News / The best Poland ever? [125]


you call it mistreatment I call it a just a couple of articles - did the interests of German business in Poland suffer? did German minority in Poland suffer (the genuine German minority in Poland is not much more than 150 000 I guess)? where there any government-organized riots in Poland? have any German people been phisically harmed because of three or four remarks by Lech or Jaroslaw Kaczyński

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


where did I say betrayal - I say you are not treating us as partners - then you expect Poland to treat you as partners

halldor2.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/the-russian-gas-deficit-is-it-real/

- Russias gas budget margin

a quote from the link - As a result of this new situation, during the winter of 2007/2008, Gazprom almost totally exhausted its underground gas reservoirs.

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


what nazi accusations? did anything lead to Poland shutting the pipeline? did not Poland prove to be reliable gas transit country??? you are being paranoid here I would say -

give the data about those transit fees - how much do they account for in the price of gas in Germany - 1 per cent? I doubt it is even a whole 1 per cent - what heights are you talking about? - I know you have an agenda with this Nord Stream thing for whatever reason

name those nasty mistreatment of Germany by Kaczyńskis btw - cause you seem to conveniently circle around inconvenient questions

btw had Germany insisted Lithuania and Latvia could perhaps agree not to tap into the new land route pipeline - but Germany traded political decisions for Russian contracts

btw Russia itself is a concern for Germany energy supplies as its own gas budget allows for very little margin at the moment (so if there is some unusually severe and long winter in Russia we may all be short of gas or Russian people will be freezing

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


namely???


German energy concerns would be equally addressed by building a land pipeline as suggested in many of my posts - unless you don't treat Lithuania, Latvia and Poland as reliable - Poland proved to be reliable (in terms of gas supplies)even under 'those monsters' Kaczyńskis

History / United States of America Vs Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth [74]


the right to veto blocked any reforms untill they were too late

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


Kaczynskis (spelling please) were not in power at the moment when the decision was made (summer of the 2005) and it could be hardly speculated then that they would get power - however Poland under Kaczyńskis was not unreliable in terms of gas transfer to Germany so your ******** proves to have no foundation -

the pumping through the new pipeline will be more expensive than the pumping through the Yamal pipeline including national transit fees (the article you quote clearly states this) - i will point it out untill you get bored - I will not

in building Nord Stream you prove to ignore Polish concerns so you don't treat us as partners - why should we treat you as such - btw Germany insisting on so called proportional voting power in the EU also clearly acted against Polish interests so Kaczynskis reacted (Lech Kaczynski was blackmailed during the negotiations)

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


hmm what do you mean - have we used the Yamal pipeline to exert any pressure on Germany? - have we stolen any gas that was meant for Germany?? - our part of pipeline was completely reliable - it was Belarus and Ukraine that were unreliable - what do you mean by unreliable

it conveniently omits the merits of a new land route (Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus) - it only compares the values of Nord Stream against the present situation - a conveniently omits many other things (like the cost of laying the pipeline)

News / The best Poland ever? [125]

Using a strategic simulation model of European gas supply, Holz et al. (2009)
find that Russian gas exports to Europe until 2025 would not exceed export
capacity through the existing routes (i.e. 180 bcm/a through Ukraine and
Belarus)5.

this is an interesting find in the link you provided BB

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


Odessa-Brody- and perhaps further Płock, Gdańsk is (and will) not a gas pipeline but an oil one- so no Turkmen gas will ever flow through it (btw there is no guarantee it will ever be extended to Poland - at the moment it pumps oil in the opposite direction i.e. to the Black Sea

there were some vague ideas of transporting LNG from postulated terminals in Georgia than pumping it through Ukraine to Poland - the problem is at the source: Russians bribe and/or threat Central Asiatic countries including Azerbaijan into pumping their gas through their network and abandoning projects to deliver gas to Europe through Turkey and the Balkans


the link clearly reads - transfer of the gas through the Nord Stream will be more expensive than through the Yamal pipeline (ie. the main pipeline Russian gas flows through Poland to Germany) including transfer fees charged by the countries involved (Belarus and Poland)

this will be achieved by paying at least as 4 times more money (possibly 10 times more) than by building a new land route (for example through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland) - btw I think if Germany insisted Latvia and Lithuania would surrender the idea of tapping into the new pipeline

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


Poland couldn't build a pipeline without Russians agreeing to it - wouldn't it end on the Latvian border somewhere??? - you don't just build pipelines everywhere and then wait till someone cares to pump some gas into it

I don't think Poland is building any natural gas pipeline with Ukraine - I don't know if Poland contributed to the Brody-Odessa project (a crude oil pipeline - not a natural gas one) financially - there were some plans to extend it to Płock and Gdańsk


yeah, one should be a believer - you have proven yourself incorrect on a couple of issues (the price of the gas transfer through Nord-Stream will only be slightly more expensive than through Yamal pipeline i.e. the one going through Poland - you claimed it will be cheaper) - so why should I believe you


Nord-Stream will be at least (official figures) 4 times more expensive than a all-land route one - since then it has gone far over the planned budget - i have seen some estimates that it will actually be 10 time more expensive to build than the land alternative

unreliable pipelines? hmm? are land pipelines more unrealiable than the undersea ones


have you seen any Russian-Poland payment spats before?? Latvia and Lithuania have proved themselves to be equally or even more financially responsible? you just don't care to treat us as partners? why should we treat you as such

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


so you have proved yourself not correct on the statement of the cost (you have claimed it should be cheaper) - I stand to what I claimed: it was Germany's political decision to have a pipeline with Russia (not purely economical as you claim)

News / The best Poland ever? [125]

now prove it - give me links - how much did it cost to transfer gas through Poland (including transfer fee) and how much will it cost to pump it on the Baltic seabed (including the pipeline maintanance) - hard facts are that the undersea pipeline will cost at least 4 times higher to build than a all-land route (and these were official estimates - and since then they went billions over the budget)

care to make any comments on Mr Pottinger's statement ??? read a few posts above

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


I don't know the realities now but Germany had for a long time forced payment for Polish (or any foreign) trucks entering it's borders

maybe it some ethical arguement that Poland should not demand payment for the gas transferred (btw I think Polish side contributed to the maintainance of the pipeline) to Germany through its territory but from the financial point of view I bet it is even more expensive to pump gas (and maintain the pipeline) under Baltic sea - just care to post how much the money Poland charged for the transfer through its territory influenced/s the price of the NG in Germany (I would be surprised if it exceeds one per cent)


the agreement on the Nord Stream was signed before PiS created any kind of government (before Polish elections)- all you come up with are lies seems to me - btw in what matters Poland proved unreliable for Germany - in trying to force hegemonistic position for 'core EU' countries??

btw I once (live) heard Mr Poettinger (or Pottinger) say in a political panel on the German TV how much 'New Europe' costs the 'Old Europe' -

- it was 26 euros yearly per citizen of the Old Europe - (I can understand enough German believe me) (it was 2007 I believe) - now I wonder if you know who Mr Pottinger was

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


Lithuania and Latvia proved that they act responsibly in respect of economy (on the national level) - gas pipeline through these countries thus leaving Ukraine and Belarus behind was (and still is) a viable option - Germany chose not to treat Poland, Latvia and Lithuania (all EU countries) as reliable partners - maybe it is not goal for those who run Germany to have real partners in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania

History / The smallest Poland ever? [115]

such comparisons are useless, pall

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


but they will when their bills soar - and consider how fast Polish debt is rising - can you see it's possible impact on Polish economy (higher taxes - possible unemployment) - I don't call that optimism if you ignore all those alarming signals


there was no instance Poland has not paid for its Russian gas - even in the direst moments for our economy - and even with not so great contracts with Russia - now that may change with the 'best ever gas deal with Russia' that can eventually put many big industries in Poland out of business - unless the avarage Kowalski pays a share of the industrial gas bill

News / The best Poland ever? [125]


Poland is at risk that her neighbours will manipulate her into disadvantageous economical position. And you see it happening - the gas deal with Russia = the highest prices of natural gas in Europe (among many disadvantages for Poland in the contract) - of course one needed Polish accomplices to sign the deal - go figure ( if you can read in Polish I can provide you with an article by Igor Janke about the background of the deal)

pan-European climatical agreements (Tusk claimed to achieve a great success for Poland on one of the European summits in the field) will be very unfavorable for Polands economy - it can prove a nasty surprise for most Poles that in the year 2012 their electricity bills will soar (perhaps even double) - I'm not familiar with the details of many agreements now but can think that some European countries want to take advantage of the fact that they don't have coal powered economy

another threat - once the Nord Stream pipeline is finished Russia can shut the gas supplies to Poland for whatever reason (like don't dare to mess with our attempts to overtake Ukraine or Georgia (or maybe later Belarus)) - why did Germany want such pipeline if they see a partner in Poland (or maybe they don't see Poland as partner but rather as something else) - if you ask - there is an easy all-land route for Russian gas to the EU that would not cross Ukrainian or Belarusian territory (my guess a new land pipeline would cost as little as 1/10th of the Nord Stream - official figures are 4 times higher cost but they have long gone over budget) - but would go through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland - to my eyes Germans desired exclusive partnership with Russia in some industrial fields (read money)

Poland is not fearing military conquest at the moment - even those you would deem political paranoists


education degenerates - in many aspects - today's children can only dream of those educational aids my generation had in school (just an example of how education deteriorates) - don't you think it will affect the standard of life of Polish people - menial jobs in Britain won't last forever -

Language / Duzy in place names [3]

why don't you just translate it as Bigger Kruszyn :)

History / Civilian life in Poland (Krakow) during the WW2. [30]

there were food shortages in the cities during the German occupation - therefore smuggling from the countryside developed (which was banned and persecuted by the Germans) - there was also shortage of coal during colder seasons - at some point Germans started to round up people in the streets of cities and send them to concentration camps or to forced labour to Germany - most cultural and educational institutions have been closed

History / Civilian life in Poland (Krakow) during the WW2. [30]

i don't know any specific sources about Kraków - i only read excerpts from a book about German occupation in Poland by Richard Lukas (or Lucas) - Forgotten holocaust

News / Poland ready to receive Libyan refugees [159]

from what I gather Libyan rebels asked for help from the West and they still do - just read they ask for weapons to defeat Kaddafi so that they could do that with less air support or without it

News / Pole claims to be making the royal wedding furniture in the UK [19]


the most professional journalist in this country seemed to be kataryna - a political blogger (I don't know if her archive blog entries are available anywhere on the internet) -

kataryna's blog is on kataryna.blox.pl

Love / Torments me my boyfriend had a relationship with a pole-how do I get over this [28]


maybe it is a matter of imagination - imagine that you are safe in your relationship and that no Polish woman can threaten your relationship - they say positive thinking works miracles - after all your boyfriend broke up with this Polish girl so either she was not loving and caring enough or the cultural differences (including the language barrier) are too much for average people

as for mixed couples in general - there were lots such after many Poles had to stay in Britain after the World War - these people integrated pretty well and their offspring is fully integrated and you wouldn't perceive them a threat to Britain today - even if it is not gonna be the same this time (as it seems for most Poles for now - but it can take surprising turns in not too distant future) they are not gonna take the country over - yes they are competition in the labour market but mostly in menial jobs - and even this can change pretty soon as the German labour market opens up for Poles just now and Germany is just next to Poland - you can expect a lot of Polish people working in the UK to move to work in Germany in next couple of years

News / What are Poland's optimal both real and virtual neighbors? [81]


as far as I can tell the vast majority of Poles don't bother about Lwów and Wilno and are only moved by the Lithuanians reducing Polish minority rights = only some young hotheads envision Poland back in Lwów and Wilno (i used to when I was much younger)

News / Poland ready to receive Libyan refugees [159]


it probably had unfortunately


I know you have a nice sense of humour isthatu2 and are pretty devoid of bitter malice :P ;)

News / Pubs in Poznan kick out Roma? [256]


I don't think it is a way to go - but I may be wrong - my gut feeling tells me everyone should be allowed to accept only the customers he wishes for

I have just read that the support is somehow funded by the EU -not sure about that however- anyway it is handed out directly by the state (not even through the local social services) - still it allows for Roma families living off the child benefit which does not stop them from teaching their children to steal or mug people for money

News / Poland ready to receive Libyan refugees [159]


well, you could have supported Poland much more in the EU than you have (I mean the UK) - we have plenty common interests - among these trying to stop Franco-German hegemony in the EU - but when there was a chance you failed to - now it's different foreign affairs philosophy among the ruling in Poland (you should have noticed the change in government already) and the current philosophy is to be as pro-German as it gets (until they screw us big time :) - so if Angela Merkel says we (Westerners) should stay away from internal Arab strife, Mr Tusk is more than happy to sound equally distanced from the trouble

News / Pubs in Poznan kick out Roma? [256]

I am of an opinion that an owner of a private place has right not to allow some people in - pub isn't exactly public institution to my mind

on the side note:I have heard that quite recently that there is some special law in Poland that allows for child benefit for Roma families several times higher than the one a Polish ethnic can receive - haven't explored the issue though

UK, Ireland / Are you Poles proud of your country? Then why do you keep coming to Britain? [100]

the original question is quite sensible actually - I can't say I am proud of my country

News / What are Poland's optimal both real and virtual neighbors? [81]


you have a bunch of great ideas ;) - maybe except that Slovakian part