News / 2ND MIRACLE OF THE VISTULA: youth mysteriously appear out of nowhere! [231]

What does that have to do with anything ? I am not a fan of PO. Of course they should also pay for their own political messaging,

I don't remember it ever stooping to what we have seen in the last few days though. Fake news, Islamic invasion, padeophilia, Soros, lists of compliant minor academics, the constant insistence that this is normal practice abroad, revolutions etc. The nadir was Szydlo is her awful green dress, reading from the autocue about foreign backers of the elites - it would not have looked out of place in 1981.

News / 2ND MIRACLE OF THE VISTULA: youth mysteriously appear out of nowhere! [231]

I just sincerely hope the considerable effort the govt put into misinformation and propaganda was paid for by PiS and not from taxpayers funds or by the shareholders of Orlen, Pekao etc.

Mind you must have been funny seeing them all trying to fix the website yesterday morning and then making a few calls only to find out that every IT nerd is Warsaw was too busy listening to help them.

News / 2ND MIRACLE OF THE VISTULA: youth mysteriously appear out of nowhere! [231]

At federal level they are not elected in the US. They also serve fixed terms and cannot be fired in the fixed term.

In some states they are elected but normally with extensive checks. However if you want to talk about Alabama there is another thread for that. Great BBQ.

The American Bar Association has criticised the proposed Polish law for destroying the separation of executive and judicial branches. Political enemies or even moral enemies like abortionists or foreign banks would have judges and prosecutors reporting to the same person.

News / 2ND MIRACLE OF THE VISTULA: youth mysteriously appear out of nowhere! [231]

Yes I see that very much - it's slow, over complicated, jurisdiction is not always clear, it's expensive and time consuming.

None of those problems will be fixed by this law. However a very serious problem will be created - Govt control of the judicial branch.

News / 2ND MIRACLE OF THE VISTULA: youth mysteriously appear out of nowhere! [231]

The Dutch Supreme Court appoints people for life terms but they can voluntarily retire. Ziobro wants to be able to fire judges, starting from next week. That is the fundamental difference.

News / 2ND MIRACLE OF THE VISTULA: youth mysteriously appear out of nowhere! [231]

Funnily enough I think the personal animus against Walesa is one reason why young people are more engaged this time. He is probably the one name they are vaguely aware of from their childhoods and still much admired. Many ordinary people were disgusted by the whistling at him during Trump's visit.

News / Polish professors want Duda to sign judiciala reforms ASAP [5]

I think the full name of the organisation these Professors represent is AKO Im. Lecha Kaczynskiego, and from a quick googling of some local members they are not law professors, more like a handful from other disciplines, most of who are involved in PiS at a local level. Not all are professors anyway.

Could you instead find some active law professors from reputable schools who are prepared to put their name to the theory that the proposed system is the same as in other countries ?

News / 2ND MIRACLE OF THE VISTULA: youth mysteriously appear out of nowhere! [231]

What a whack job theory. How do you think that millions of zloty could be moved into Poland at one days notice without moving the forex markets in favor of the PLN (in fact they have moved the other way as investors start to get nervous about legal process and dispute resolution - after all a court controlled by the govt means Polish govt bonds are overnight a lot less safe).

And then how could that be distributed to tens of thousands of people all over the country ?

Fact is this - if you are under 33 you do not even remember communism, let alone care about scores being settled from those days. You probably realise that the cause of Smolensk was Lech persuading the pilot to land in heavy fog. You are worried about the eccentric actions of a govt that cobbles together vital legislation at a few days notice, without consulting any experts and then springs it on parliament late in the evening ?

PiS played a smart hand in 2015 - appealing to young Mums and aspirational families - the scales are falling from their eyes now that they see the two people they voted for, Szydlo and Duda, are far from the power centre.

News / 2ND MIRACLE OF THE VISTULA: youth mysteriously appear out of nowhere! [231]

One reason that both Trump and Corbyn caused shocks is that they got their vote out - in Trumps case in places like Flint and Steubenville and in Corbyn's the young. In the U.K. It was a clear message that they were tired of grabbing, senile careerists and would make themselves heard. Maybe the same thing in Poland now.

Of course it's long two weeks ago that PIS managed to round up a few hundred bus loads of supporters from deepest Lubelskie to watch Trump - they could repeat that now if their varicose veins can stand this heat.

News / 60% of Poles say Szydło's government should resign [238]

If you are comparing to the German Federal Courts then there is little similarity in the method of appointment. Those judges are appointed by a commission of representatives from each Lander and from parliament - thus it mirrors Germany's federal system.

If you are comparing to the US then the President's picks are approved by the senate but they are there for life and cannot be fired, even by Mr "You're Fired". Thus in reality those 9 people are picked by a mix of Democrat and Republican politicians over a 29 year period. The US State Dept yesterday said they are concerned by the proposed changes in Poland.

What is being proposed here by Ziobro and Kaczynski (and not forgetting the useless lump who is actually Prime Minister) has no parallel in western democracies, whatever spin they try to put on it.

Work / English speaking-Accountant and job in Poland [13]

There is a lot of work for which Polish is not needed - many shared service centres and back offices employ plenty of foreigners and Brexit means another 10-15 are coming to Poland. That should be a starting point and you should get your CV and LinkedIn in order before you apply. A second line of inquiry would be as said above to contact Turkish businesses in Poland.

News / 60% of Poles say Szydło's government should resign [238]

Would you put someone in charge of anything in your organisation if they can not use a computer ? It is a bit superficial but it's a sign of his arrogance that he considers he has no need to learn these skills.

The 22 bln number has been repeated here without challenge too often - it is obvious to accountants that it is only a half truth. Yes there has been a healthy increase in VAT mainly as a result of an increase in economic activity (for which the govt can take some credit) not due to recovery from crooked politicians. There are a number of ways in which the government has manipulated this figure, the most significant being early repayment of that refunds in December 2016, in fact the VAT receipts from December the lowest for many years.

A second reason has been with holding of VAT from real estate deals conducted in the first half of the year often these run into tens of millions of zloty. The third reason is that it is down much more difficult to reconcile your VAT on a quarterly basis, and that you have many VAT payers making an two months worth of receipts included in that number.

Let's rather wait until the end of 2017 to see how all of those three issues cycle out. The end result will probably be that there is some increase in VAT collected as a result of the crackdown on non-payers. From my day-to-day experience the people who are most likely to avoid paying VAT are small businessmen and I imagine some of those vote for the government, some for the opposition and some do not vote at all. It is wrong to say that that has unpaid VAT vanished into thin air - it has vanished into Audis, holidays in Turkey and new garden furniture for the small businessmen of Polska B.

News / 60% of Poles say Szydło's government should resign [238]

For sure he belongs in the past - can't use a computer, doesn't have a bank account, doesn't have a passport, not sure f he can drive but can't remember seeing him at the wheel.

Anybody see Szydlo's inspiring use of the autocue last night ?

News / 60% of Poles say Szydło's government should resign [238]

@irishlodz

Not sure how your interesting post ended up here ! One of the good things about Chopin is that it is close to town - 8km and that unlike Prague or Budapest it now has a great train connection. Your replacement would primarily benefit the people of Lodz while those wanting to be close to Warsaw would face a huge inconvenience.

Work / English speaking-Accountant and job in Poland [13]

There are quite a kot of opportinities at the moment. There is a shortage of people ar your level so you might be able to overcome the fact that you don't speak Polish.

What city are you in ?
What kind of experience you have as senior accountant ?
What other languages do you speak ?
Are you able to work - I.e. Do you have a work permit ?

News / 60% of Poles say Szydło's government should resign [238]

Yes it's important to oppose immigration - it is by far the greatest danger facing Poland. I mean they might be religious extremists who want to set up their own court system in Poland.

News / Head of Poland's Supreme Court Gersdorf charged with corruption [15]

Dunno - watching the debate at the moment and they are clearly surprised so I don't think it was plotted in advance

News / Poland's President-Elect Duda leads in public trust - CBOS poll [185]

Finally might be doing his job after two years :). I'm not sure how TVP and the other PiS outlets app spin this one - probably still waiting for instructions

News / Head of Poland's Supreme Court Gersdorf charged with corruption [15]

Could be an interesting few days - seems Duda has his own ideas for once !

USA, Canada / Sending money to Poland from the USA? [48]

You can pick up money gram at Pekao, Bank Pocztowy or at Tesco. Western Union at PKO and I think WBK. As Johnny says these are the safest options.

Law / Appreciate feedback/attorney referral for Warsaw property for my uncle that passed intestate. [6]

Normally 10 years but can be exceptions.

As I understand you want to challenge a settlement from the late 40s ? Unless there is an oil well or a shopping mall on top of it then I wold give it up as a bad job. If you were not born at the time of your grandmothers death then you would not have rights as a grandchild. There is unlikely to be much documention as the judges were all busy hanging people straight after the war. A final complication is that many of the beneficiaries will also be dead by now.

News / Poland being the powerhouse of Europe [40]

Poland will continue to dwarf all of its neighbors as an investment opportunity purely because of number of people and being in the EU. It doesn't matter who is in charge that has been the story since the mid 90s.

However to continue this after say 2025 then they will need to build more robust institutions - courts, capital markets, universities (I don't think that is happening)- and also to develop a more broad skill base (I think that is happening quite nicely, partly due to Poles gaining experience in U.K., Germany etc).

USA, Canada / Sending a phone from USA to Poland [6]

I have had my own phone sent FedEx to me after I left it in a hotel. No problems but was not cheap. In the current climate I think you might have some risk of it being opened and detained at customs - Poland has recently introduced legislation to control registration of SIM cards.

Joker is right that if you use ordinary mail you have a risk of theft. If with FedEx etc then probably not a big risk.

In your case however it would be much easier to order one online from a Polish shop like Media Markt or Media Expert - they deliver and they offer unlocked smartphones and it would then come with the European power cables too. Alternatively just wire some money to your girlfriend because shops like Teletorium and TelAkces are in every mall, even in smaller towns and have a good range of unlocked smartphones.

News / Officials in Poland are hailing an upcoming visit by Donald Trump [720]

I am not sure you STEM hotshots understand but Liberal Arts does not mean "full of liberals" - this term is related to the methods they use to teach in small class sizes and the fact that they are supposed to give a broad education. Some of the worlds top scientific institutions like Harvey Mudd are Liberal Arts Colleges. So yes I would generally describe those people as better educated than plumbers - not necessarily richer or more useful when your pipes are frozen.

Of course the less educated are more likely to feel left behind. But they are also more likely to see the world in simple terms, to not think through the consequences of simplistic solutions (like imposing tariffs) and are more susceptible to misinformation and conspiracies. Obama could have done more for them but his one signature achievement - to give a safety net to millions of the poorest Americans - is one that Trump wants to undo. In fact I heard that many Trump voters do not know that Obamacare and the ACA are the same thing.

As for judging morality by church going - then of course you can conduct a scientific experiment and prove this hypothesis. I go about twice a month, my wife rarely goes due to apathy, my brother never goes as he hates the church - but I think we have pretty much the same morals.

I read Trump's book and in 300 odd pages of talking about renovating ice rinks and the decor in Trump Tower I do not remember a single reference to him attending church. How does he live his life now ? A serial womanizer, vile bragging, abuse of the weak and those too dignified to answer back. Yet he has the nerve to lecture us about family values and the arrogance to defend Western Civilization when he has embodied ones of its worst traits - realisty TV.

News / Officials in Poland are hailing an upcoming visit by Donald Trump [720]

Since we are talking about maths then here is a quick calc.

234 PiS Posel + 64 deputies = 298

They were all ordered to fill one bus each, lets assume 50 mohers per coach

That makes 14.900.

Not sure who the other 100 were.

News / Officials in Poland are hailing an upcoming visit by Donald Trump [720]

@nothanks

Well if you have such magnificent maths education then you will be able to look at statistics and see that there is a significant correlation between being educated and being informed and intelligent. Not sure if the courses in Moscow State cover such material or if they are still concentrating on grain quotas and steel output.

And you would also notice that the strongest indicator of voting for Trump is lack of a college education. Sample statistic - in the 59 counties with highest level of college education in the US then Clinton increased her vote from Obama 2012. In the 50 least educated counties then Trump increased his vote from Romney 2012. There are plenty of similar statistics available that make a plain case - Trumps lies were aimed at the weak and the ignorant. Now he can get working on delivering what he promised them - reopened mines, tarriffs on imports, a wall paid for by Mexicans and a massive cut to their healthcare. Or is he too busy abusing straw men on Twitter ?

News / Officials in Poland are hailing an upcoming visit by Donald Trump [720]

It is also nonsense that you can build up that kind of relationship at the drop of a hat - something that senile Brexiters and poorly educated Trump voters can not understand - it takes many years of building institutions and mutual trust.

News / Officials in Poland are hailing an upcoming visit by Donald Trump [720]

You know why we like trading with Europe ? Because it is next door, our roads and railways are connected to theirs, we have the same regulations, no tarriffs, same trading standards, a currency that strongly correlates to the Euro. Why would we throw that away just to trade with unstable dictatorships ?

News / Officials in Poland are hailing an upcoming visit by Donald Trump [720]

There is no better way for Trump to deflect attention from his failings and his inability to implement his policy agenda than to bash the"MSM".

What is the best way to get people to undertake a non binding and complicated but sensible commitment ? Is it to work with them on a range of issues and help them feel you are a trustworthy partner ? Or is it to berate them and insult them for the sake of your poorly educated voters in their Hollers and farmsteads ? This should be obvious to the self proclaimed king of the deal but he is not doing well so far.

This is not money that is owed to America, it is a commitment to spend on your own military. But if he is serious about it then the only real solution is to scrap the treaty on German reunification which reaffirmed restrictions on its military and especially on offensive capabilities. What would be the point of that ? How would that help Polish interests ? And what would Russia, a signatory of that treaty, have to say about it ? I have never heard either Trump or PiS address this question - probably because it involves words of more than one syllable.

News / Officials in Poland are hailing an upcoming visit by Donald Trump [720]

It's amazing how six months of idiocy and inexperience can undo 80 years of world leadership, carefully built by both Republicans and Democrats. Trump thinks the rest of the world will listen to him when in fact they have no obligation to indulge his infantile ways.