Language / Is the term 'Polak' derogatory?? [254]


I love the way that everyone is Jewish if you don't agree with them. It's cute, but it's also a sign of spending far too much time in the cupboard with a tin-foil hat on.


I don't think I'm Polish, but I'm a hell of a lot more Polish than some moron who can't speak a word of the language except the word "busha" - which isn't in the language anyway. Heck, most of them don't even understand the history, let alone their own history.


They're not though, they're British ;)

(I dunno - I know a couple of guys who had Nigerian parents, neither of them see themselves as anything but British - where their parents came from is pretty much an irrelevance in their eyes.)

Language / Is the term 'Polak' derogatory?? [254]


Personally, I wince when I hear some American say "OMG IM POLISH BUT I CAN'T SPEAK POLISH EXCEPT THE WORD BUSHA".


I couldn't care less.

Anyway, for me, Polack is to be used when describing someone of Plastic Polish origin, probably of uncertain Eastern peasant roots - they can't speak Polish, but they claim some sort of affinity to the place - often only discovered post-2004 in a pathetic attempt to score an EU passport. They've never really been to Poland, or if they have, they claim to understand everything about the place based on a 2 week visit to some senile Aunt.

By definition, a Polack cannot be Polish. Anyone using the term "Polack" towards a Polish speaker from Poland really needs to throw themselves in a river.

News / Should Poland leave the EU institution? [147]


That's nothing to do with the EU - the Scottish question has existed since at least the start of the 1900's - and arguably since 1707. The EU has nothing to do with it - in fact, the EU has kept pretty much out of the whole thing.


Of course - the grand vision to make sure that a bloody war never engulfed the continent again. It's no secret that the European Coal and Steel Community was started for exactly that reason, and continues to this day.


What, you mean the pitiful bit of A2 built near Konin (so called "Olimpijka")?

The roads in Poland during Communist times were described by Timothy Garton-Ash as being "bad, very bad and impassable".


Do you want a return of several hours of queuing at the border, an inability to order things freely from a huge trading bloc, restrictions on working abroad and so on?

Language / Is the term 'Polak' derogatory?? [254]


They don't - it's only Polish Americans that have problems with it.

Real Polish people couldn't care less - it's the name for a male Pole, nothing else.

News / Should Poland leave the EU institution? [147]


Unlikely to be true - large scale farmers are the ones who massively gain from the CAP.

Work / Will a net monthly salary of around 3000zl be enough to live comfortably in Silesia? [9]


Yes, but what's the job?

Life / Exam for Drivers License in Poland; English? [99]

word.lublin.pl

Travel / Cheapest fare to poznan from Berlin? [10]

Oh yes you can - you can use the local currency of where the train starts.

Tried and tested in both Chyrów (UA) and Frankfurt (Oder).

Change will be given in Zloty, but that's not an issue.

Real Estate / Building a house in Poland need advice from anyone that has built [100]


Same in any business, really - but in Poland, they're quite used to being told "I'll give you x, take it or leave it" - it's not rude or anything to do so.

Travel / Cheapest fare to poznan from Berlin? [10]


You can for the train from FFO-Poznan.

You can even buy the ticket from FFO's train station if you really want.

History / Poland: Her heroes and her traitors [239]


Wow - thank you - I never knew about this guy before.

Travel / Cheapest fare to poznan from Berlin? [10]


Best bet is exactly that - it's about 10 Euro (less if you can find some people going to Kostrzyn - people will approach you in Lichtenberg asking if you're going there - if so, it'll be about 6 Euro) to Kostrzyn, then about 25zl from Kostrzyn to Poznan. All in, about 15 Euro each way.

UK, Ireland / Why Poles will never belong in England [283]


It's not a fact.

For a start, while Scotland has no uni fees (actually, we do - it's only the 'first attempt' per year that's free - otherwise it's nearly 2,000 pounds a year) - we also have much less in the way of student support packages for poor students. There's no system of bursaries in higher education for instance, unlike in England. Then there's the issue of university funding - it's no secret that Scottish universities are far worse funded than English ones - and our FE college system is rapidly merging to leave only a few 'super-colleges' (which isn't good, is it?).

No prescription charges? Yes, but again - the Scottish health service is pretty poor in rural areas. Many rural maternity wards were shut, leaving people to travel huge distances to give birth. Many places don't even have specialist cancer wards in small rural hospitals - again - meaning people are often far away from their families and homes.

It's also looking like there will be massive cuts in the funding towards lifeline ferry services - there's just no money for new boats, and many other boats are pushing 30 years of age. People depend on these services, yet it's totally unclear what the future holds for them.

There's two sides to every story, especially here.

(mind you - I am a huge supporter of English devolution and believe that the UK Parliament should be federal rather than the current situation with the West Lothian Question still in play)

Law / Poland on its way to Greece? [64]


There's no bullshit about it - the UK and Denmark have opt-outs, Sweden was allowed to stay out on the basis of not having had a vote on it (it wasn't part of their Accession agreement) - but the rest are obliged to join. Right now, they aren't particularly worried - but that can change. They've already warned the "new" EU countries that they won't be allowed to continue outside of the Euro.

You could start by reading the Treaty of Accession from 2003 - which states in black and white that they shall participate in Economic and Monetary Union from the time of accession.

Sorry, but Poland's choice in the long run is to repeal the Treaty or join the Euro.

UK, Ireland / Why Poles will never belong in England [283]

Likewise.

UK, Ireland / Why Poles will never belong in England [283]

It only matters in his unemployed, bitter mind.

UK, Ireland / Why Poles will never belong in England [283]

We should be thankful that England is a nation of immigrants, then.

USA, Canada / Polka Parade Television Show [43]

But I bet you any money that the vast majority of people who listen to it wouldn't know what "polka" is.

Life / Are the Polish Police Gutless? [21]


Were things really different under the SLD and PiS? Doesn't seem so...


As far as I know, their ridiculously generous privileges are still in place (retirement after 15 years? seriously?) - it's the civilian support staff that got them cut. There was the system that everyone in the police had a rank and so on - and so even the woman who does the photocopying for the chief was allowed to retire after 15 years service, which is frankly nuts.


They're not exactly paid badly either - and anyway, shouldn't they do the job to the best of their ability regardless of the salary?


There are plenty of examples during other governments too of when the state failed.


It's a very interesting statistic. I wonder why, given that there is/was barely any difference between the parties when it comes to justice, except PiS-led witchhunts?

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


Ever tried to drive a car in 500m visibility at a speed in excess of 200km/h? That's not easy, let alone flying a plane.


Given that the plane landed upside down while travelling at over 200km/h, it's going to hurt. Badly.


But they couldn't, because it would be obvious to Warsaw that they had illegally landed.


Have a look on youtube for PAR approaches. This certainly wasn't one.


What?

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


Can you explain to us why they even attempted the approach, given that the approach flown required 1200m of visibility - after being told by a couple of different sources that visibility was 400m and falling?

Of course, the answer is simple - no guts, no glory. The Captain was going to get it from his bosses if he didn't attempt a landing - that much is obvious, given the PAF culture and attitude towards safety/training.


The Poles have their own 'black box' which the Russians had no idea about - it was dealt with in Warsaw, because the piece of kit was specialist Polish equipment. I've heard and seen nothing which suggests that the Russians even knew what it was, let alone how to deal with it.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


Generally speaking, you're better reading the official reports than the media.


Again - you show a total inability to understand the concept of "minimums". You know, you need to learn about aviation before you can comment on it.


Then Seanus, you need to explain to me one thing. The 100m thing is actually a red herring - because for the approach flown (2xNDB) - he was required to have 1800m of visibility. Can you explain why he even attempted to land when he clearly didn't have 1800m of visibility?

Incidentally,


Not just a Wroclaw thing. I've seen guys drive like absolute maniacs with kids in the car - one idiot spent about 5km driving about 10m from my car, getting more and more angry because I wouldn't speed up - and he had two small kids in the car. What were their chances of surviving a sudden impact at 90km/h? He had no time to brake if I did.

Convex, one thing I don't understand - how come the captain was only qualified to fly ILS Cat. I approaches and not II or III?

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]

I feel sorry for them - they're going to spend an eternity hunting for something that just isn't there.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]

Amusing, isn't it?

I'm still wondering why no-one has given a credible explanation for why they busted their minimums yet.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


I can't help but think that a lot of the ignorance comes from the point of view that ATC are somehow responsible for everything that a plane does. It's definitely not common knowledge that the captain of the plane has the final say among non-aviation types.

Anyway, Seanus/Monia/anyone else - please, tell me one thing.

Why did the Captain break his minimums?

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]

So, instead of sticking to facts, you chose to yet again make ridiculous statements. I know the stuff on this thread is too difficult for you to understand - so zip it, eh?

But let's just go into some more details.

The guy was attempting an approach in some very difficult conditions. If he couldn't land the plane, with the forecast getting worse - they would almost certainly have to go to Vnukovo in Moscow, or head back to Warsaw. Either of these would be a PR disaster for the President - he was relying on a good speech at Katyn to improve his ratings, and either turning up massively late or not at all would be a nightmare.

So, the commander of the Air Force is in there, helping out - so he's breathing down his neck, too. He doesn't have to say anything - the commander already knows that if he doesn't at least try, his career could be over. He also knows that if he makes a landing in exceptionally difficult (and well below minimums) conditions, he'll have a chance at being rewarded (we can see that the Air Force doesn't particularly care about safety - the report makes that clear). So - he attempted the approach.

How many times do humans do risky things like this? All the time.

Off-Topic / When do you teach a Polish \ English child a second language? [8]


Almost all schools of thought on this say that the parents should use their native tongue. However - the children will always speak the "language of the playground" slightly better - unless you're in a 3rd country independent of either home country.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


Ask the BOR that question.

Life / Why Polish people should be proud of being Polish? [370]


Right. That's why millions of Poles collaborated with enemies throughout history, including even betraying the country in order to prevent their countrymen from enjoying democracy. Give me a break - Poles are as conformist as everyone else.


Innate sense of justice? You've clearly never studied the Polish legal system - if you had, you'd soon know that "justice" often depends on personal contacts.


Anarchical spirit? When was the last time Polish-Americans rebelled against...well..anything?


Watch it.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


To me, it suggests a desire to get that plane down and "be a hero". Bear in mind that if the plane didn't land in Smolensk, it would've been a disaster for the President, especially after Tusk got the headlines a few days before.


No. The report makes it clear - the Russians asked if they could have two separate ceremonies for logistical reasons (protecting both the Prime Minister and President at the same time - difficult).