Life / Advice on travelling to Poland - help for Ukrainian refugees [9]

@rc2pc2

It's not like I would like to discourage you from going there but firstly there are plenty of Polish and Ukrainian volunteers on the spot (who have little to no language barrier):

secondly Medyka itself is a small place and I doubt you can find a place to stay there - the nearest city is Przemyśl whis is about 15 km from Medyka - if you don't have a car that may be a big problem (unless you work as a part of a volunteer team who travel together)

I have had a quick look at the places for rent in Przemyśl and there is not many of them (they are not expensive (in the range of 1000 -1500 PLN) but they are few which probably means they are currently sought after)

as for charities and similar not answering e-mails: firstly they are busy currently, secondly it is not typical of Polish institutions and businesses to answer emails unless they are interested in you (I know it sounds strange and rude but that's how it is in Poland for the most part)

ultimately my advice is not to come here unless you get in contact and arrange things with an institution that looks for volunteers (keep on trying to contact them)

it is very kind and magnanimous of you to be willing and ready to help and you deserve a big thanks for that

take care

News / How does Poland feel about influx of US troops? [60]

I read a remark by a Russian person that instead of wearing masks Putin sits a long distance from his interlocutors - as demonstrated by his meetings with Macron and Scholz (but not only because he behaves this way also in internal meetings)

Genealogy / Domanski and Babiacz Ancestry [6]


the forum has not so wide scope in Poland - and I am not knowleadgable in the subject to guide you - what I think is you need to contact professionals - I will post the first result I found in google searching for 'genealogia' and 'usługi' (genealogy, services):

actanet.pl/genealogia/uslugi/#:~:text=%20%20%201%20%E2%80%A2%20Kompleksowe%20us%C5%82ugi%20genealogiczne%0AObejmuj%C4%85,w%20waszej...%204%20%E2%80%A2%20Historia%20rodziny%20More%

Edit: this site seems to use English : poznajprzodkow.pl/

Language / How well do Polish people understand Slovak? [88]


not really - that might work between Czech and Slovak but between Slovak and Polish word discrepancies are really significant - having said that I think it is easier for Poles to understand Slovak because of the prosody of Slovak is more similar to Polish - and I am saying that as a person who can understand a (singnificant) bit of the Czech language (which I think is more difficult for Poles to figure out)

Language / Is anyone playing Polish wordle - słowle? [3]


never played that but there is a Polish word game called literaki on kurnik.pl

Law / Cops in Poland [7]


I think you are a bit exaggerating - but well - maybe you cannot be yourself without

Law / Cops in Poland [7]


not typically - but you can be sure they would beat you if you cross their path

News / How does Poland feel about influx of US troops? [60]


the number is actually at least 10 times lower

Travel / Being Transgender and visiting Wroclaw [467]


hahahhahah - brilliant

Travel / Current Entry Restrictions in Poland [4]

you have to be fully vaccinated against covid (including boosters) and have a recent negative covid test (either an antigen one or a PCR one) - otherwise you are subject to a 7 day quarantine

I have no knowledge of what governing is planning regarding canceling international travel covid restrictions

Life / Massage in Krakow [3]

studiotwojegozdrowia.com/en - here's one website I found in English (massage studio in Kraków)

if you want other places, search this phrase: 'masaż Kraków' or maybe 'studio masażu Kraków'

Life / Electricity in Poland: plug and voltage? [73]

@PatK100

electricity in Poland is 230 Volts with 50 Hz - this is the typical shape of the sockets : upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Socket_EF.JPG/250px-Socket_EF.JPG


if you come from the UK you need an adapter if you want to use electric apliances brought from the UK as far as I know

Language / About usage of the special Polish letters: ą ć ę ł ń ó ś ż ź [28]


pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanik_iloczasu

Language / About usage of the special Polish letters: ą ć ę ł ń ó ś ż ź [28]

yes - I have read poems from 18th century that had long (accented) e clearly marked

Life / Need some advice about using Polish ATMs (fees) [4]

@Birdy

if you need to exchange pounds into zlotys your best bet is to bring cash from the UK and exchange it in an exchange office (called KANTOR in Polish) - they have the best rates (and typically don't charge commission) - there are also online KANTORs but I have never tried them - perhaps someone here has experience with them

Language / About usage of the special Polish letters: ą ć ę ł ń ó ś ż ź [28]


indeed

Language / About usage of the special Polish letters: ą ć ę ł ń ó ś ż ź [28]


consider two Polish words : dom and bóg - how come one of those o's became 'ó' - what was the difference - to me it's clear one was longer and gradually sounded more and more like a 'u' - (accented e in Polish (that didn't survive) sounded like a mix of e and y - the same happens in present day Hungarian: long (accented) HUngarian e sounds like a mix of e and y)

News / Morawiecki and Macierewicz and a very strange film.... [19]

tell me what do you think we need transport helicopters for - in simple words - caracals may be multi purpose but they are not attack helicopters

also tanks are useful in a war when you engage in a war with an enemy wielding lots of tanks - transport helicopers? not so much


it's debateable - other companies involved in the public tender offered even more offset but the offset was not part of the conditions of the tender

History / Judge Tuleya mother was in SB [74]


maybe I watch too many Hollywood films - but they seem to suggest that night interrogations are not unusual in the US

News / Morawiecki and Macierewicz and a very strange film.... [19]


I was wrong - it was Brasil - and the price per unit was a half of that Poland was supposed to pay

Turkey bought over 100 American Black Hawks for the price similar to the price we were supposed to pay for 60 caracals (and the Americans have given Turkey a significant offset deal)

History / Judge Tuleya mother was in SB [74]


hey mister manipulator - which forms of interrogations did the prisoners fear more - night interrogations or pulling fingernails, pulling teeth, breaking noses, day after day of cold without water and food - it's as if police/prosecution around the word don't use night interrogations

History / Judge Tuleya mother was in SB [74]


curios logic is comparing night interrogations with beating, pulling out fingernails and making people ill by keeping them cold -yeah this is a strange kind of logic

History / Judge Tuleya mother was in SB [74]


stalinist methods were beating, pulling fingernails, leaving people in cold cells with ankle deep water and some such, night interrogations are a minor nuisance compared

News / Morawiecki and Macierewicz and a very strange film.... [19]


Caracals as far as I know are transport helicopters - to my understanding Poland actually doesn't immediately need such choppers especially after NATO has withdrawn from Afghanistan - I would love to see attack helicopters for Polish army (the like of the American Apache) but we can't have anything presto - maybe some day

also: to my understanding the Caracal deal was reached by the PO government and the French as a bribe: Tusk wanted to be somebody in Europe and the French most probably said: 'it comes with a price" - also as far as I know the agreed price for a unit was 50 per cent higher than the price Turkey paid a couple of years earlier

History / Judge Tuleya mother was in SB [74]


yeah, sure judge Tuleya became famous when he lashed out against CBA (Central Anti Coruption Bureau) for "stalinst methods" during the investigations against doctor Mirosław G. :

4 stycznia 2013 roku warszawski sąd skazał dra Mirosława G. na rok więzienia w zawieszeniu na dwa za przyjęcie 17,5 tysiąca złotych łapówek. Sąd wymierzył mu też karę 72 tys. zł grzywny. Jej część zostanie jednak odliczona z uwagi na to, że dr G., jako podejrzany w śledztwie, spędził trzy miesiące w areszcie[25]. Sędzia Igor Tuleya uzasadniając wyrok potępił jednocześnie działania CBA polegające na przeprowadzaniu nocnych przesłuchań. Porównał je do metod stalinizmu. Część opinii publicznej zarzucała sędziemu, że przekroczył swoje kompetencje, jednak treści jego wystąpienia broniła Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa[26].

what is more judge Tuleya used a criminal case to ask prejudicial question to the ECJ concerning the Polish disciplinary mechanism against judges which meant that the case could be dropped because of the statute of limitations - the prejudicial questions had nothing to do with the case

prawo.gazetaprawna.pl/artykuly/1246810,warszawski-sad-okregowy-wystapil-do-tsue-z-pytaniem-prejudycjalnym.html

both of these instances show that the judge is motivated by a political agenda

History / Judge Tuleya mother was in SB [74]


they don't hold them responsible for their parents' deeds - they highlight a link between their present deeds and their background - I hope you understand what I mean

News / Morawiecki and Macierewicz and a very strange film.... [19]


but we're buying Patriot anti-missile systems and Abrams tanks from the US - maybe the priorities have changed

Language / About usage of the special Polish letters: ą ć ę ł ń ó ś ż ź [28]


well the technical term for them is 'znaki diakrytyczne'

News / Morawiecki and Macierewicz and a very strange film.... [19]


name a single one - I'm really curious

Language / About usage of the special Polish letters: ą ć ę ł ń ó ś ż ź [28]

we don't call those 'accents' over consonants 'accents' :) - we don't even call the accent over 'o' (which produces ' ó ' (called 'o z kreską in Polish)) an accent because Polish doesn't have short and long vowels and the accent in a huge majority of Polish words is fixed on the penultimate syllable - historically the 'accent' over 'o' (also over 'e' but this didn't survive) indicated a long vowel which sounded like a cross of Polish 'o' and 'u' - eventually though the accented 'o' merged with 'u' and lost its long quality