

News / What should Poland do to solve the population crisis? [101]

Ziemowit
This is a serious topic. Poland is so poor because it is seriously underpopulated, never mind the brain drain.
Only banning domestic coal burning and awarding a realistic public sector pay rate, plus a huge infrastructure regeneration, will start in alleviating this
Your flippancy as to grand old "history" is quite pathetic.

News / What should Poland do to solve the population crisis? [101]

Milo,
The solution is a true market economy. But how to achieve that is another matter.
I don't believe that analysis, but for its size in area the Polish population should be 45 million plus.
Without inner city regeneration you can forget that. Some smaller cities need blitzing, that is, wholesale district demolition - otherwise they are doomed.

News / Polish Police Hunt for Bad Taste Boorish Brits [39]


Could I suggest you read through the thread? The consensus of opinion seems to be that obviously the police did not want to arrest a group of over-frivolous party-goers simply for having a laugh. This might be news to you - but there is no law that prohibits nudity in a public place as such, unless there is clear intent to offend. You might have preferred the PRL - but I much prefer it as things are today: and are you seriously saying that no police saw these lads as they were walking about? Are there no police in Krakow market square and the environs? Anyway, we can safely assume that the Daily Fail is exaggerating the commotion and one could hazard a guess that the revellers were only clad in that way for a short time and then the joke was over.

News / Polish Police Hunt for Bad Taste Boorish Brits [39]


Everywhere in Tri-City. For my Norwegian friends, apparently.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]


They are trying scum things like offering retired teachers sums of money to invigilate in exams Delph. I would have thought such is illegal, and effective picketing is required, but as you say, the teachers are not united.

Poles seldom are when it comes to industrial action, unfortunately.


But if Solidarity members have agreed to a pay deal, the teachers are not united are they?


Ah - right, understood....I think:) What were Solidarity doing then, agreeing a deal above the heads of their membership?

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]


When I worked in the state sector 25 yeares ago, I challenged my fellow teachers to take industrial action. We can't do that they cried. The director would replace us tomorrow as 30 people are waiting for our jobs. (all nonsense of course - but unionisation was never effective or de-communised)

Teaching is not a job - it's a position held. But the Polish system will never change unless you put a loaded gun to their heads (so as to speak...) One twat in PIS even said if teachers want more money they can always have more children, to qualify for more payments. As if the education of our children were a laughing matter.And to think Ironside and other jokers on this board make idiot references to communists - when we still have to suffer socialist nonsense such as this.


Teachers tell me this union is worse than useless Delph, and they back the opposing union. Such is true here anyway.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]


Delph, some teachers I know earn 2,000 zl a month. They cannot afford a strike of more than a week, and the authorities know that, hence the derision from the other side.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]


I don't know if that is what a day's salary equates to, but that's what teachers here in Tri-City tell me they will be losing every day of this strike, and that is why some of them say they can only afford a token strike.

News / Polish Police Hunt for Bad Taste Boorish Brits [39]


You misunderstand me. I agree with Atch that all the sex shops and mags on the shelves of supermarkets are more in your face than some lads going on the lash.