The BEST Guide to POLAND
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Posts by jon357  

Joined: 15 Mar 2012 / Male ♂
Warnings: 1 - O		 Last Post: 17 hrs ago
Threads: Total: 72 / Live: 21 / Archived: 51
Posts: Total: 23720 / Live: 13675 / Archived: 10045 		From: In the Heart of Darkness
Speaks Polish?: Tak

Displayed posts: 13696 / page 455 of 457
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jon357   
25 Apr 2012
Life / Scars of Communism on Polish culture. [55]

i give this thread just a few more hours till it turns into a Poland vs. USA thing (even though the OP isn't American).

It isn't. The values in the US may (or may not) suit the US, but in Europe we are different.
jon357   
24 Apr 2012
Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]

women that grew up in countries where it isn't practiced.

No. Even where it isn't practised, you find the odd one, and even where boys and men are routinely mutilated you find people lucky enough not to have bits cut off them. I speak from experience ;-)

women that have boyfriends/husbands with unsnipped ones that are obviously going to be partial,

Not necessarily. Most of them are probably dreaming of an undamaged one.
jon357   
24 Apr 2012
Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]

in particular the HPV which can cause all sorts of awful things.

In the UK they're offering vaccination now for teenagers - HPV is nasty, and the vaccination seems to be the best solution.
jon357   
24 Apr 2012
Life / Scars of Communism on Polish culture. [55]

More Polish people live outside of Poland than inside Poland.

40 million?

Creative thinking was a threat and punished

If anything, they had to be very creative indeed.

In many government and public buildings across Poland.

A lot of that was there before.

There are four or six cashiers at KFC and in other fast food places, and people still get in one communist line. What's up with that.?? If someone takes a risk and gets in that line, then there is a chance Jacek could be served before Agata. That would be capitalist.

Actually that's fairly recent - and a much fairer way.
jon357   
24 Apr 2012
Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]

Witam, Peter and Jon !

That's mot my quote.

Canada, USA, Israel, South Korea and Philippines?

One for religious reasons, one a developing country, the US isn't as advanced or civilised as outsiders assume it to be and in Canada it is by no means universal.

First of all, multiple case studies involving different countries and tens of thousands of men -- gay and straight, uncircumcised and those circumcised as adults and those circumcised before puberty. The ones in all the countries, who were circumcised as children, had significantly lower rates of AIDs and HIV.

Nonsense. There was a study that showed it was (in the short term) 1.3% more effective at preventing HIV infection. No study was done about long term events and there were 3% complications from the procedure. The full study is cited elsewhere in this thread.

One of the main reasons it is not practiced in Poland is due to the long history of anti-semitism perpetuated by Catholics.

Nonsense. It just isn't done in Europe because it is a pointless and destructive mutilation.

The Center for Disease Control confirm this

Some foreign thing - certainly not in Europe.

just one site

An Islamic religious site.

I live in Poland,

Me too. Permanently.

second oldest constitution in the world, and the second oldest University in the world.

No (the fourth constitution) and no, nothing like the second oldest University. Not even the second oldest in Europe.

in their minds, it's still connected with Jews.

NO. It isn't done much in Ireland either, where historically there have only ever been a handful of Jewish people.

Interesting that the only men defending it are those who've had the misfortune to have it done and have nothing to compare it with and no argument except stuff they've seen on the interwebs.
jon357   
24 Apr 2012
News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]

An early candidate for the most idiotic political post of the year.

Really? Check out who votes for Ruch Palikota and where they poll the most.

Polish experts excluded the possibility of any man-made explosions on the plane. They had a full access to the wreckage and examined it with professional equipment.

Exactly. The matter was sad but straightforward, however conspiracy theories get those attention-seeking buffoons Kaczynski and Macierewicz the airtime they crave.
jon357   
24 Apr 2012
Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]

Dodgefan07
You do realise that the site you linked to is a highly partial one, advocating circumcision for Islamic reasons.

Darwin's notion that Asians evolved from Oranguatans and Blacks from Gorillas, or any other myth you want

Charles Darwin didn't say anything of the sort, however evolution has been proved beyond all reasonable doubt - and European society has evolved enough not to get involved in silly and pointless practices like circumcision.
jon357   
24 Apr 2012
Food / Name of this particular Polish sausage [32]

I'll try that then! Thanks for your help everyone!

Try adding some chopped onions (to the very hot roasting tin) a few minutes before pouring in the batter. Yorkshire style, and always goes down well in Poland. It also helps offset the dense texture of the kielbasa! BTW, don't be tempted to use those sausauges they sell in packs for barbecues. I tried that once and they are just too thick.
jon357   
23 Apr 2012
Food / Name of this particular Polish sausage [32]

. I say, take your pick of many of the delicious types of kielbasa available.

It's traditional British sausage which has a much lower meat content and much more cereal to absorb the fat and give a lighter texture. When using a Polish sausage, the important thing is that it isn't hard or too fatty. It wouldn't work with Krakowska, Jalowcowa or even Wiejska. You could do it with Kaszanka, however it would have to be chilled when it went in the pan and the taste would be very different to the authentic Toad in the Hole. I've found that Biala is the least inauthentic.
jon357   
23 Apr 2012
Food / Name of this particular Polish sausage [32]

n I remembered that Polish sausage and English sausage aren't exactly the same. Is there a type of sausage I could buy in Poland which would be good for this?

Not exactly, but it works with kielbasa biala better than any other.
jon357   
22 Apr 2012
Travel / Best place to exchange money in Poland? [98]

I'm actually on a ship travelling between between the Gulf of Mexico and the Ekofisk oil field at the moment (currently sort of between Greenland and Scotland) but I'll be back in Warsaw in a couple of weeks. The rate at the one I use is usually a little better than most others. The best advice is to avoid ones in touristy locations and shopping centres (especially the one in Zloty Taras). The 24 hour one on ul. Krucza isn't usually bad.
jon357   
22 Apr 2012
Travel / Best place to exchange money in Poland? [98]

Zielona Gora

Have a wander round the centre of Zielona Gora - there are certainly kantors there. They all have a table of the exchange rates they offer. 'Kup' means 'buy' (that's the column with the number of zloty you'd get per pound) 'Sprzedaż' means 'sell' (that's the rate if you change zloty to pounds). British pounds are usually listed on the table as 'GBP'.

It's worth checking the bans (who often have a similar table on display). their rates aren't usually as good, but from time to time they can be.
jon357   
22 Apr 2012
Travel / Best place to exchange money in Poland? [98]

The kantor is usually the best bet. Always better than in the UK and at cash machines. If you're going to Warsaw, PM me - I can recommend one that always has a very good rate for sterling - it's tucked away a bit, so you'd need directions to find it.
jon357   
17 Apr 2012
Life / Do Polish names generally have a meaning to them or a particular structure?. [88]

You were invited to adduce proof to back up your flawed proposition and you failed to do so.

On the contrary.

your position

rebu

And more of the same.

I don't mean to be critical, but you have been outsmarted and have lost the argument.

Very far from that. Nobility is nobility - the majority of the szlachta were not. They didn't fit the socio-economic model, they were unable to sustain themselves as a privileged group, and their numbers were too large even to be a viable elite.

I notice that you're trolling has taken a different turn from usual - this time you're trying to emulate the pompous language of Dessie etc.

It doesn't make your point stronger - it just dresses it up differently.

Czerwinski

Out of interest, where does Dzierzynski come from. The wikipedia entry on Feliks Dzierzynski uses the phrase 'purportedly polish szlachta'.
jon357   
17 Apr 2012
Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]

Nevertheless, there is no evidence that circumcision - a barbaric practice if ever there was one prevents HIV transmission on medical grounds.

And by the way, yes - it can only survive within a very precise range of pH.

The study of HIV infection (conducted in Kenya) that is sometimes used by pro-circumcision isn't actually as positive as it seems:

...absolute risk reduction, during the two years of the study, of around 1.3%. Participants who were circumcised suffered a complication rate of up to 3% with complications including erectile dysfunction. Whether those who were circumcised will remain at lower risk during their remaining lives is purely speculative.

jon357   
17 Apr 2012
Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]

In order to survive it needs a host culture with a high temperature and very precise pH levels. If the circumstances are right, it survives for a long time - if they are not it dies in less than a minute.

It certainly doesn't live under a foreskin!
jon357   
17 Apr 2012
Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]

There are valid medical factors, IMO. Without the foreskin, it is easier to wash that body part, or, even without washing, the virus is more exposed to the environment and "dies" more quickly. If proper hygiene is maintained, however, both these mechanisms are moot.

It dies very quickly once it's outside the body, and paradoxically (anyone squeamish should look away now) an unwashed one is less likely to be an environment where the virus could survive due to the properties of what one would wash away.

I strongly suspect there are other reasons for any correlation in HIV prevalence and circumcision.
jon357   
16 Apr 2012
News / Polish Silesian Autonomy movement [67]

Personally I'm in favour of autonomy

The chance of a Special Economic Zone on the model of Schleswig Holstein could bring huge benefits. The issue of that zone being administered from Berlin would set them off arguing for years.
jon357   
16 Apr 2012
Life / Do Polish names generally have a meaning to them or a particular structure?. [88]

I'm sorry, but it's not. Socio-economic standing is a corrollary to the practical trappings of nobility, not the definitive test. I'm sure that in England (and indeed elsewhere), there are nobles who live in penury. This doesn't make them any less noble.

It's a prerequisite - without the trappings, without the money, the status goes before the generation is out. Several times in history people have declined membership of the nobility because they felt they didn't have enough assets to guarantee that noble status is maintained throughout the generations. Somebody with a pretty coat of arms on their lavatory wall who works in the Town Hall isn't noble - they're just descended from noblemen.

All the Rights,none of the responsibilities,so,no,not Nobles just people who may or may not at one time have had a rich ancestor.

As usual, you've cut straight to the heart of the matter. They may have described themselves a 'working', 'landless', 'own-land-working', or degraded nobles, but in harsh reality, only the adjective is accurate - the noun is a mistranslation.

dietine deputies

Now you're getting closer....

. It is up to you to prove they were/are not nobles, and no, this is not a Russell's teapot type request.
Again, just because you say it is, doesn't make it so, and indeed, you are stepping into the realms of petition principii.

Proven lomg ago, and petition principii hardly fits!

It is fallacious to try to prove an argument as to the quality or otherwise of the subject based on hindsight. Be wary too of the fallacy of circular cause and consequence, vis a vis your reference to anarchy

That's pure nonsense, and you know it. The First Republic ended in disaster - you can be an apologist for it; you can talk about the avarice of neighbouring states, you can blame geopolitics, you can even look for weaknesses in the behaviour of Stanislaw August - but you can never avoid the incontrovertible fact that the First Republic had long ceased to function effectively as a state.