Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

You sinner, you ;) Repent right now ;)

guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/dec/01/poland-euro-2012-turmoil
oh dear! Whatsoever next?

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

The biggest Polish lie is them pretending to be homogeneous.

Harry would no doubt have sth to say here.

Magda, when you hear 'we/us Poles', what do you think?

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

That we are not in business, do an honest day's work and avoid sharks??

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

I'm just not convinced that lying is the right word here. Aloof and unhelpful in administrative offices? Quite often, yes. However, that's not lying. I've encountered positivity which shows that some are trying to break from the mould. What does get me is how otherwise rebellious Poles lapse into a 'toe-the line' modus operandi in admin offices. But again, not lying. I've just read WB's OP but I haven't had the contact he has had with such people and therein lies the difference. I admire WB's sincerity, often like a Pole in that way, and I have no reason to doubt him. However, it just goes to show that he has met a different breed of Pole than I have.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

I don't do ifs ;) Only in class. That's not a lie. Wow, all Scots must be honest ;)

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

I was at the third of Piast Gliwice's matches in their new stadium. The rival fans starting shouting 'fu*k fu*k X organisation'. The response of the home fans? To shout the same. They were united against corruption. My loyal Polish friend explained it all to me. Foreigners must bear in mind that Poles are well aware of what goes on and they voice their opposition in their own way.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

I think the point here is that lying isn't inherent to Poles. There are quite a few noble folk around who do the right thing.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

Wrocław, any stories? I find that many Poles are straight up. Many say that Russians tend to be devious liars more but I care not to comment on that as I don't really know either way.

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

I second that. You should watch 'Matura to Bzdura'. Wow, the guy just said it after I typed it. 'Polish people have this way of speaking Polish', LOL. No sh*t! I must always pinch myself as a reminder that I teach educated Poles privately. Even many of my school students are smart but I have seen spectacular insight here. The stupid ones are often from the villages or from the hooligan communities.

... this is funny. This is one side of the Poles I don't like and I see it when they play football. Now, while I'm quite relaxed about things and enjoy a laugh, some often don't know when to be serious. On the footie pitch, they are too dithery and don't know when to knuckle down. I stay quiet quite a bit but sometimes I tell them what I think of them. Not too forcefully as it's just a game but loose stupidity is sth I don't like. The schadenfreude and lack of realisation of potential harm to others is evident in the video. Still, I reiterate that it's one type of Pole that's this way. I know many sensible types that would shun them in the same way.

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

.. nonsense. Typecasting a whole nation is just wrong. For example, a lot of Poles I know are dab hands at DIY. They can find solutions and can think abstractly/out of the box.

I really love when I see Polish intel. Some of the smartest people I've met are Polish. Yeah, some lower the standard but I prefer to see it as 'my friend, who just happens to be from Poland btw'. I don't see their nationality, I see their character and ingenuity.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

What must be borne in mind is that, most of the time, Poles who work in administrative centres are sticklers for procedure and have limited room to lie. I'm grateful to one who fitted the bill to a tee but she helped me A LOT by expediting my wedding. No lies, no deceit. Some Poles may opt for shortcuts but out and out lies? I really haven't come across that much at all.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

Scottish people WERE tight, WB. It's a historical thing.

The point is Poles themselves are critical of those that lie. If anything, the fault lies in Poles that are indifferent and turn a blind eye but that is changing a bit too.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

You know, I'm not going to go on hearsay and take it as given. People have agendas in all walks of life so I'm not going to make the mistake of pulling sth from a source and trying to neatly fit it into my way of thinking. Even if I saw corruption, lies and deceit here, I'd always try and fit it into the broader picture by putting it into context. I do think there was cheating at the recent KSW 17 event. For me, James Thompson won the fight against Pudzianowski and I think sb told the judges to give it to Pudzian, then make it a 'no contest' to make Polish judges look fair by reviewing their decision. I don't buy it. Context? Cheating exists in some establishments for sure but there was a huge backlash by POLISH fans of MMA. Please separate the people from the establishment. Look who has more to gain by lying.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

Most sensible Poles and I agree that stamping it out is the right thing to do. We might see that as obvious but there are plenty nutjobs around.

It is still a problem to a certain extent. They have really worked on it but it takes quite a while to phase sth out of a culture.

What I have to say here is that Poles speak out against it more than I do. For me, I don't feel empowered to do much about it.

As for lies, I haven't heard that many. Some lie and some don't, just like anywhere else.

WB, how does that fit in with lying? We all know that ruthless capitalists will fleece you but what is it about a 'commie' that squares with lying? If he wants to take you for 100PLN, that's a fixed amount. Where's the lie?

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

When we discuss the 'commie mentality', we have to really look at how much leeway they had to make decisions. Grubas made a good point! Just look at the corporate culture and corporate code in the West. They have the same objectives. Foreigners often loosely bandy the term 'commie' about. We also need to look at why people lie. I know many Poles who I'd never see as liars. They have no real reason to.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

A certain kind of Pole lies just like a certain kind of Brit lies or Nigerian, take your pick. It's how you go about the lie that might differentiate nations to a point.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

What Wedle is true to a certain extent. We saw it again at a recent MMA event. Only when taken to task on it were they snapped out of it.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

So they all need polygraphy tests? Come off it ;)

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

Welcome, jochemczyk ;)

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

Some Scottish tea is in a special form. I have some Thistle and Highland tea though I haven't started drinking it yet. I find that teabags are faster but that's ironic as tea is supposed to be all about slowing you down.

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

Tesco's cheddar is fairly mature but not overly so. The LIDL one is good, right enough. I still have 400g of it :)

I could have had bigos, LOL. Bigos can be great but it doesn't match a full Sunday roast with all the trimmings IMHO.

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

Port? Ah, not for me. You might like miod pitny here in Poland.

Stilton with mashed potatoes can be nice too.

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

Stilton is a top choice! Lovely with some good crackers. Do you mix it with anything, bullfrog? Cheesy pasta is good too :)

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

You can get cheddar cheese here. Not only during British Week at LIDL either. I have a lovely 400g block of Hatherwoods cheddar in my fridge. Tesco's own cheddar is worth getting too.

History / Greatest Polish and Slavic scientists, their discoveries, inventions and achievements [27]

The very one. He was under the tutelage of one of the best and learned his trade from him. He just needs to prioritise his development and he'll be a major name in the future.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [859]

There should be an open hearing in the form of a conciliation/mediation tribunal. If nobody has anything to hide then what's the problem?

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [859]

No politicians are strong enough here. Not one Polish politician has the stature to instigate any meaningful changes. The Russian govt learned from 9/11 how to wangle evidence and get off the hook. You need a hard hitter to represent you and it's that simple.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [859]

An international commission should be formed but it will never happen. It's 'after the birds' as they say in Polish.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [859]

The final report of Jerzy Miller is different from the latest one of this month? I wonder how that woman would feel if her work were seen as one and the same. That's why I'm asking Konrad if there are any significant differences.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [859]

I bet the conclusions are the same as all the others.