Genealogy / Which Polish first names are considered unpopular / obsolete in Poland? [124]

Beautiful classic names never go out of fashion.

Aleksanda [den. Ola], an ancient Greek name, popularised in Poland by a writer Henryk Sienkiewicz

Grażyna, a name created in XIX century by Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz

History / Poland and Israel getting back on the right foot...maybe [132]


The matter is more complicated than that.

First of all, in pre-war Poland Polish Jews very often bought real estate on credit in Polish banks, like the biggest bank in Poland: PKO Bank Polski. Most of that credit was never paid back to National Bank of Poland [PKO] when WWII broke out.

So the price of unpaid credit should be deducted from the sum of a final reparation.

Furthermore, almost all real estate in Warsaw (and to lesser extend in other big cities of Poland) was destroyed during WWII and rebuilt by Poles after war.

This should also be deducted from the sum of the final reparation.

In many cases the sum of deductions would exceed the value of a lost property.

And obviously I'm only talking about rightful claimants, that is those rightful claimants with all the proper documents and not some NGO's like World Jewish Congress with absolutely no rights to claim any reparations from Poland.

History / Positive portrayal of Poles in world`s cinema and TV [18]

Walt Kowalski played by Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino" [2008]

Walt is a Polish American war veteran from Korea living in Detroit. He is a tough and honest guy, completely immune to political correctness.

imdb.com/title/tt1205489/

History / Poland and Israel getting back on the right foot...maybe [132]


Most of those ethnic Germans have quickly decided to become Volksdeutsche once Hitler took power in Germany and especially later on during the occupation of Poland.

History / Poland and Israel getting back on the right foot...maybe [132]

Poland is not against giving back lost property to its rightful owners. Poland is against giving it away on baseless claims from some non-governmental organisations such as World Jewish Congress.

So to make it clear:

1 Pre-war Jews were citizens of Poland so any property they had became the property of the state unless they had living relatives.
2 Those living relatives of those who died during WWII can seek compensation in Polish courts.

History / Why is Poland weaker than Russia? [390]

@delphiandomine, knowing you I wouldn't be surprised it if was like in this old Russian joke from radio Yerevan:

It didn't happen in Wroclaw but in Poznan, the man wasn't Russian but Scottish, and he didn't get beating for nothing but for public indecency :-)

History / Why is Poland weaker than Russia? [390]

@Rich Mazur

And that's the difference between Poland and Russia. In Poland nobody would beat a man on a sole merit of being a Russian. A common Russian folks are even being welcomed in Poland. Poland has even got a local border traffic with Kaliningrad (Krolewiec).

History / Why is Poland weaker than Russia? [390]


I don't think it should ever be erased. Once it got erased the WWIII is sure to follow.

History / Poland and Israel getting back on the right foot...maybe [132]

President Trump has made an unilateral decision to recognise Golan Heights region as a part of Israel. The United Nations Security Council, and also most European countries, are against that decision.

It seems to me that the political balance between the US and Israel is somewhat distorted, or simply put "the tail wigs the dog".

independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/israel-golan-heights-eu-trump-netanyahu-syria-middle-east-a8843311.html

History / Why is Poland weaker than Russia? [390]


Yes, but it has to be repeated over and over again to counter-balance decades of false narrative.

You also have to take into account that to this day for most Russians the WWII has started in June 1941 when Hitler invaded the USRR as it was claimed for decades by Soviet historians.

History / Why is Poland weaker than Russia? [390]

If the truth is not enough of a reward itself than common sense should be. Poland shouldn't submit to Russia's false historical narrative which goes against geopolitical interests of Poland.

Let's not forget that Russia didn't officially admitted signing Ribbentrop-Molotov pact (1939) until the collapse of the USSR (1993). The whole generations of Eastern block citizens were told lies which served Russian [false] identity and politics and in their eyes justified the occupation ("protection") of Central Europe.

History / Why is Poland weaker than Russia? [390]

This way or another the potential future conflict in Europe would concentrate in Central Europe like it always does. So it is better to be prepared and to have allies than not.

The main benefit of NATO for Poland is...uncertainty. Uncertainty on the aggressors side that is.

Will they all retaliate or will they not? That benefit of uncertainty is what stops them and makes them think twice before making any reckless moves. I wouldn't count on Germany or France and I think their presence in NATO is purely symbolic and it only serves to keep Germany at bay (which is already a very valuable thing itself).

Basically the stronger Poland becomes, the more likely the others would engage on our side.

The revision of the Nuclear treaty in the future would also be a very smart thing to do. We just can't afford to not have nuclear weapons sitting in Central Europe between Germany and Russia. Poland should start with NATO nuclear sharing and build up from there.

History / Why is Poland weaker than Russia? [390]


They don't have to 'love' Poland as long as we have common interests and we both benefit from cooperation. A common interest is much more solid platform for cooperation than 'love'.


I think Russians should be invited but also the president of Poland should make it clear in his speech that both: Nazi Germany and the USSR were the aggressors who attacked Poland in 1939 and he should also mention Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

Only the truth will set us free.

History / Why is Poland weaker than Russia? [390]

Can Poland break Gazprom's hold on Europe?
Poland is at the heart of plans that could shift the balance of power in the EU.

dw.com/en/can-poland-break-gazproms-hold-on-europe/a-47979157

History / Unforgettable quotes about Poland and Poles from Polish and world`s history and culture [99]


On a contrary. Proverbs are being made by people and are based on facts and situations that happened in a country.

A modern forms of a folk proverbs are internet memes which often make their way to a common language.

History / Unforgettable quotes about Poland and Poles from Polish and world`s history and culture [99]


Poles not only blocked a flood of "refugees" into our country but also put a tame to LGBT indoctrination. This shows that this proverb is quickly getting outdated. Indeed, Pole is wise before the damage.

Travel / Are Polish people as unfriendly as Slovaks? [84]

@pawian, strangers are also those that I know briefly, including those which I've met online [only].

Also, there's no such thing as "this" or "that" logic, unless it is used in derogatory form.

There's only one true logic which is a perfect weapon for crushing relativism in its various forms.

So yes, same as with "true lies" or "social justice", "this logic" is just an oxymoron.

So whenever I will use a form "by your logic", you should know that it is a form of an intellectual disrespect :-)

History / Unforgettable quotes about Poland and Poles from Polish and world`s history and culture [99]

But why? I've got followers to do it for me :-)

History / Unforgettable quotes about Poland and Poles from Polish and world`s history and culture [99]

To be a Pole does not mean just to speak Polish or to feel close to other Poles, but to value the Polish nation above all else

~ Roman Dmowski, a father of Second Polish Republic and Polish Independence

Travel / Are Polish people as unfriendly as Slovaks? [84]

The fact that I was briefly introduced to Slovak language a decade ago by a young blonde lady from Slovakia could be the answer to that.

Slovak and Polish has many similar words and it sounds very familiar. When it comes to linguistics, and also genetics and a culture, they're our closest relatives next to Czechs and Belarusians.

Jak sie masz - ako sa mas
Dzien dobry - dobry den
Do widzenia - dovidenia
Dobry wieczor - dobry vecer
Jak się nazywasz - Ako sa volas (volas-wolasz in Polish, which means "to call")
Potrzebuje pomocy - potrebujem pomoc

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1034]

A Nobel prize winner for a daredevil who would translate it to English:

• 
  Difficult Polish Poem
  

Travel / Are Polish people as unfriendly as Slovaks? [84]


direct quote from my post:

"I'm friendly towards my friends and hostile towards my enemies (...) As for the strangers I don't care much about them (...)"


No, Slovak sounds much more similar to Polish than Ukrainian. Not to mention that your alphabet is impossible :-)

Travel / Are Polish people as unfriendly as Slovaks? [84]

That depends.

I'm friendly towards my friends and hostile towards my enemies. And I can be very crafty when it comes to hostility so it's better to get on my better side :-)

As for the strangers I don't care much about them unless they fall in one of aforementioned groups.

That was a warm welcome if you haven't noticed yet.

PS: I have two Slovak friends and they understand me when I speak Polish. Good for them, I don't understand half what they're saying in Slovak, heh

Polonia / Polonia in Brazil? [14]

There's a Polish village in Brazil, which is over 100 years old, inhabited almost exclusively by Poles who are bilingual and they are still speaking traditional 100 years old Polish. That's just amazing

youtube.com/watch?v=Dxvq20v5tys

History / Poland's society at communism and socialism time [55]

I'm not saying it is a socialism in pure form, just a vital part of it. Some "smart" socialists came to conclusion that establishing a pure socialist state, which never worked, is an utopia.

So it is better to regulate a free market and capitalism in a way to sponge on it and redirect the income from the pockets of those who work, produce and contribute something of value to those who don't work or who contribute very little of value for the others.

Obviously this needs to be enforced by the state, that goes without saying. So it is not thievery you see, it's a "social justice" at government's gunpoint :-P

The problem is that this system demoralise people. Some started noticing that they can live as comfortably, if not more comfortably, by claiming benefits instead of going to work. And those who still go to work have noticed that they've been punished for hard work with high progressive tax rates. The more you work, the more you pay a truly devilish invention.

A welfare state is a parasite which in a long term leads to death of its own feeder.

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.

Winston Churchill

History / Poland's society at communism and socialism time [55]


You contradicted yourself in the same sentence. That mandatory social welfare component is indeed a part of socialism.

Social engineering, that is enforced redistribution of fruits of work, achieved by heavy taxation and welfare programs, from those who produce it to those who don't contribute to making it is a part of socialism.

History / Poland's society at communism and socialism time [55]

Sweden is an example of a wealthy capitalist country which over decades has turned into semi-socialist state. Sweden is not totally socialist since the government doesn't own nor control all means of production ie: the state doesn't own all the business running in the country - it is just content with taxing them heavily in order to afford welfare state.

So Sweden basically is a semi-socialist state that is being powered by a capitalist engine.

Here's an interesting take on a Nordic Model

elgar.blog/2014/09/09/embracing-capitalism-the-real-success-of-swedens-universal-welfare-state/

News / POKO and LGBT lobby is trying to sexualize children in Poland. Now they aim for adoption [120]

The news is real. The fact that is not being published by liberal-left mainstream media is understandable since they don't inform anymore but rather "creating a narrative". Would you only believe it if it was on a front page of The Guardian?

Here's a link from Fox News

foxnews.com/opinion/todd-starnes-sex-offender-reads-to-kids-at-librarys-drag-queen-story-time-how-the-heck-did-that-happen

History / Poland's society at communism and socialism time [55]

Maybe, let's just make clear what's the difference between socialism and communism.

In a communism, the working class owns everything, and everyone works toward the same communal goal.

In socialism the government own a operates the means for production and workers work for wages.
In socialism workers receive not much more than they need to produce and survive, and there's no incentive to achieve more which leads to economic stagnation.

So basically there is no [and there never was] any communist country. Communism maybe existed in some primitive tribes in Amazon but it doesn't scale up.

And socialist countries, such as the USSR, went bankrupt duo to ineffective economic system.

News / POKO and LGBT lobby is trying to sexualize children in Poland. Now they aim for adoption [120]

"Drag Queen Who Read to Kids at Houston Library Is Convicted Pedophile"

thenewamerican.com/culture/family/item/31768-drag-queen-who-read-to-kids-at-houston-library-is-convicted-pedophile

Those are the "educators" who would want to educate our children in "tolerance"