mafketis
5 Jan 2022
History / The reasons of Polish pride? [112]
they mostly don't care....
Poles know they are Slavs, but
they mostly don't care....
mafketis
5 Jan 2022
News / Polish Pegasus Spyware Scandal [40]
Well if you weren't viciously attacking PiS by suggesting that they are anything but 100% honest....
I don't seem to be very popular
Well if you weren't viciously attacking PiS by suggesting that they are anything but 100% honest....
mafketis
5 Jan 2022
News / Polish Pegasus Spyware Scandal [40]
What arguments are there?
So far...
Someone else did it (but it doesn't matter who)
No one cares (it is true that the welfare dependent PiS constituency doesn't care)
You're a big doody head!
No arguments in the debate
What arguments are there?
So far...
Someone else did it (but it doesn't matter who)
No one cares (it is true that the welfare dependent PiS constituency doesn't care)
You're a big doody head!
mafketis
4 Jan 2022
News / Polish Pegasus Spyware Scandal [40]
It's nice of you to be so gracious about it.
you know. I don't, You are the man here
It's nice of you to be so gracious about it.
mafketis
4 Jan 2022
Travel / Why do you visit Poland? [223]
Seemed more like a museum exhibit rather than a place where things happen.... where I live the old town square isn't nearly as beautiful but lots of things happen there.
I was dependent on public transport - metro and buses which did work well enough.
After Brussels I spent a couple of days in Antwerp which is not as pretty but seemed much more.... liveable and alive. Not that I'd want to, but if I had to choose to live in one or the other it would be Antwerp in a New York minute....
what about the old town square, it is the most beautiful in all of Europe
Seemed more like a museum exhibit rather than a place where things happen.... where I live the old town square isn't nearly as beautiful but lots of things happen there.
can also get around Brussels without traffic jam
I was dependent on public transport - metro and buses which did work well enough.
I would not want to live there either
After Brussels I spent a couple of days in Antwerp which is not as pretty but seemed much more.... liveable and alive. Not that I'd want to, but if I had to choose to live in one or the other it would be Antwerp in a New York minute....
mafketis
4 Jan 2022
News / Polish Pegasus Spyware Scandal [40]
A very good reason to not investigate! Because Putin or China or the CIA getting involved in local affairs is of no possible strategic importance.
Honk!
They can work for Putin or China or CIA for all we know
A very good reason to not investigate! Because Putin or China or the CIA getting involved in local affairs is of no possible strategic importance.
Honk!
mafketis
4 Jan 2022
Travel / Why do you visit Poland? [223]
I was there around 10 years ago and it was not.... beautiful. I was staying about a 15 minute walk from mannekin pis and it was a mostly moroccan neighborhood... what I really remember was the trash, I don't know if it's a muslim, arab or moroccan thing but apparently they don't want to keep trash in their apartment (or are too dumb to learn the pickup schedule) so the sidewalks were _always_ lined with garbage bags....
Apart from that the EU section is just kind of anonymous and overly bureaucratic looking.
I was the guest of a Dutch-speaking institution although Dutch speakers have been driven almost entirely outside the city limits - people commuted (pretty long distances) to maintain some kind of presence. I heard more Moroccan, French and English (and everything else in that order) than Dutch on the streets.
There were some.... okay parts but nothing that amazing - kind of generic central western Europe.
The main impression it makes is alienation... a national government alienated from the population, which has balkanized into different groups that ignore or dislike each other* and a supra-national bureaucracy that seems to have no connection to anything around it.
your mileage may vary of course....
*French and Dutch speakers seem like an old unhappy marriage in which the spouses stay together only because working out the finances of a divorce would be too difficult, the Moroccans are doing their own thing and mostly don't care about anything else
Brussel... have you ever been there. It is a beautiful town
I was there around 10 years ago and it was not.... beautiful. I was staying about a 15 minute walk from mannekin pis and it was a mostly moroccan neighborhood... what I really remember was the trash, I don't know if it's a muslim, arab or moroccan thing but apparently they don't want to keep trash in their apartment (or are too dumb to learn the pickup schedule) so the sidewalks were _always_ lined with garbage bags....
Apart from that the EU section is just kind of anonymous and overly bureaucratic looking.
I was the guest of a Dutch-speaking institution although Dutch speakers have been driven almost entirely outside the city limits - people commuted (pretty long distances) to maintain some kind of presence. I heard more Moroccan, French and English (and everything else in that order) than Dutch on the streets.
There were some.... okay parts but nothing that amazing - kind of generic central western Europe.
The main impression it makes is alienation... a national government alienated from the population, which has balkanized into different groups that ignore or dislike each other* and a supra-national bureaucracy that seems to have no connection to anything around it.
your mileage may vary of course....
*French and Dutch speakers seem like an old unhappy marriage in which the spouses stay together only because working out the finances of a divorce would be too difficult, the Moroccans are doing their own thing and mostly don't care about anything else
mafketis
3 Jan 2022
Language / Spelling "aunt" in Polish [142]
That's for when you address her directly...
Alien: Ciociu! Chcesz trochę herbaty?
Ciocia: Wolałabym trochę tej nalewki wiśniowej....
Alien: Auntie! Would you like some tea?
Ciocia: I'd prefer some of that cherry nalewka....
That's for when you address her directly...
Alien: Ciociu! Chcesz trochę herbaty?
Ciocia: Wolałabym trochę tej nalewki wiśniowej....
Alien: Auntie! Would you like some tea?
Ciocia: I'd prefer some of that cherry nalewka....
mafketis
3 Jan 2022
News / Polish Pegasus Spyware Scandal [40]
A description of Polish State Television under Jacek Kurski and it's return to PRL style 'news'... the governing party is always right, the opposition is always wrong and insane communist style 'logic'...
A description of Polish State Television under Jacek Kurski and it's return to PRL style 'news'... the governing party is always right, the opposition is always wrong and insane communist style 'logic'...
mafketis
2 Jan 2022
News / Polish Pegasus Spyware Scandal [40]
how much do most people know about it? what kind of coverage has tvp kurvvizja given to it?
Nobody in Poland care about it
how much do most people know about it? what kind of coverage has tvp kurvvizja given to it?
mafketis
31 Dec 2021
News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]
crumbling healthcare, massive ruling party corruption, alienated public.... I think I've got a clue...
The other day TVP "News" made no mention of spyware or news in order to spend a lot of time talking up their annual disco polo show in Zakopane....
you have no idea what going on in Poland
crumbling healthcare, massive ruling party corruption, alienated public.... I think I've got a clue...
The other day TVP "News" made no mention of spyware or news in order to spend a lot of time talking up their annual disco polo show in Zakopane....
mafketis
31 Dec 2021
News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]
The law would not prevent German ownership.... (Poland would have to leave the EU to do that). It had nothing to do with foreign ownership (esp by allies) and everything to do with trying to put the major media company investigating and exposing their misdeeds out of business and PRL-izing all media the way they have with Kurwizja.
so that the majority of Polish media are in Polish hands... and not German/US/etc
The law would not prevent German ownership.... (Poland would have to leave the EU to do that). It had nothing to do with foreign ownership (esp by allies) and everything to do with trying to put the major media company investigating and exposing their misdeeds out of business and PRL-izing all media the way they have with Kurwizja.
mafketis
31 Dec 2021
News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]
If they're just rumors, then surely the government would call a commission to investigate them so that they can be put to rest.
Why is the government so uninterested in this?
mods- maybe move this to the appropriate thread?
rumors
If they're just rumors, then surely the government would call a commission to investigate them so that they can be put to rest.
Why is the government so uninterested in this?
mods- maybe move this to the appropriate thread?
mafketis
30 Dec 2021
News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]
A lot of that is very likely, but I'm also interested in theories from those who supported the law....
Pressure from the US
A lot of that is very likely, but I'm also interested in theories from those who supported the law....
mafketis
30 Dec 2021
History / The reasons of Polish pride? [112]
How long have they been in Deutschland?
This was an old Soviet line. I know someone who heard "we're really Russians" a lot from their parents while growing up in Soviet Ukraine in the early 1980s. After 2014 they became enthusiastic Ukrainian nationalists....
I have 2 Ukrainian assistans.
How long have they been in Deutschland?
denies the existence of Ukraine
This was an old Soviet line. I know someone who heard "we're really Russians" a lot from their parents while growing up in Soviet Ukraine in the early 1980s. After 2014 they became enthusiastic Ukrainian nationalists....
mafketis
30 Dec 2021
News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]
So... any ideas on why Duda finally vetoed the idiotic lex tvn?
Pressure from the US? If so, what kind?
Covering his @ss when PiS loses power?
Late attack of principles?
12 dimensional chess (having realized how bad the law makes Poland look, JK wanted him to veto it?)
Something else?
So... any ideas on why Duda finally vetoed the idiotic lex tvn?
Pressure from the US? If so, what kind?
Covering his @ss when PiS loses power?
Late attack of principles?
12 dimensional chess (having realized how bad the law makes Poland look, JK wanted him to veto it?)
Something else?
mafketis
30 Dec 2021
History / Chances of Moscow becoming part of Poland again? [102]
Those are based on official government numbers. No one seriously believes the figures given by the Russian government (because only saps believe anything the Russian government says).
My source was
Those are based on official government numbers. No one seriously believes the figures given by the Russian government (because only saps believe anything the Russian government says).
mafketis
29 Dec 2021
News / Polish Pegasus Spyware Scandal [40]
I'd say it's a bit worse than the usual nonsense... this is government intrusion into foundational and confidential relationships (like attorney-client). Western and civil society cannot survive without confidentiality (any more than they can survive without property rights) so this is a lot more serious than the restaurant bugging scandal (not carried out by a sitting government).
It's just more of the usual nonsense isn't it?
I'd say it's a bit worse than the usual nonsense... this is government intrusion into foundational and confidential relationships (like attorney-client). Western and civil society cannot survive without confidentiality (any more than they can survive without property rights) so this is a lot more serious than the restaurant bugging scandal (not carried out by a sitting government).
mafketis
29 Dec 2021
News / Polish Pegasus Spyware Scandal [40]
What do people think about the Pegasus spyware scandal?
Opposition figures claim the Polish government was/is using Israeli malware to spy on the opposition.
The Polish government claims innocence and says maybe it's some foreign country (and seems really uninterested in figuring out who's behind it).
theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/28/poland-pegasus-spyware-donald-tusk
What do people think about the Pegasus spyware scandal?
Opposition figures claim the Polish government was/is using Israeli malware to spy on the opposition.
The Polish government claims innocence and says maybe it's some foreign country (and seems really uninterested in figuring out who's behind it).
theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/28/poland-pegasus-spyware-donald-tusk
mafketis
27 Dec 2021
News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]
It's all irrelevant now, Duda grew a pair and vetoed it.
onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/andrzej-duda-wetuje-lex-tvn-prezes-juz-tupie-noga/pq31qwe,79cfc278
Now you can start arguing about how much pressure from the US did or did not play a role...
It's all irrelevant now, Duda grew a pair and vetoed it.
onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/andrzej-duda-wetuje-lex-tvn-prezes-juz-tupie-noga/pq31qwe,79cfc278
Now you can start arguing about how much pressure from the US did or did not play a role...
mafketis
24 Dec 2021
Life / All Things Christmassy in Poland [454]
Holiday wishes for all here!
Merry Christmas! Wesołych Świąt! Il-Milied it-tajjeb!
Holiday wishes for all here!
Merry Christmas! Wesołych Świąt! Il-Milied it-tajjeb!
mafketis
24 Dec 2021
mafketis
22 Dec 2021
News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]
I'd say the consequences of Duda signing off on lex tvn would be more serious than jon thinks (why is he mouthing PiS talking points?) and less serious than PolAmKrakow thinks.
Some sanctions (general and against specific individuals) and more visa restrictions but nothing earth-shattering for sure. The welfare-dependent PiS base won't especially care (and PiS has already burned through everyone but their base domestically).
Probably help for any parties showing an ability to challenge PiS for sure.
I'd say the consequences of Duda signing off on lex tvn would be more serious than jon thinks (why is he mouthing PiS talking points?) and less serious than PolAmKrakow thinks.
Some sanctions (general and against specific individuals) and more visa restrictions but nothing earth-shattering for sure. The welfare-dependent PiS base won't especially care (and PiS has already burned through everyone but their base domestically).
Probably help for any parties showing an ability to challenge PiS for sure.
mafketis
22 Dec 2021
Life / All Things Christmassy in Poland [454]
My pat answer used to be: "I'm an atheist in the practising agnostic sense of the word." It worked very well to kill the subject and stop questions.
Basically I have no capacity for religious faith, but I do realize that a society with a (moderate) amount of religious observance is better off than one with none...
My pat answer used to be: "I'm an atheist in the practising agnostic sense of the word." It worked very well to kill the subject and stop questions.
Basically I have no capacity for religious faith, but I do realize that a society with a (moderate) amount of religious observance is better off than one with none...
mafketis
22 Dec 2021
Life / All Things Christmassy in Poland [454]
The date is symbolic not meant to be taken literally. I'm not even a Christian and I know that....
any proof Jesus was born on Dec 25th
The date is symbolic not meant to be taken literally. I'm not even a Christian and I know that....
mafketis
22 Dec 2021
News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [996]
They probably thought the same thing about the Warsaw Pact.... in 1988....
The inner core is very vulnerable to lots of things... the inner core can't articulate a rational migration policy, energy policy and will inevitably impoverish any non-manufacturing economy with the euro...
The EU worked best before 2008 - that was the year the EU went full neoliberal. They need to pull back and decentralize
.the EU is good for some more decades!
They probably thought the same thing about the Warsaw Pact.... in 1988....
which voices will be stronger on the world stage, who will be heard and who will be ignored....
The inner core is very vulnerable to lots of things... the inner core can't articulate a rational migration policy, energy policy and will inevitably impoverish any non-manufacturing economy with the euro...
The EU worked best before 2008 - that was the year the EU went full neoliberal. They need to pull back and decentralize
mafketis
20 Dec 2021
News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]
According to this aritcle Duda will defer his decision to the TK which will find it unconstitutional. The whole idea of voting on it was a distraction from the ever growing number of PiS scandals and a test to see if the opposition is on its toes or not...
msn.com/pl-pl/wiadomosci/polska/pis-ju%C5%BC-zna-decyzj%C4%99-dudy-ws-lex-tvn-wszystko-by%C5%82o-ustawione/ar-AARYUWi?cvid=2cd3f181de024e8a8562fe9b4668c935&ocid=winp1taskbar
According to this aritcle Duda will defer his decision to the TK which will find it unconstitutional. The whole idea of voting on it was a distraction from the ever growing number of PiS scandals and a test to see if the opposition is on its toes or not...
msn.com/pl-pl/wiadomosci/polska/pis-ju%C5%BC-zna-decyzj%C4%99-dudy-ws-lex-tvn-wszystko-by%C5%82o-ustawione/ar-AARYUWi?cvid=2cd3f181de024e8a8562fe9b4668c935&ocid=winp1taskbar
mafketis
19 Dec 2021
mafketis
17 Dec 2021
News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]
I bet he folds and signs it.... I would prefer that he veto it but every single time he's tried to be his own man JK b1tch slaps him back into line...
Lets see if he has the balls to do it
I bet he folds and signs it.... I would prefer that he veto it but every single time he's tried to be his own man JK b1tch slaps him back into line...
mafketis
17 Dec 2021
News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]
Faced with a flurry of bad news and bad looks in the media (from Łukasz "Witch doctor" Mejza to official lies regarding the accident involving Beata Szydło) PiS is going back to what it knows - trying to take the main media outlet reporting these shenanigans off the air
Lex TVN is back!
PiS is acting more PRL-ish by the minute!
PiS is once more spitting in the face of a key ally!
Comments?
Faced with a flurry of bad news and bad looks in the media (from Łukasz "Witch doctor" Mejza to official lies regarding the accident involving Beata Szydło) PiS is going back to what it knows - trying to take the main media outlet reporting these shenanigans off the air
Lex TVN is back!
PiS is acting more PRL-ish by the minute!
PiS is once more spitting in the face of a key ally!
Comments?