Off-Topic / Random Sports News [853]

Here's a radical thought - like millions of people i like both football and the American version (prefer college to NFL but will watch both)

Not really keen on rugby but it got much better after going professional

Food / What Polish foods and brands do you miss when you go to other countries? [216]

Prices of lots of fruit and veg are going up sharply - a dry summer but also high fuel costs, closed sundays, the proposed retail taxes and higher wages both for fruit pickers and supermarket staff.

Off-Topic / Random Sports News [853]

Your team is not called Ohio but rahther Russia and they have underperformed for many years when it comes to football - even when the USSR were good it was mostly due to Ukrainian and Georgian players and they never gelled during tournaments.

No coincidence that football is one of the most difficult games in which to get an unfair advantage through drugs or bribing officials. Too much luck involved and underdogs always have a chance.

Of course the USSR and Russia have plenty of success when judges can be bunged some cash or weightlifters can be doped up to the eyeballs

Food / What Polish foods and brands do you miss when you go to other countries? [216]

A long time ago i worked on the privatization of Polands biggest ketchup factory - Heinz bought it and wanted to change the recipe but the Poles were used to their own ketchup taste so after a few tasting panels they just kept it as it is. I normally avoid it - sweet and cloying taste. If i am grilling i use mustard and chrzan.

Food / What Polish foods and brands do you miss when you go to other countries? [216]

I do sometimes have it for breakfast - I don't mean making it from scratch but if I am driving somewhere early on a winter morning and there is some in the fridge I will have it - its filling and healthy (kind of - it has vegetables) and will keep you going for a few hours.

Food / What Polish foods and brands do you miss when you go to other countries? [216]

The only place its eaten as a side dish is in the Red Apple buffet, washed down by some heavily marked up Okocim

Of course here in Poland its normally a quick meal in itself - at a Zajazd or on the train, at a poprawiny or from a Miedzychod jar. Maybe a slice of bread with it.

Life / Place of Living Choice: Poland vs Hungary vs Germany [44]

Living in a small town and commuting is feasible but the trains are not as frequent as they are in Germany. In winter that is going to be a challenge - dark cold mornings and evenings with quite a lot of travel disruption. I don't know Kielce we'll but in Torun or Krakow there are plenty of quiet areas of the city where you could live quite cheaply.

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

Well I suppose there is Ludwik - popular brand of dish soap !

Lech - a well known beer.

Michalki - kind of chocolate

Must be plenty more.

Law / Notice period Poland (job termination) - does 'one month' equal to four weeks? [14]

There is not a lot they can do about it.

Don't expect a reference from them however - you signed a contract which you are now not respecting.

Better to explain to your boss that you would like to work a shorter period, say half of the notice period so that you can give him time to sort out a handover.

What quite a lot of Poles do is hand in their notice and then get a sick note if you ask them to work it, though that is happening less these days.

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

There are some whole towns made iup of decrepit kamienicy - Grudziaz, Chorzow, Pabianice etc - it will decades to fix them

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

How many skyscrapers or basilicas have you designed ? Or Iwonka ? This thread is about Poland.

I was in Slask recently and see that in in Bytom and Katowice some of those houses are even getting protected status. They are interesting architecture but surely still outside plumbing ?

Off-Topic / Social Media - who uses Facebook or similar? [45]

Facebook is a private company. Using Facebook is optional.

Not sure if someone can translate that into Russian to make that even more simple for you to understand.

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]

This by the way is the man PiS nominated to replace Tusk as head of the EU council - a position normally occupied by former prime ministers.

Life / How much money to comfortably retire in Poland (a married couple)? [57]

If you think the EU invented bureaucracy in Poland you are very wrong ! It is a huge problem but mainly the legacy of the Commies creating jobs for everyone.

Its not the Euro that will be creating price pressure- rather it is caused by higher wages.

Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]

A large maslak - I only eat them if I can't find anything nicer !

Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]

They are getting more rare Parian, they are mostly confined to the south of Poland. I saw them at our farm too but not for 3 or 4 years now

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

Yes it is growing at higher rate but it is insignificant compared to EU trade and it would take many years of that level of growth in order to catch up.

Polish workers and exporters cannot eat percentages - in the meantime the EU will be the growth engine of the Polish economy. I know it's hard to tell from your bedroom in Chicago but Poles have never had stability and living standards like they have had since 2004.

If a party like Konfederacja wants to leave the EU they should plaster that all over their website - in fact there is not a single mention of it. Almost all Poles know the EU is positive for Poland and these bow tie wearing eccentrics don't want to lose any of the votes they need to make the 5 percent.

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

But Romania and Bulgaria are getting suddenly richer and are subsequently increasing exports quicker

As for Poland's trade you have simply no idea what you ar3 talking about and the only things nag your links prove are the declining standards of Ivy League education

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

Poland did vote for him in his first term

In the second term the other 27 countries voted for him, rather than the alternative candidate of the Polish government - a little known MEP who was suggested for a job that normally goes to a senior politician

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

So they want to keep the parts of the EU that they like without any of the responsibilities ? Ask the Uk how that is working out for them

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

Does that one minute video say if they want to leave the EU ? If they did then I missed it. In fact all I heard was a string of rhetorical provocative questions rather than any policy positions. Pathetic but what can you expect from people who have never had to take any responsibility.

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

God knows what they are teaching you at your Ivy League university.

In 1995 then Poland was already on the track to EU membership - so EU countires became more confident about investing and trading there. The zloty stabilized, the political situation stabilized and NATO membership was already decided.

Compare the situation and the trading relationships of non EU countries - Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia, Belarus etc. and compare how they have been outstripped since 2004 by those countires that joined the EU.

Trade with China is very small compared to trade with the EU.

Anyway as I understand Konfederacja of Dunces wants to leave the EU so anybody who thinks that is a good idea has a clear choice next weekend.

By the way on checking their website I am not even sure what their position is on EU membership - I see a line up of about 20 whackjobs in cravats, pocket squares and bow ties, a few videos about Israel and Migration but no clear list of what they believe in.

Also a piece about defending the traditional family, ironic indeed coming from a home wrecker like Korwin

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

It's certainly not unreported - there are stories in the papers or on TV most days and the biggest film of last year dealt with the issue. It will however take years for the full story to emerge - the current govt is heavily intertwined with the church but previous governments also did not do much to address the allegations

There is a new documentary on YouTube - been up for a few hours and was already watched by more than a million people.

News / Should Polonia and expat Poles lose voting rights in Polish elections? [85]

The Poles in Chicago already can vote - most dont want to or cant be bothered.

It's different to the Hungarians in Romania and Serbia and Slovakia - they speak Hungarian at home and have a lot of commercial and cultural connections with Budapest.

News / Should Polonia and expat Poles lose voting rights in Polish elections? [85]

Maybe one solution is that you can vote so long as you were 18 when you left Poland and every 10 years you have to reregister and pay some fee. The fee would be used to cover the costs of running the election

News / Should Polonia and expat Poles lose voting rights in Polish elections? [85]

The numbers are quite small so I never get upset about it - most of my US family don't vote and the Polish family I have in the UK have never even mentioned it.

I think there should be some kind of qualification - e.g. you lose it after 20 years, or you have to pay some one off community tax - say a few hundred dollars, or treat you would be eligible for military reserve etc.

I quite like the Italian system where there are a couple of MPs who represent the diaspora- and I think they cannot vote on certain domestic issues.

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

Stupid laws about tobacco. Data protection etc - there are many small downsides

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

She never said that. Whete i can find that quote when googling it is normally only on right wing websites

And even then someone has swapped EU for unified Europe. The EU was called thr EC in her time as leader.

Someone has also inserted the word socialist there. In the 80s the EC was not considered a socialist project

And finally who cares what she said - like most long serving leaders she had some good ideas and some bad ideas

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

Nonsense - they pay plenty of tax in Poland and certainly way more than Polish retailers. Biedonka, Rossman, Auchan are all in the top 20 taxpayers in Poland.

There is no Tesco in Germany but there is Auchan in Italy, Carrefour in Greece, Spain and Belgium, Netto in Germany, ikea and Lidl everywhere. Supermarkets will expans wherever customers want them.

There are many Polish owned retailers.

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

No you would not have an automatic right before the EU. You would need work permit, invitation, marketable skills and a whole bunch of queueing and extra costs. I have plenty of marketable skills but I couldn't just pitch up in Australia or Canada say and start working with no questions asked - And neither can you

You probably don't remember those times, Which is a challenge for the EU - it needs to market how successful it has been in creating mobility for people like you