Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


Maybe marginally a boomer (people cut off these things different) and not so much 'young at heart' as "deals with young people a lot and tries to understand the world the way they do (a precondition for broadening their horizons)"

News / R. Trzaskowski, current mayor of Warsaw, future President of Poland [354]


I also would have preferred Sikorski who is already known in international diplomatic circles... but if wishes were fast trains to Texas I'd be in El Paso by now....

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


You and jon are very much missing the point as people ou... that is your age... your age, often do.

Eurovision is a whole season now, not one isolated evening.

The best part of Eurovision isn't the show or the contest but fact that countries release the songs on youtube a month or two (sometimes more).

It's actually kind of heartwarming to see comments from all over Europe saying nice things about the country and song.....

Just opened a video of this year's Polish entry:

"12 points from Armenia 🇦🇲🇵🇱 this is absolutely masterpiece WINNER OF ESC 2025❤"

"From today on, my nationality is Polish. Thank you for existing, Justyna Steczkowska. 🇧🇷 🇵🇱"

"I don't understand Polish but listening to your song touches the soul and gives a divine feeling."

"12 points from Croatia❤ 🇭🇷🇵🇱"

Youtube has made Eurovision 10 times better and done more for the original purpose of the contest than anything else.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [459]


Not very effective.... dumb way of going about it....


C'mon.. he was hilarious.


He's not a thinker or a planner, he's still a performer at heart but was badly miscast as presidential candidate...

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [459]


Probably... I just keep trying (and failing) to come up with any reason for his candidacy in the first place....and I'm stuck with he just really want/s/ed to be president.... which is really not a good enough reason to spend/waste that much time and effort.

News / Will PiS be happy if AfD wins elections in Germany? [1440]


I don't know from fascist.... but he's been confirmed as a russian asset by the Moldovan court system.

spotmedia.ro/en/news/opinions-and-analyses/a-lost-trial-by-george-simion-confirms-the-accusations-of-ties-to-kremlin-espionage-do-the-presidential-elections-remain-under-russias-wing

I dont' have any great faith that the winner will do much positive (in Romania, like Poland, the president isn't that powerful) but it's better to have a non-russian asset in the job.

Interestingly.... Orban supported Simion despite Simion being a confirmed Magyarphobe.... this could weaken his position with the diaspora (like Fico who Orban also supports).

dailynewshungary.com/anti-hungarian-presidential-candidate-simion-is-supported-by-orbans-campaign-team/

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


What would stand out for you?


I think they usually got most of their votes from the audience.

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


15 this year, just one place behind Poland.... though with almost identical points from the juries and public. Not too bad.


This year was very unpredictable. I'm just glad that while it was clear before the contest that Austria would be a judges favorite they left room for other songs to pass it with the televote (unlike last year).

Israel's finish is kind of a surprise but very often in the past some reasonably attractive woman singing and okay-ish song reasonably well would place unreasonably high... so part of it might be that.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [459]


What he'd been polling...

I can understand most candidacies even if they had no chance... Biejat and Zandberg are trying to build their brands (as is Mentzen and even Braun).

I just don't understand Hołownia's candidacy.... he hurt his brand. As Stanowski said in the first debate, Hołownia is in better position to try to make the changes he says he wants in his current position... dude just really wanted to be president. I do have some concerns about whether he will end up supporting Trzaskowski now. He seems to be seriously deprived of common sense.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [459]


Has he offered to pay for damages?

Two options

He's a grifter just looking to secure his brand so he can fleece a gullible segment of the population (the more optimistic of the options).

He's sincere and actually thinks that half of the population of Poland has no place in the country and needs to be exiled or forced to submit to his view of the country.

I don't see much in the way of a third way....

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [459]


Destruction of public property is not a crime in Poland?

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


Cyber messing with the televote would seem more likely... weaponized geeks vs a single system vs the complicated process of bribing lots of people in lots of countries...
I'm not saying that's what happened (probably didn't) but that seems like a more likely scenario.

Life / Top 5 things I like about Poland [77]


I've never been a big bread eater but my experience with British bread (limited, yes) did not impress....

I do know American bread (shudder) and Polish bread is far better than anything available in the US (partly due to the way flour is processed there).

IME there are three ages (eras) of Polish bread

late PRL to early free Poland - limited variety, main bread was an eggy rye/wheat mix, actually kind of hard to find now. Filling and nourishing because it had to be.

early free Poland to about 2015 or so - gradual increase in variety and decrease in quality - was getting... spongier and losing flavor

Sometime after 2016- now - continued increase in variety with increasing quality - a big change was the reintroduction of sourdough over yeast

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


Another castrato.... shoot me now.....


She was very badly mic'ed both in the semi and in the final... (she wasn't the only one but was hurt more by it I think)

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


I think women don't like that performance (since partly it makes fun of female.... non fulfillment).

I don't mind Austria's song in the abstract but I hate the idea of it winning.... another neuter male singing falsetto.... (ręce opadają....)

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


bronze... Sweden

silver.... Latvia

gold... FINLAND! ICH KOMME! (absolute best performance of the night the audience started chanting her name before the hosts cut them off).

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [459]


"Iskander inventer Vladimir Nedoshivin pees in the hall and gets beaten up by a plumber"

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [459]


"Former Minister Mihail Khubutiya Beats up his Firlfriend with an Axe."

x.com/EPICGOPFAIL/status/1923788217301520559

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


What's the last Eurovision you watched?

Your comments seem like they're from 2009.... It's a whole 'nother critter now.

France has a great song with beautiful staging,

youtube.com/watch?v=TUyvT65c9ok

No former Jugoslav country made it into the final this year,

Poland's entry has been widely admired by fans.

Irish... yeah, they chose a crap song (though they haven't won in over 25 years), why they think a happy song about a poor dog killed by the USSR is suitable really is beyond me....

Sweden just might win this year but with the least Swedish entry imaginable... (compared with recent years). Its an uptempo folkish number about saunas sung in Finnish and Swedish....

youtube.com/watch?v=zQSPqZkKzRQ

A dark horse favorite of mine is Latvia... women dressed as fairies with beautiful harmonies

youtube.com/watch?v=tRTfxUJtDOs

I agree that Israeli-Gaza politics are the worst aspect now... but overall the songs and performances are kind of in a golden age....

Do keep up...

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


Hamas is a group that literally wants to force its religion on others, is misogynistic and extremely homophobic, hates Jews and wants to kill them.... and the left loves them more than anything.

Just like George Floyd was a drug addicted piece of crap who once held a gun to a pregnant woman's stomache and the left couldn't wait to turn him into a saint....

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


My idea is that currently (last couple of years) they're not participating in Eurovision but using Eurovision (and things like last year's protests and the booing in both years) to reinforce their idea that the world hates them so there's no use trying to please the world.

This year's performer survived the Oct 7 attack on the music festival.... are those booing saying they wish she'd been killed? that's how Israelis will process that.

News / Will PiS be happy if AfD wins elections in Germany? [1440]


Pragmatically they indicate that the ethnicity of the neighborhood's inhabitants or the food in the restaurant in question are different from the majority population in the city and/or country.

Aren't there ethnic English restaurants in Spain?

News / Will PiS be happy if AfD wins elections in Germany? [1440]


"ethnic" by itself is not polite

"ethnic" as an adjective is fine.

"ethnic German" or "ethnic Italian" or "ethnic neighborhood" or "ethnic restaurant" or "ethnic tensions".... all good

News / Will PiS be happy if AfD wins elections in Germany? [1440]


you can't really have one without the other....

News / Will PiS be happy if AfD wins elections in Germany? [1440]


People forget that before WWII most Arab countries had Jewish minorities that did face discrimination but which mostly did okay. Then almost all of them decided to exile them and most went straight to Israel which made Israel much stronger than it had been...

As a rule, Arabs do not excel at long term planning....

News / Will PiS be happy if AfD wins elections in Germany? [1440]


for decades Israel relied on cheap arab labor for lots of physical stuff....(which attracted more arabs to the region who quickly became 'palestinians' who hated Israel).

they also import a lot of cheap Asian labor (ever wonder why there were Thai and Filipino hostages taken on Oct 7?)

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


Both are members of the European Broadcasting Union...

Israel is dominated by those with European roots and since all their neighbors hate them it's a way to connect with some other countries.

Morocco participated once but refused to return as long as Israel participated (they could still participate if they wanted). Interestingly there have been a _lot_ of performers with Moroccan roots in recent years (including two time winner Loreen).

Australia was invited to participate on a particular anniversary and it was so popular in Europe (and Australia where the contest has a very big following) that they've continued.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Broadcasting_Union

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


Maybe at one time, the overall level of the contest has improved greatly in recent years as has the level of performance (esp since they started giving the performers ear mics)

The first semi-final didn't have any super standout songs but there were no total dogs either.... (Azerbaijan came close....).

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [586]


A very good chance this year to qualify (maybe get a top 10 finish or so). Unfortunately the sound is crap (often the case in the first semi-final, they usually get it together more by the final).

We'll see what happens.

My favorite this year is Finland. Ich komme! Ich komme!

News / Will PiS be happy if AfD wins elections in Germany? [1440]

The always invaluable Andrew Hammel writes how German 'feminist foreign policy' hurts German women (by getting many of them attacked, raped and/or killed).

If Merz can turn the tide on migration the AfD will dry up and blow away.... if not... they will get stronger.

x.com/AndrewHammel1/status/1921845009675956372