Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [382]


I don't think that more than 0.01% of Russians in the 1920s knew what the hell a pentagram was.

The facial features, the golden colored skulls, the necklace - it's all supposed to get Russians riled up for another pogrom - the favorite pastime of White forces.

Say what you want about the Soviet Union, but it was basically Switzerland in comparison to the Russian Empire when it came to Jews. The Whites continued to use the Imperial playbook of how to get peasant Russians agitated - "The Jews are robbing you dry!".

The Reds used: "The rich are robbing you dry." Small distinction, but important.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [382]

You know what is nice in all these posters?

They only say: "Fight the Pans", "Kill the Bolsheviks", etc.

None of them say, go kill Poles, or go kill Russians.

It's a small thing, but still a certain silver lining.

Propagandists are readers of the human soul. That meant they knew there was not much material to work with in engendering hate between the actual peoples, so they turned to other instruments.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [382]


Pretty antisemitic if you ask me. A Red Trotsky, sitting on a pile of skulls - a bit too much on the nose.

Might as well have left the yellow Star of David at that point, like in this poster produced by the White Russians (the caption reads "Peace and Prosperity in Socialist Russia"):

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Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [382]


I have a different observation. The Soviet posters are much more cool. Very avant-garde, very modern.

The Polish posters look like they were made by alcoholic dropout of local technical lyceum.

The Soviet Union was hip, while Poland was reactionary and old.

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Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [382]


Ясновельможная Польша, or Aristocratic Poland, seems to have been a popular meme in the early days of the Soviet Union.

1) The first poster below is another take on the subject. This time, Poland is a bulldog instead of a pig. The text in the middle reads: "The Last Dog of the Entente". The text at the bottom reads, "Polish Pans Are Seeking to Strangulate Proletarian Russia. Death to Noble Pans."

2) The second image consists of two posters. The one on the right, shows a Polish Pan, assisting Simeon Petlyura in crucifying Ukraine. The message reads, "Butchers are Ravaging Ukraine". On the left, is an agitprop piece inviting people to join the ranks of the Red Army to be sent to the Polish front.

3) These two posters are Polish-made. The one on the left, is reminder that it has been 125 years since Poland had been independent. The one on the right, shows General Józef Haller, one of the heroes of the First Polish-Soviet War calling on men to enlist.

4) This last poster is very upsetting. I had to recompose myself before posting this one. Noble soldiers of the righteous Red Worker's Army shown as apes and Neanderthals. The text in the image on the left reads: "The Enemy Approaches, Look What He Brings". The text on the right side, reads "Only Our Forces Can Defend the People and the Country".

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Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [382]

Wanted to share some rare posters from the 1920s and 1930s.

1) Ясновельможная Польша - A Polish pig is shown embracing France. The pig is wearing a hat, that says "Noble/Aristocratic Poland". The pig is drooling over a document it is holding, which is titled "1772 Borders". The text at the bottom reads - "A Pig Trained in France".

2) Красный Подарок Белому Пану - A Red Gift for the White Pan. Two red army soldiers are lifting an enormous artillery shell as a Polish Pan quivers in fear. At the bottom right, the text says "Hit the Polish Pan in the Forehead with this Little Toy".

3) Чем Кончится Панская Затея - How the Pan's Enterprise Will End. Red soldiers are sticking lances into the rear ends of Polish pans, while grateful Polish population holds a banner that reads "Glory to Soviet Poland!".

4) Дорогу Нашему Хлебу в Обмен на Германские Машины и Орудия. Access for Our Bread, in Exchange for German Agricultural Machinery and Weapons.

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History / Pol-Shorpy Photo Thread [950]


Just like we can squeeze every last bit of juice out of the T-72 - things the designers could probably scarcely imagine.

PT-91 Twardy is a good attempt in this regard, as well.

History / Pol-Shorpy Photo Thread [950]


I opened the Wikipedia page for ZX Spectrum clones. It's crazy how many there were.

In the Soviet Union, we had the Dubna-48K, AZX Monstrum, Anbelo/C, Arus, ATM Turbo, Baltica, Best III, Bi Am ZX-Spectrum 48/64, Blitz, Byte, Composite, and a million others.

God bless Clive Sinclair!

TY for this post Kania.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]

@Novichok

Also a drunk guy came into the pilot's cabin and kept berating them, while they tried to land.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


Miloslaw must know something we don't know.

Perhaps Poland was just steps away from a brazen surprise attack on Russia?

Shocked at how we masterfully preempted their secret plan, and also impressed - the Poles wisely decide to roll back their plans.

History / Pol-Shorpy Photo Thread [950]


Those cars would have looked good even in the decadent West. Kinda reminds me of a VW Scirocco, from the front.


Armed with PPSh-41 submachine guns, and receiving a blessing from a very Orthodox-looking priest.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]


Being a traitor to your country's intelligence services. Not some average plumber. The homeless British people that suffered as a result are a tragedy - do not misunderstand.


Having made a professional career out of selling Russian state secrets to oligarchs and foreign governments.


Servicing the most infamous mercenary leader of the last 500 years.

Other than these criteria - most Russians are safe. I would think.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]

Really? Expert Lyzko?

Did you interview each of them before they put a bullet in their heads?

An interesting sample - I would expect.

Jokes aside - people take their jobs surprisingly seriously, despite the games of the trolls at the top. A cynic would say it's no one's fault but theirs.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]

Because it plants a certain idea in certain people's minds - without any awareness of the context.

Suicide is a miserable subject - I'd rather move on.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]

I don't want to speculate over the reasons for a person's death.

I think it may be irresponsible for you to do so as well.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]


Remind me why Russia is the Empire of the Unfree?

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]


They stormed their Capitol, and took selfies relaxing in Nancy Pelosi's office.

I'd say that's bigger than dousing someone with a fire extinguisher.

Americans have got the spirit, still.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]

I admit, I cannot explain this.

Not using normal protocols accepted amongst average statistical humans.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]


Well, maybe not completely, Lenka?

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]


Poles can benefit as much as Russians from learning about the genius of the US constitution.

This Braun idiot is a member of the Sejm, no?

We are discussing separation of Church and State. As well as freedom of speech.

Is the American Bill of Rights, as the first document in the history of this planet that managed to put everything into one container, irrelevant then?

I studied the Magna Carta, the Swiss compact, the French Revolution, and everything in between. There was nothing like the Bill of Rights. It is a revolutionary document. It's why everyone copies it to shield themselves with credibility before their populations.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]


I guess he means that when the Bill of Rights was drafted and ratified, women and blacks did not have the ability to vote.

The 15th Amendment granted blacks the right to vote. Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870.

The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 1920.

Always been funny to me, that white men trusted former slaves to vote, before they trusted their wives.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]

Following the amazing 1st Amendment, and then the equally spectacular 4-8th... we have the very mysterious 9th.

Though it may seem impenetrable in its meaning, some legal scholars argue that it's the most important of all amendments in the Bill of Rights.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

In other words, just because we listed all these other rights in the first 8 amendments, does not mean there do not exist other rights.

The Founding Fathers were trying to cover their as$, for any omissions they made elsewhere.

The 9th Amendment has since been invoked in Supreme Court cases that defended the right to privacy.

It will probably be invoked in 25th century for some other right. Simply, an amazing document.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]


Thank you, thank you - I'm here all week.

I was supposed to be a lawyer, but then I decided that making money is more important.

Now that ChatGPT exists, lawyers will all be dead anyways.

Doesn't mean one can't still marvel at the beauty of the US Constitution.

Sad that I could probably write a poem dedicated to each constitutional amendment, but won't be granted residency (not citizenship). Meanwhile, South America is moving to North America.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]

Kania creates the best damn threads.

I simply cannot compete.

He created this "Grzegorz Braun Extinguishes Candles" (by the way, excellent title for a novel) thread two days ago, and now it is on page 7 of discussion.

How did he know that it would be exactly this combination of terms that would guarantee the maximum result?

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]


Guess what? We have all those things on paper.

It turns out, that that's not all that matters.

250 year old institutions vs 30 year old institutions and all that...

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]


Well, we have it on paper. Everyone copies the US constitution, in one way or another. Except for the British.

I personally have a big hard on for the Bill of Rights.

The second and third amendments are kinda boring (the third is completely useless).

But the 4th through the 8th, just like the 1st, spell out perfectly the sequence of a person's interaction with law enforcement.

1) The 4th - The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.

2) The 5th - now that you got booked by the cops, after you have been arrested - you cannot be charged with the same crime twice, or be forced to testify against yourself.

3) The 6th - the government cannot keep you locked up forever without a day in court. You have a right to a fair and speedy trial, in a court not far from your home or where you committed the crime, and you have a right to know what you are being accused of.

4) The 7th - you have the right to be judged by a jury of people like you.

5) The 8th - if they still decided to punish you, they can't punish you in cruel or unusual ways.

So here we have, just like in the 1st Amendment, an entire logical process described from start to finish. From the moment your house is searched, to the time when you are already in prison.

A genius this Madison, I tell you.

I could create a whole thread dedicated to all 27 amendments, and write a 2,000 word post every day about just a single amendment. In 27 days, we would be done.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]


Gotta hand it to Madison....

The way he wrote the Bill of Rights is simply stupendous.

The entire logic of democracy is spelled out in sequential order:

1) Religion - the government cannot control what is in your head. That is, it can't tell you what to believe or what to think.

2) Speech - once you are thinking something in your head, you should be able to talk about it as well without fear of punishment.

3) Press - now that you're talking, you should also be able to get your message to as many people as you possibly can.

4) Assemble - now that you got everybody riled up, it's your right to gather with other likeminded people to draft wider plans.

5) Petition - the government cannot ignore you and your group of peers, and has to provide a response to your demands.

All of that, in just one single Amendment! The whole anatomy of democracy, within a single paragraph.

Incredible.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]

@Bratwurst Boy

I'm reading someone's manuscript right now regarding Germanisms in Russian.

The number one category is "military" - with 123 words. Starting with the word soldat.

Source: nsportal.ru/ap/library/drugoe/2017/11/08/nemetskie-zaimstvovaniya-v-russkom-yazyke

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]


How does that happen? Why does Russia get debil from the French, and you get it from the Germans?

It must be a mistake in the Russian dictionary.

Russian is up to its ears in Germanisms. Here's a list of some more modern ones:

der Bruderschaft - Брудершафт
der Schlagbaum - Шлагбаум
der Büstenhalter - Бюстгалтер
die Spritze - Шприц
das Zifferblatt - Циферблат
die Wanne - Ванна

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]

Происходит от лат. debilis «слабый», из de «из, от», из праиндоевр. *de- + habilis «управляемый, послушный, удобный». Русск. дебил заимств. через франц. débile.

Translation:

Originates from Latin debilis, from de meaning "of/from", and proto-Indo European de* + habilis "domesticated, tame, comfortable". Russian "debil" is borrowed through French débile.

I wonder - did Poles borrow it from Russians by a roundabout way, or also got it from the French?

Why is there no debil in English?