History / Occupation of Eastern Poland in 1939 [97]

Better the latter than straight "wrongs" aka queer bashing by bullies too cowardly to face their own head on.

History / Occupation of Eastern Poland in 1939 [97]

For this among so many other totally justifiable reasons why most Poles would rather the poor foreigner try to pronounce the POLISH names of their cities instead of opting for the "easier" German superimposition, such as Szczecin NOT Stettin, Wroclaw and NOT Breslau etc.

Life / Stereotypes about Polish people being stupid? [281]

The fact is that it never has or had anything to do necessarily with what one studies at college. Can't tell you how many ex-engineering, economics, even math/stat/business majors with whom I graduated, NOT able to find even entry level work for as long as a year and a half upon graduation!

It's all a question of supply and demand, in Poland as elsewhere.

I was Modern Language Major and it simply happened that the language in which I was majoring became unusually "hot" at the start of the '90's and so my profession took off. Had that not been the case, it is most probably that I too would have had to go the barista route as well, hocking myself into debt for the rest of my life, having to put marriage, home, and children on hold indefinitely.

So happened that my particular area of academic endeavor allowed me to carve a niche for myself while still in grad school. I surely didn't plan it that way, but it was merely the luck at the time of a cooperative world economy.

Life / Stereotypes about Polish people being stupid? [281]

Here in the US, the more people at the very top such as Trump continue to make a mockery of truth, language, and history, it ought to come as no surprise that learning, much less true scholarship, are becoming less and less valued!

Before my time, yours as well I'm sure, ball players, including the Babe, Satchel Paige and many of the other greats, earned but a pittance of what they'd be earning these days, having to paint houses during the off season in order to simply make ends meet. They obviously earned more than a policemen, letter carrier or fireman even way back then, but much more within perspective than is the case now.

I rather think that such is little more than right! After all, if an engineer, teacher, lawyer or doctor must legitimately spend long years in school perfecting their skills or craft, they ought to earn far more than someone who is only a success by dint of certain natural physical abilities, albeit enhanced by practice along with strenuous exercise.

In the movies, today's actors such as Drew Barrymore, earn more than any of the really great stars of the 30's or40's, more often than not, with far less talent.

Can we honestly compare the present Ms. Barrymore with the likes of grandpa John, great uncle Lionel or great auntie Ethel.

No, it's not that standards have simply "changed", they've downright declined in order to accommodate watered-down, popular tastes, far lower than the popular tastes of yore.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1040]

"Ona moze mnie wkrecac." comes to mind, but it might not be as idiomatically vernacular in the same way a native Pole would say it.

Life / Stereotypes about Polish people being stupid? [281]

College in general these days I have come to regard as vastly overrated, confessed to be a long-term professor myself:-)
Education has become ever so watered down, there've been blogs about it, namely "CampusMentis" on the West Coast somewhere. Gaps in our universal knowledge, save for the familiarity with our immediate surroundings, have gotten so bloated, it's no wonder, being asked where China is on a world map proved too much to handle for many junior high schoolers throughout Middle America.

Recalls the now infamous quip by George Bernard Shaw: "The only time my education was interrupted was when I was in school."

Shaw had the ultimate alibi of being brilliant, therefore, while dull to his teachers, he later excelled as few others in mastering the English language.

College students today usually can furnish no such convenient excuse!

Life / Stereotypes about Polish people being stupid? [281]

????
Sure we're talking about the same Poland or are you just being your typically provocative little self?

Off-Topic / American Jew Voice in Poland [93]

Because you are ethnocentric, Rich! You're entitled to your own opinions, but NOT to your own facts.

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [656]

What makes you say that? Is reality uncomfortable to you?

Off-Topic / American Jew Voice in Poland [93]

Yo, Hindus are technically "Indo-Aryan", therefore, although darker-skinned than Swedes or Norwegians, nonetheless belong to the Caucasian race, case closed, acceptable or not.

Off-Topic / American Jew Voice in Poland [93]

Jews again are technically "Caucasians", as are Hindus, Georgians, Turks and any number of other related groups. Whether they are as light-haired, light-eyed and fair skinned as Poles, for instance, it depends on how assimilated the Jews in question are:-)

For that matter there are plenty of shortish, stocky dark-haired, brown-eyed Poles, clearly "white", yet not fitting the stereotype of the blond, blue-eyed Pole of Communist propaganda.

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [656]

Add taut facial features, generally straight as opposed to prominent aquiline noses, lips tending to the thin side, above all, a rather coarse flaxen hair, often fair eye color and a squarish chin.

Height again tends to vary, but on the whole, most Poles (both men and women) tend to be tallish.

Food / Do you call it kiszka or kaszanka? [55]

I'm traif, sue me:-) He-he!

My tevilin-wearing grandfather was a pork-eating German Jew who LOVED bacon and pigs knuckles.

Food / Do you call it kiszka or kaszanka? [55]

I'm there, maf, just serve it up and I'll come a-runnin'.

History / POLISH AND RUSSIAN FRIENDSHIP WILL LAST FOREVER [513]

Merkel grew up in the former East though, and so knows Russian, though not as well as English, I'm sure:-) Putin speaks fluent German too.

Food / Do you call it kiszka or kaszanka? [55]

Sounds to me regrettably like low-fat "healthy" cooking has invaded the Polish kitchen as well:-)

Give me a good ol' Polish greasy spoon with lots of fatty dishes, kiszka prepared the traditional way, heaping portions of bigos, pirogi, red cabbage, potatoes, home-baked country bread ANY DAY OF THE WEEK!!! Can't get enough of it, even if someday I'll need a cardiac surgeon.

lol

History / POLISH AND RUSSIAN FRIENDSHIP WILL LAST FOREVER [513]

Correct, little other than the proverbial "glorified messenger boy" for HIS boss, the Kremlin...and of course, the KGB. He was a toady and a lickspittle then, and he hasn't changed his spots since. Add to that, a bully through and through!

History / POLISH AND RUSSIAN FRIENDSHIP WILL LAST FOREVER [513]

It is also from these two societies that most Jews throughout the world today originate!
Both Poland and Russia especially have ACTIVE, VIBRANT Jewish communities, often composed of both local as well as even "foreign"-born Jews who returned to the land of their direct ancestors.

By contrast, the former Soviet satelites, presently the Baltic States, are but a virtual graveyard for Jews.
The comparison speaks for itself, I think:-)

Po polsku / Wolności słowa w Polsce nie ma?? [93]

Netanjahu nie mial racji, tak jest.

Po polsku / Wolności słowa w Polsce nie ma?? [93]

Exakt, Jaskier!

@Spike31,
IPN-Ustawa jest, ale Duda tekst wreszscie zmienil.

Po polsku / Wolności słowa w Polsce nie ma?? [93]

Choc ja byla zmienila, jak tlumaczysz IPN-Ustawe Prezes'a Dudy przed rokiem? Czy to bylo wlasnie "wolnosc slowa"??

Genealogy / Mongolian the Golden Horde - do Poles have Mongolian ancestry? [256]

Thought so. Didn't seem like much of a stretch either. Thanks!

Genealogy / Mongolian the Golden Horde - do Poles have Mongolian ancestry? [256]

Wonder whether "Khan" of "Genghis Khan" might have a connection with the identical Arab surname "Khan", such as "Ali Khan".
Any ideas?

Genealogy / Mongolian the Golden Horde - do Poles have Mongolian ancestry? [256]

Amen, TheOther!

Genealogy / Mongolian the Golden Horde - do Poles have Mongolian ancestry? [256]

I'm not certain.

Genealogy / Mongolian the Golden Horde - do Poles have Mongolian ancestry? [256]

Nor am I completely.

What's the alternative though? Surely a person's ethnic origin can be traced somehow.

Genealogy / Mongolian the Golden Horde - do Poles have Mongolian ancestry? [256]

The Nazis used to say, "Was er glaubt ist einerlei, in der Rasse liegt die Schweinerei!" - Never mind to whom he prays, the rotten mess lies in the race

Only the uninformed and undereducated believe in a race of humans, undefiled by mixing. It's historically impossible, now proven through DNA testing.
For $99 bucks, a person can pay to find out their ethnic breakdown.

Genealogy / Mongolian the Golden Horde - do Poles have Mongolian ancestry? [256]

"Pure " anybody's a lotta manure, period.

Genealogy / Mongolian the Golden Horde - do Poles have Mongolian ancestry? [256]

'Course it is.

Now I'll grant ya, Budenz in the late 19th century DID go a bit over the top by suggesting/ theorizing that there was a clear link between the Magyars and the Turks.

This was and is pure conjecture:-)

Genealogy / Mongolian the Golden Horde - do Poles have Mongolian ancestry? [256]

See post #163.