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Posts by f stop  

Joined: 9 Dec 2009 / Female ♀ 		Last Post: 9 Oct 2015
Threads: Total: 24 / In This Archive: 21
Posts: Total: 2493 / In This Archive: 1879 		From: USA, dirty south
Speaks Polish?: tak
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Displayed posts: 1900 / page 1 of 64
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f stop   
12 Dec 2009
History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

I'm too lazy to read this entire thread, but I'll weigh in with my opinion anyway. I think Poles are anti-semitic. My family included. Unfortunately, it seems that so is the rest of the non-jewish world as well.
f stop   
12 Dec 2009
History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

joepilsudski
Huh? Registration suspended?? Khazars???
Here are few simple definitions for you:
F-stop is the focal length divided by the "effective" aperture diameter. I'm a photographer.
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is prejudice against or hostility towards Jews, often rooted in hatred of their ethnic background, culture, or religion.
f stop   
16 Dec 2009
USA, Canada / Renewal of Polish passport from the USA [44]

I renewed my passport this year. I contacted them by e-mail. I was told I'll have to travel to Washington, but then I got lucky: Embassy scheduled couple of days for their consul to travel and set up meetings in a Polish Center around Tampa. I made an appointment, traveled couple of hours, no lines, no wait, met and chatted with a handsome young Polish council and voila! passport arrived in the mail 4 months later. "Unia Europejska" right on the cover! Totally worth it.

Oh, and there was some certificate I never heard about that was missing in my application. They called me about it, e-mailed me the papers, I filled it and I faxed it back to them. Also, they would not accept the pictures I brought with me but insisted on re-taking them on the spot.
f stop   
16 Dec 2009
USA, Canada / Renewal of Polish passport from the USA [44]

Few more things: the missing papers was Numer Ewidencyjny PESEL.
There is no fingerprint anywhere on my passport.
I applied within 2 weeks of my old passport expiring. I asked if I could keep the old one. They punched two holes in it but let me keep it.

I think it was about $144, and then there was a mad scramble for change. I said they could keep the $6 or whatever it was, but that was not acceptable. I proposed to donate it to a cause of their choice, then somebody found some change. Thank God! My next idea would have been to ask the council to lunch.
f stop   
21 Dec 2009
News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]

First time I read about it, I thought it was funny - like reading a story about idiot thieves. We made so much more out of this then it really deserved.

On the other hand, taking that sign took a lot of balls. And, I hope one day all those concentration camps can be dismantled, so we stop dragging our schoolchildren to them for field trips. Enough already.
f stop   
21 Dec 2009
News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]

I'm too ADD to read through all this, but it looks to me like you are arguing what belonged to whom before the WWII. Are you serious?

And wait, the kicker is that the original topic was a work of art itself..., of sorts.. the SIGN.
f stop   
22 Dec 2009
News / Freezing weather in Poland, 42 people dead in winter freeze... and no-one cares? [140]

Those are wonderful stories, but a bit unrealistic in my neck of the woods. In my experience, the homeless have much bigger problems then a lack of roof over their heads. Vast majority of them are addicted to drugs or alcohol and have "unresolved" issues that need way more help then good-hearted laymen can provide with an occasional donation.

Now, with todays economy I do believe that some normal, hardworking people will find themselves homeless, I'm just saying that I have not met any. Also, I know about 10 homeless people, so my sample pool is pretty small.
f stop   
22 Dec 2009
News / Freezing weather in Poland, 42 people dead in winter freeze... and no-one cares? [140]

Wrong G, nobody choses to sleep on the streets or to become an alcoholic."

That is not true. I don't know where do you meet your homeless (Christmas stories?), but most the ones I meet have such a disdain for us poor fools going to work every morning and doing somebody else's bidding, they are simply not willing to conform and pay the price.

There might be some that may find themselves homeless through no fault of their own, but those are only temporary. And those can usually find some friendly couches until they can get one of their own. Plus they usually have families that have not given up on them.

So, again, speaking from my own experience, homeless are usually those who are unwilling or unable to play by the rules and expect the rules to change for them. Or, they are waiting for that big win in lottery.
f stop   
22 Dec 2009
News / Freezing weather in Poland, 42 people dead in winter freeze... and no-one cares? [140]

Last month I had to evict a tenant who stopped paying his rent.
He lost his job, but got just enough to live on from unemployment, and simply could not live within his means, or adjust to his new financial reality. Now he's still going through friends and aquaintances, but once he outlasts his welcome, he will be homeless. Great many people are unable to manage their money, still going out to eat, buying junk for Christmas, thinking something will come their way (Lottery? Obama?) and rescue them.

If I could find a person, or a family that is truly down on their luck and just need a little help, I would gladly help them out. Last year I took a girl in with two kids and at the end of six months I gave her back all the money she paid me so she can get her own place and car. She's had some setbacks since, but mostly she is managing. Those are very rare and if you find them, by all means, help them. The litmus test is - would you let them move into your home?
f stop   
22 Dec 2009
News / Freezing weather in Poland, 42 people dead in winter freeze... and no-one cares? [140]

That was my point: if you would not let them into your house, then you're admitting that they might be other issues. I'm the fool that constantly opens her house to people, and I found out that if someone is homeless, there is usually a reason for it, underneath the obvious one. Find what it is before you put yourself out there. Or you might be handing a crackhead $20, or giving a guy a ride to the neighborhood with better loot.
f stop   
22 Dec 2009
News / Freezing weather in Poland, 42 people dead in winter freeze... and no-one cares? [140]

Arien, you have a very unrealistic view of the homeless. That and Christmas movies will make you forget you wearing a rose colored glasses. Go find some homeless people and meet them. Not for a minute do I believe your story about running across a sober, sane, homeless man that "did not smell" and bought coldcuts with your money while you walked away smiling and his life was changed forever... not for a minute.
f stop   
23 Dec 2009
News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]

Call me a cynic, but with the amount of attention this generated, maybe they didn't mind so much getting caught? If I were them, I'd be looking for worthy platform right now - against traumatizing children by taking them to concentration camps school trips? high heating prices? immigration reform?
f stop   
23 Dec 2009
News / Freezing weather in Poland, 42 people dead in winter freeze... and no-one cares? [140]

Yeah Ariel, now your talking! That's much better than making people think that the next homeless person they run into is going to be a famous writer down on her luck.

Just don't make it a competition about who's doing more for the 'downtrotten". No one can match my own gullibility, and I do put my money where my mouth is.

First law is good too, but it sort of implies that you can't change a person. Not a best argument for helping homeless.

here are couple of personal stories that may offer some useful hints for those that actually take homeless people into their homes. Easy to get them in, much harder to get them out. Four cases, all true:

(1) A woman that within weeks needed to share her good fortune with homeless animals. She started bringing stinky old dogs and cats. When given the ultimatum, she moved out with her animals rather then give them up. It was all very civilized, I gave glowing recomendation to her next temporary 'landloard'.

(2) Recovering addict, clean for 2 1/2 years, hard worker. Fell off the wagon couple of months into his stay with me because some girl he met was getting high. Getting him out was a stroke of genius: I offered him a $100 and a ride anywhere within reason (I think he chose his dealer's house) as long as he took all his stuff with him and did not came back.

(3) Puerto Rican girl, with two kids I mentioned earlier. She always paid her bills on time, but looking at her budget, it was clear she'll never going to be able to save enough to get on her own two feet. So I gave her back all the money she paid me. A success story. I still help her once in a while, when her cable TV gets turned off and such, but that's still a great success.

(4) latest - a neighbor that lost his job, house, kids turned bad. Little did I know that his plan was to commit suicide via alcohol. I got him out a month ago, moved him out with his sons on Sunday afternoon. He was too drunk to realize what was going on. He's in jail now, after almost killing somebody while driving drunk. I'm looking around for homeless shelter for when they let him out. I can see that it would be much easier to do that if he accepted Jesus as his personal saviour.
f stop   
23 Dec 2009
News / Freezing weather in Poland, 42 people dead in winter freeze... and no-one cares? [140]

oh, they're around. Each time I swear to myself I'll never do it again, somebody else comes around that I'm convinced I can help... Turns out that the great majority of my "social cases" do not know how to think beyond today.

As far as the business, that would be the worst run business in history!
f stop   
23 Dec 2009
Travel / Is it safe to travel to Poland? [194]

In every country there are impoverished, 'unsafe' areas. For the tourist it's important that there are places he/she knows about that are safe to walk around, even in the evenings. I don't know where they are any more, but pointing them out would be much more useful HERE than arguing about statistics.
f stop   
24 Dec 2009
Food / What's on YOUR Wigilia table? [20]

śledzie, sałatka, ryba w galarecie, ryba po grecku, barszcz z uszkami, pierogi.
No desert yet. Szarlotka, probably.
Oh, no carp though. Flounder and snook.
f stop   
24 Dec 2009
Travel / Is it safe to travel to Poland? [194]

So, are there parts of Warsaw/Krakow you would not stroll around in the evening? If so, where and why?