Language / It is not possible to translate names into English or Polish! [52]


Yes. It surprised me when I found out. Apparently there was an early Christian martyr called Hyacinth. I suspect the flower is named after him.


I just fancied a change - It's the 4th name I've had over the years.

Language / It is not possible to translate names into English or Polish! [52]



Beata translates better as Beatrice (Ela is closer to Betty) and Jacek, believe it or not, translates as Hyacinth.

A few names - especially better known Biblical ones have a clear translation - as do many surnames.

Life / Do Polish names generally have a meaning to them or a particular structure?. [88]


No they weren't. They were between 12 and 18% of the population - too large to be a nobility. They were farmers. Very few could be considered noble in any sense.


Golden Misgovernment and Self-destructive Chaos might be a better description. Read Carlyle on the matter.

Going back to the topic - surnames in Poland don't really give any indication of social status. I know people with illustrious surname's from history who are as rough as a bear's arse and penniless with it and people with the most plebeian sounding names who are perfect gentlemen in every sense.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


This is the problem. People 'imagine' a bit too much without going straight to the bottom line. The Russian government had no reason whatsoever to cause a plane crash. Nor did anybody else.

Life / Do Polish names generally have a meaning to them or a particular structure?. [88]


Aristocratic even. Not just some nobody describing themselves as 'szlachta' (which does NOT mean nobility, or even gentry). I understand she was a Tarnowska before her marriage.

Life / Lodz vs Wroclaw - difference in mentality of people? [53]


If you're looking for quaint and colourful, Lodz isn't the place to be. Nevertheless, it has a unique atmosphere and there is something special about the centre.

Travel / Any Anglican churches in Poland? [35]


You can say the same about 'many' Poles, or your nationality, Americans.


Only if that deity actually exists.

Travel / Any Anglican churches in Poland? [35]

You won't find that in the Anglican Church in Warsaw, although Father Felix is a nice guy. They use an RC chapel on Krakowskie Przedmiescie and also have something in Gdansk.

Before the war there were thousands of Anglicans in Poland, especially in Warsaw and Bialystok.

Life / Moving to Poland Part-Time (probably Katowice) [56]


+1

That district behind and above the station, going up to the tennis club is an architectural gem and should be heavily protected.

Nice people round Katowice too.

Food / Easter meal on a typical Polish table? [16]


No it doesn't - perhaps the stuff sold in the country you live in is different.


Stone cold sober - and I was offered pork po tatarsku (raw pork!!) in Poland not long ago. Needless to say I didn't touch it, though the Poles I was with had no such scruples.

Food / Easter meal on a typical Polish table? [16]


After being boiled for a few minutes it wouldn't be rare!

BTW, the only place I have ever seen pork being eaten rare is in Poland, including once raw: po tatarsku - they couldn't understand why I wouldn't go near it!

Food / Easter meal on a typical Polish table? [16]

Most Polish sausages aren't for cooking. Kielbasa Biala (white sausage) is the only one that needs it, and it is usually boiled for just a few mins.

News / History lessons no more in Poland (Tusk's change) [61]


And that is how it should be. In history lessons, kids should know how to question and analyse.

Travel / Hard Candy - Krakow, Poland - reviews? [131]

Someone is definitely getting their palms greased.

As well as Hard Candy in Krakow, Patrick's Bar in Warsaw has a reputation for spiked drinks etc despite numerous complaints to the police.

News / The spiritual heirs of the Polish Communist Party [91]

Freedom of speech depends on good manners and clear parameters to be effective. It's an age-old paradox that to have true freedom there have to be boundaries. One of the clearest of those boundaries is accusing someone of a crime without offering concrete proof. In this case that boundary was crossed.

News / The spiritual heirs of the Polish Communist Party [91]


I don't think there is such an opinion. There is however no shortage of right-wing racists, especially out in the sticks.

News / The spiritual heirs of the Polish Communist Party [91]


That's what I thought. If the Polish far-right want communist symbols and songs banned as offensive under the law, they also need to understand that accusations are similarly offensive under the law.

News / The spiritual heirs of the Polish Communist Party [91]

Special treatment? You do know how long he was jailed by them?

And no, the country's best selling newspaper isn't a 'spiritual heir of the communist party'!!

News / The spiritual heirs of the Polish Communist Party [91]


No, he wasn't.


Quite, and if the right wing want to ban communist symbols, songs etc as hate objects they have to understand that the law applies to them too.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


No conspiracy, no reason for a conspiracy, no mystery - just pilot error.

In any case - why on earth would the Russians want to assassinate an unpopular one-term Polish Head of State?

News / Coal-Powered Poland Refuses to "Go Green". EU Ain't Happy. [304]


And it is time to change. The government here has had years to look at alternative sources.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]

It seems some people are determined to find a conspiracy since it is easier for them to stomach than the truth.

News / Coal-Powered Poland Refuses to "Go Green". EU Ain't Happy. [304]


Do you realise how silly that sounds? Why not stand on the end of the pier in Sopot and stare at the tides? The rise in sea level has been observed and is not seriously doubted.

ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch9s9-es.html
books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12782&page=245


It not only would, but is.

Poland as a developed country has its role to play. Why not be at the forefront rather than lagging behind?

So. Do you deny the reality of man-made climate change?

News / Coal-Powered Poland Refuses to "Go Green". EU Ain't Happy. [304]


That has nothing to do with it. And also untrue - Kiribati has groundwater. The sea levels are rising. This is a known fact. Unless you know something The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change doesnt ;-)

Are you denying the reality of man-made climate change and its threat to the ecosystem?

News / Coal-Powered Poland Refuses to "Go Green". EU Ain't Happy. [304]


I don't have anything as trashy as a TV but I do keep up to date on current events. Here's one of thousands of reports on the effect man-made climate change is having on Kiribati. I'm not sure what you think tides have to do with it, but rising sea levels are all to visible there.

globalpost.com/dispatch/news/green/global-warming/120308/rising-sea-levels-forcing-entire-nation-kiribati-relocate

Man-made climate change and its dangers are an established fact. Poland needs to respond to that as much as any other developed nation.

News / Coal-Powered Poland Refuses to "Go Green". EU Ain't Happy. [304]


The population of Kiribati have to leave soon and the Maldives are threatened. Next could be lowland Bangladesh.


Very good that you don't claim that, because you would be wrong. What has been established beyond reasonable doubt is that man-made climate change is a huge threat to life on our planet.

News / Coal-Powered Poland Refuses to "Go Green". EU Ain't Happy. [304]

And GDP's are rising, production increasing, the worlld's population is increasing at a horrific rate and the Chinese are now making and producing cars. Sea levels are rising, species are becoming extinct, the world's climate is changing and we have a ticking time bomb.

News / Coal-Powered Poland Refuses to "Go Green". EU Ain't Happy. [304]

Actually there wasn't. The notion that the earth orbits the sun was being talked about since the 3rd Century AD, if not earlier and was known to scientists.


Very true. The worst offender over the past 100 years has been ethyl lead used in cars and various industrial processes. That and the vastly expanding human population.

News / Coal-Powered Poland Refuses to "Go Green". EU Ain't Happy. [304]


It isn't


Exactly.


Environmentally dreadful.