History / Seen "teutonic" in my history book and i was just wondering what it was? [4]

Interestingly, the lands conquered by the Knights of the Cross (aka Teutonic Knights) were named after the pagan Prussians the Teutons had slaughtered. That area came to be known as Prussia, and that was the name of the 19th/20th century . Kingdom of Prussia, also known as the Second Reich, which fought in WW1. Hitler prefered the name Deutschland (Germany) for his Third Reich, of which Prussia (Preußen) was one of its regions.

Some say inviting the Krzyżacy by Duke Conrad of Masovia was the biggets blunder ever committed in Polish history. The alien enclave festered like a cancerous growth until 1945. Then, rather than splitting the area up between Poland and Lithuanian, Stalin put his fiothy paw on Królewiec region and turned it into the Kalininrgad enclave. He needed a warm-water port that did not freeze over and the doddering old FRD and usually shrewd and crafty Churchill gave in.

Life / "Protestant" or Non Catholic communities in Poland [18]

There's a big Lutehran church just a stone's throw from the Hotel Victoria (I think it's now called Sofitel). My impression is that there are some 90,000 Lutherans in Poland, but the majority live in Cieszyn Silesia. Former PM Jerzy Buzek is a Lutheran.

One of the most colourful denominations are the Catholic Mariavites of Felcjanowo near Płock who have not only women priests but also bishopesses. There are also Old Catholic Mariavites but they do not have female clergy.

Life / "Protestant" or Non Catholic communities in Poland [18]

That church at Solidarności was rolled back in the late 1940s or early '50s to make way for the Trasa W-Z. It was quite an engineering feat back then.

USA, Canada / Feminine surname endings in America? [48]

So an Icelandic lady emigrates to Canada. At the immirgtration offcie in Toronto when they see Helga Olaffsdottir in her passport do they automatically write down Helga Olaffson in their computer? Or if its Halina Dobrowolska, do they change it to Dobrowoslki right then and there? Anyone know for sure?

Life / "Protestant" or Non Catholic communities in Poland [18]

Even on Sundays? Is it an abandoned or disused faciltiy?

News / Rest in Peace Anna Walentynowicz or is it...?! [63]

The Polish media are having another field day, this time about the suspected mix-up of coffins in which the remains of Smolensk victims were placed. More and more families are requesting the exhumation of their loved ones. Today Marshal of the Sejm Ewa Kopacz (who back then was health minister) tearfully proclaiming on TVN24 that she did everryxthing in her power in Moscow in April 2010 but that she was only in charge of comforting victims' families. How could Walentynowicz's mortal remains have been placed in the wrong coffin? Her son saw them in Moscow and everything was OK. The ugly red Russian coffins were changed in Warsaw to handsome wood-grain ones. That might suggest that they mix-up took place in Poland. So overall political responsibility for the chaos falls to the ruling Tusk clique.

News / Rest in Peace Anna Walentynowicz or is it...?! [63]

Re Poland's funeral industry, are there any American-style funeral parlours in Poland where mourners come to view and pay respects to the deceased displayed in an open coffin? There is a viewing room at Wólka Węglowa (presumably also at other cemeteries) but that is usually about 30 minutes before the Requiem mass. And not all families opt to have the open coffin displayed. There's an extra charge for that (rental of the viewing room).

News / Poland marching for faith and freedom [43]

Invovling oneself in politics could mean joining a poltical party, speaking at or attending a political rally, standing for public office and the like. It does not mean simply observing the poltical scene and expressing one's views of it. There's a difference between participating in a march or rally from covering one.

ok

News / Poland marching for faith and freedom [43]

Or the political scene can be viewed as the crooked oldboy PO clique telling the people between the lines: if you play ball with us, give us free rein, let us force through increased retirement age and don't make too much fuss about Amber Gold, then maybe you'll get cut into the loot. Some Poles are saying of Kaczyński: Wracaj Jarku do koryta, lepszy bliźniak niż bandyta!

News / Poland marching for faith and freedom [43]

Every decent economic policy must be people-orientated. It must first and foremost take into account the wellbring of the vast majority, not just the narrow interests of the upper echelons of tricky banksters and corrupt politicans.

News / Poland marching for faith and freedom [43]

Not spend for spending's sake. In general, frugality in spedning and lower taxes help the eocnomy, but the money transfers of foreign banks and retail chains should be taxed quite heavily. Perhaps a law should be enacted creating a minimum re-investment level, ie foeign

firms would be obliged to re-invest in Poland a set percnetage of their profits rather than channelling them all abroad. At presetn, they tend to invest only enough to keep their Poland-based operation going, but the bulk of the goodies gets sent to theri home bases.

Savings could be obtained by having state officials drive not pricey BMWs and Volvos buit less expensive vehicles half the price. In fact, all state services should use only vehicles buitl in Poland and giving jobs to Poles. The EU tries to itnerfere saying that's not competitive, so they woulkd have to offer a lower price which cars oprioduced otuside POland could not udnercut (those built in Slovakia and Hunagry might be the exception). Another important move is the confiscation of ill-gotten gains (hosues, cars, yachts, etc.) -- a perennial PiS demand. The judicial system needs cleaning up so the Judge Milewskis of this world do not bow to the telephone receiver if they think they've got a Tuskian emissary at the other end. Letting Plichta off the hook with suspended sentences or dfropping charges is downright outrageous.

News / Poland marching for faith and freedom [43]

Only if one believes high-living, luxophilic Rostowski who is not very credible in my books. His whole calculation appears to have had a single purpose: to demonstrate the 'correctness' of Tuskite policy and muzzle any criticism. Anything can be proved or disproved by juggling figures which the avergae person has no way of veryfying. And it is human history that elites in general, except those that have not lost the common touch, try to bamboozle their constituencies by every means possible.

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News / Poland marching for faith and freedom [43]

What a leader of a private business, reglious order or other organisation drives may be regrettable (becuase the excess could have been spent on worthwhile charitable or social causes), but when public officials do so, they are using the taxpayer's hard-earned money. That is the difference.

Medium-sized Opels, VWs, Peugeots, Chervolets,Hyundais, Kias, etc. are also elegant looking and every bit as roomy as the pricey BMWs and Volvos at a fraction of the price, hence save the taxpayer's money. Never forget, the taxpayer is king. Wihtout them the VIPs would not be able to engage in high living and wallow in luxury. Unlike the elties who have all kinds of ways of getting out of paying their rightful share of taxes (tax shelters, trust funds, phoney exemptions and shrewd, pricey lawyers), ordinary peoplel do not.

News / Poland marching for faith and freedom [43]

He is not a pulbic official. If he got a tax exemption he got it legally. SO you can a'onbly blame the officials that granted it to him. He didn't rob a bank.

News / Poland marching for faith and freedom [43]

I'm no rydzykologist and don't follow everything he does. If he committed a crime, she should be indicted. But re shipyards, I recall tricky Don promising the Polish people that he'd found a strategic investor for the failing yards...suppoaedly Arab capital. As with many of his promises (motorways, etc.) it turned out to be yet another a crock of BS:

News / Poland marching for faith and freedom [43]

Yep, I know he reneged on hsi promise to have it all ready in tiem for the Euro. Sure, in typical Tuskite fashion he sought to shift the blame to the Chinese contractors and what not, but that's his problem and he bears full repsonsibility. You mean you still beleive the shifty-eyed PM after all his halftruths, untruths and manipulation?!?! Don't recall which, but yesterday one MP used those words to describe the government's mishandling of the molensk victims remains. Marshal of the Sejm Kopacz has a tognue as forked as the PM's. If something happens to Tusk, as second in command she will worthily carry on his tradition.

News / Rest in Peace Anna Walentynowicz or is it...?! [63]

Kopacz fits perfectly into the Tusk team, since 'liar' is her middle name. TV showed what she said shortly after theh 2010 crash claiming that Polish forensic experts had taken part in the autopsies in Moscow. When that turned out to be a bold-faced lie, she hummed and hawed and came up with: 'Er, um, what I meant was that Polish physicians helped to prepare the bodies...but it was the Russians who carried out the actual autopsies.'

Do you think she would have admitted her lie, if she hadn't been confrointed over it? I think not!

News / Poland marching for faith and freedom [43]

Trwam can be received but if it were on the digital paltform like other stations it would have greater range. It's funny thopse who bash TV Trwam and Radio Maryja try to speakj wtih authrotis but have never watchee or listened to it. BTW, today Trwam aired an interesting several-part American programme about the AIDS crisis and homo terrorism in the USA. One homo activist was quoted as saying: If we dont' get more federal funds, we should bomb and burn until we are noticed.

News / Poland marching for faith and freedom [43]

It was an American documenttary. It showed thousands upon thousands of gung-ho wild-eyed homo activists marching through US cities, hugging and slobbering over each other in public, etc., etc. -- that stuff. If you haven't seen it, don't knock it! Sorry, I forgot for a moment you were prejudiced.

Life / Did you already bless your Święconka? [31]

Why we are discussing Easter in September is hard to imagine, but if that be the case... The Easter food blessing in the US has spread beyond the Polish community. As the once tight-knit Polish neighborhoods dispersed over the past half-century and people moved into ethncially mixed suburbs, many requested their new parish priest to introduce the custom, and many did. The custom is a natural with parishioners of all ethnic backgrounds so soon Catholics of German, Irish, Italian, Spanish and other backgrounds began folloiwng suit. Goes to show that a colourful tradition can spread if it is not kept within closed communities. Same goes for the Mexican piñata -- now standard at kids' brithday parties of whatever background.

News / The consequences of a PiS electoral victory [22]

An even worse nightmare is a PO re-election...It is quite likely because when a government enjoyinh the support of banksters, gangsters and otehr big-money forces, they will hold on for dear life.... And many ordinary Poles gulled by clever PO propaganda will help make that a reality.

If PiS were to win, then the 4th Republic project could be resumed and the scam artists, conmen, PRL hangovers and other Tusk backers would finally get be swept away. One should build a country or a house not on muck or rubbish but on a clean, strong, transparent foundation.

News / The consequences of a PiS electoral victory [22]

Yes indeed, corrupt politicans, shady businessmen and wheeler-dealer type careers should quake in their boots at the thought of the CBA auditing their financial scams. At present, they enjoy the PO protective umbrella which incldues collaborating courts and indulgent judges that drop charges or pass suspended sentences on wrongdoing biggies.

NorthMancPolak
Sliced bread is horrible becuase it is mega-chameicalised! Becuase the greater number of exposed surfaces maeks it mroe succeptible do mould, bread meant to be commercially sliced contains more preservatives to prevent that. Just shows to go that urban legends are not always true.

Life / Did you already bless your Święconka? [31]

Now that's a really good question. I've only heard about this being the case without ever delving into the subject. But I'll try to check.

Life / Polish vs British vs American - Clash of cultures [390]

What are silver fish, please?

Life / Polish vs British vs American - Clash of cultures [390]

Very interesting UK-EU chart. Is the classic British understatemtn still alive and well in the UK? The traditonal Polish sterotype of the primaand proper Englihsman wearing a bowlker hat and hurrying off to 5 o'clock tea has been badly battered by Brit stag partyers coming toi Poland.

News / A new AWS (Poland Solidarity Movement)? [54]

Naturally they would have to rise above their petty ambitions and see the bigger picture. Kaczynski, Duda, Ziobro, Rydzyk, mabe a few others (Gwiazda, Pospieszalski, Fronda, etc.) could form a winning team. As time wears on, more and more people will become disaffected and get fed up with the ruling Tus camp and by then will have forgotten any real or alleged shortcvmigns of the previous government... Happens every time.

News / A new AWS (Poland Solidarity Movement)? [54]

It may be off-putting to voters, but only the post-communist and libertine ones who don't count anyway.

Everything changes with time and PiS will also evolve. A Ziobro-led PiS migth be just what Stanley Q. Voterski was looking for. Nobody knows, only time will tell. But the longer PO rules and contginues generating its scams and slip-ups, that'll only be grist to the mill of the decent, wholesome, anti-decadent, Catholic and patriotic forces just waiting in the wings to make sure 'żeby Polska była Polską'. The only problem is that by then all of Poland's industrial assets (not excluding KGHM, energy companies and the petroleum refineries) will have been 'privatised', ie lost to foreign captial. Then nearly every Pole will be working as a foreign mercenary in his own country. If only for that reason, the quicker Tusk goes the better!