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Posts by pawian  

Joined: 30 May 2008 / Male ♂
Last Post: 19 Mar 2025
Threads: Total: 226 / Live: 154 / Archived: 72
Posts: Total: 27461 / Live: 21378 / Archived: 6083
From: Poe land
Speaks Polish?: Yes, but I prefer English
Interests: Everything funny

Displayed posts: 21532 / page 638 of 718
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pawian   
17 Jun 2019
News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]

The same could be said for 'cucumbers' but somehow they don't have the same connotations,

No, it is not the same, we don`t eat cucumbers like we do with bananas. :):)

Has the artwork been reinstated though, as promised?

Hard to say. The article which mentions it reads: the works are coming back which isn`t the same as the works have come back. :)

salon24.pl/newsroom/952167,muzeum-narodowe-przywraca-wystawy-natalii-ll-z-bananem-i-katarzyny-kozyry-znamy-powod

There is also conflict in literature too. How could those priests burn Harry Potter books!!

Because Harry uses controvercial magic and has suspicious contacts with demonic guys like Voldemort and his assistants? :):)
pawian   
17 Jun 2019
Genealogy / Wladyslaw and the English equivalent [22]

I've known people called Wladyslaw - who were called Walter.

I have never witnessed such a situation in my long life in Poland. Władysław is almost always shortened to Władek so there is no need to call him Walter. :):)

Aaaah, you are talking about the UK/US, right? What about Ladislau?
pawian   
16 Jun 2019
Genealogy / Wladyslaw and the English equivalent [22]

Wladyslaw and everyone used to call him Walter

That`s strange, I thought they are two different names..

It's a Slavic name.

Exactly. Walter sounds German.
pawian   
16 Jun 2019
Real Estate / Renting flat/apartment with dog Gdansk? [24]

or unfurnished apartment can be rented?

I must say I haven`t seen too many offers for unfurnished apartments. If you sign a contract for a few years. then the landlord may bother to empty the property for you. But such contracts are quite rare, I suppose.

Also, can you please help me to understand general lease break charges?

Charges can be different depending on the contract.
pawian   
16 Jun 2019
News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]

This thread is not only about politics.

How about conflict in art? A few weeks ago the decision to remove indecent (it depends) banana illustrations from an art museum/gallery by its director caused a mass demonstration with a few hundred people eating bananas in the street.

See the controvercial banana photos. and read more
tvn24.pl/tvn24-news-in-english,157,m/banana-protest-in-warsaw-after-museum-removes-indecent-exhibition,931592.html

Banana demo below plus celebrities instagramed their banana photos too.


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pawian   
16 Jun 2019
Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

why mix them?

OK, let`s not mix them.:):)

Thanks Kaprys :)

Hey, it doesn`t mean that I don`t think well done just because I don`t write it - I think it but in silence. :)

is it in common use today?

Hard to say how common it is, but certainly it hasn`t been forgotten and people use it.

Many years ago my sister gave me a dictionary of Polish vulgarisms for birthday and I read it all but today remember only one saying: pr...k (penis) struck into baubles and there will be no Christmas gifts.
pawian   
16 Jun 2019
News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

Time to get building houses.

OK, now I know what you meant. Some people will always prefer to live in apartment blocksm though. My GP loves talking to his patients about matters unrelated to their disorders, so I recently learnt he sticks to his flat because he doesn`t have time to take care of the house - e.g, repairs, heating duties, taxes.

PS. I wonder if we haven`t gone off topic too much.

How about getting back on the track?

One thing about the EU might be looked upon both as an advantage or drawback. I mean the rising price of CO 2 emission allowances. When they cost 5 euros per ton, it was OK. Now, due to European Commission`s pressure, the price is over 20 and this leads to rising price of energy in Poland which largely depends on coal burning.

So, what is the double nature of the CO2 allowance trading system? On the one hand, it presses power plants and energy suppliers to reduce their dependence on coal which heavily contributes to air pollution in Poland. On the other hand, nobody likes paying more than before. The rise has been four-fold within a year and it is not the end.

ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/ets_en
pawian   
16 Jun 2019
Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

After thinking some more about this, maybe it means that things are going in two completely different directions.

Yes!

It seems you have done nice research on it because not many people know that the royal connotations of the idiom are secondary. The original saying od sasa do lasa refered to horses in the carriage: sas meant left or slowly while las meant the gate. One horse went left/slowly while the other to the gate.
pawian   
16 Jun 2019
News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

As you well know, I was not referring to communist tower blocks -

Sorry, you need to be more precise next time because nobody knew it. We were talking about communist "slums" with Milo and suddenly you wrote that the ones built before 1960s were the worst. How should anyone know what you meant? :)

I wanted to write a few more things but looking through the posts I can see that they have been already mentioned by mafketis, Lenka, Kaprys and I generally agree with them.

Nottingham demolished it's slums 50 years ago.

Yes, but Britain wasn`t destroyed during WW2 as Poland. Fulfilling the housing needs in urban areas has always been a challenge here, since WW2.

People need houses, with gardens front and rear, driveways and a garage.

Easy, easy. Poland`s detached house population is 55% while British 85%. But in Germany, Spain, Italy, Switerland over 50% people live in flats so Poland isn`t so backward as you suggest.
pawian   
15 Jun 2019
News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

And they are still horrible places to live.

It depends. Those in big ciies are OK although these blocks look all the same, as if designed by one person. But if I had a choice, I would seriously prefer the old communist estate than a new one. The old one is full of greenery and many residents know each other which contributes to a better atmosphere. Their public transport links are well developed. There are local shops, schools and other facilities within the estate. Besides, many of those old blocks were built in quite a decent technology, a few years ago when I visited a friend in a newly erected house I was shocked it was so noisy inside - I could hear neighbours doing their things in close apartments and they didn`t shout at all.

The choice is simple in case of these two below - I prefer the first one and reject that second monster.


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pawian   
13 Jun 2019
Genealogy / Claiming WW2 medals for Polish father [38]

Check this complete list of Polish Navy members, it starts on page 127. Is he there?

smp.am.szczecin.pl/Content/1581/kadry5.pdf?handler=pdf
pawian   
13 Jun 2019
Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

Nah, I bet you were a model student :)

Model with grades but loser with behaviour - I did silly things for pure fun.. :)

As for buried dog, yes, Łyzko is right because I don`t need to consult a dictionary to remember that phrase: Hier ist der Hund begraben. Or das? It is used when you have found the solution to a problem.

From Saxon (king) to forest.
pawian   
13 Jun 2019
Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]

@Coop
In Lesser Poland. Why?

@johnny reb
I am afraid there is a misunderstanding. We still live in a big city while the cottage is for weekends and summer stays.

As for being blessed, yes, I already said there must have been God`s finger in it.
pawian   
13 Jun 2019
News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

To be fair to the communists, tower blocks were only designed for 50 years according to state documents.

Nope, 50 - 70.

They are still tenanted today. That is the real crime,

Yes, they are and no, it isn`t because those blocks have proven surprisingly durable. You probably haven`t read a few studies that have been made in recent years. The blocks will survive not 70 but 150 years without major modernisation.

24kurier.pl/aktualnosci/gospodarka/ministerstwo-bloki-z-wielkiej-plyty-w-dobrym-stanie/
kb.pl/porady/bloki-z-wielkiej-plyty-ile-jeszcze-wytrzymaja/

The real slums are those built before the 1960s. And successive Polish governments are powerless to do anything to demolish them.

Hey, has the heatwave affected you too much? What TF are you talking about? There is an estate of 1950s blocks near the place where I live and they are in a very good condition, I haven`t noticed any signs of escape of tenants, on the contrary. :):)

The price of such is an unbelievable 8,000 sq metre in some areas

Do you know why? :)

Check it out, do you see the need for demolition? This communist house was built in 1949 as the first in the series..


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pawian   
13 Jun 2019
News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

He lived in those godawful Communist slums, many of which, to Poland's shame, exist to this day.

Do you understand the difference between a slum and communist slum? It is obvious you don`t so stop using them interchangeably. As for caretaker who controls the heating, I don`t know what you mean.
pawian   
12 Jun 2019
Life / Would getting a Polish eagle tattoo be frowned upon?? [39]

Not arrested or kicked up but it might make your contacts with many locals unnecessarily difficult as they will suspect you of following satanic cult.

Besides, where you are planning to show your chest? In city streets? Then you might have problems with law, indeed - cops may tell you to put sth on.

If you are going to stay in Poland for long, covering with a plaster might be tiring. I`d advise you to remove it with a Rambo knife. :):)
pawian   
12 Jun 2019
Life / The climate for gardening in Poland [340]

Another beautiful plant which is too delicate for Polish climate is Lagerstroemia. I once had two little ones and they didn`t survive winter like palm trees. I saw a lot of pics of that plant growing in US cities.


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pawian   
12 Jun 2019
News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

Dirk was right - Poland was poor but never was the third world. E.g., that guy who visited you with two pounds in 1960 didn`t live in the slums like the ones we can see in backward countries and he had full access to good education, free on all levels.
pawian   
12 Jun 2019
News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]

What about Falenta? Does he have a dead man switch?

you are very impatient. :):)

Ok, Episode 2 - illegal wiretapping of rival politicians

Yes, the case is very funny because when in 2014 Falenta organised illegal wiretapping of PO government politicians, and the recordings surfaced in media one by one, PiS demanded a thorough investigation and blew the matter out of its proportions like crazy.

Today, Falenta claims he made the recordings for PiS and threatens to give away his contacts with the party if he isn`t released from prison. However, PiS insist there is no need to investigate the case any further. :):)

A businessman whose wiretapping scandal helped bring down Poland's then pro-European government threatened to reveal details about the ruling party's involvement if he's not pardoned, a newspaper reported.

bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2019-06-10/polish-businessman-who-helped-ruling-camp-win-power-seeks-pardon

Falenta also claims he has recordings with Kaczyński who knew about the whole case.
pawian   
12 Jun 2019
Travel / What is the weather like in Poland where you are now? [211]

But, its definitely better than cold.

Well, if you were born in southern States, then you are used to heat. I am a typical northerner who doesn`t mind cold and hates hot.

Heading to Krynica Zdroj tomorrow and it is supposed to be a little cooler.

Not yet. Tomorrow still above 30. Poland is hotter than southern Europe.


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pawian   
12 Jun 2019
News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]

Merged:

All kinds of scandals by PiS



I mean political, financial, corruption, moral etc. scandals which have taken place during PiS rule and with active participation of its members, politicians or representatives.

It is impossible to mention them all at once because there are so many of them, so episode narrative will be used.

If you would like to mention their successes, you need to create a seperate thread because this one is for failures only. What is more, if you would like to criticise former government, today in opposition, remember there is a seperate thread about it in the PF.

https://polishforums.com/news/poland-failures-tusk-government-51598/

Episode 1.

Do you remember the scandal with extra bonuses for PiS ministers from 2018? The party gave many of its government politicians bonuses worth 15,000 euros ($18,000), 15 times the average monthly salary in Poland. It was then that the PiS Prime Minister shouted: Because we deserved it!!! After the independent media blew it wide open, they announced that the money would be donated to charity.

politico.eu/article/poland-ruling-party-pis-jaroslaw-kaczynski-beata-szydlo-beats-a-retreat-on-ministerial-bonuses/

The funniest thing is that 150 people received undeserved bonuses but only a few have donated it to charity so far. Congratulations, PiS - they really deserved it. :):)
pawian   
11 Jun 2019
Travel / What is the weather like in Poland where you are now? [211]

The forum has become slow. Is it because of the heatwave? 32°C in Lesser Poland in the afternoon, fortunately it was windy. I am dead tired, I was working in the garden and field today, now it seems I need to take a rest for a few days.

I saw a few interesting posts to comment on but I simply can`t. Sorry.


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pawian   
10 Jun 2019
Off-Topic / Social Media - who uses Facebook or similar? [45]

the Corrupt Media would be hailing them as Incredible, & a National Holiday would be immediately declared,"

I read somewhere that most American media are said to be of leftist stance. Is it true?

The putrid stench of his rants pollutes bodies and souls alike.

But I like his twits. He uses a very simple language, the one I already was able to understand when I was a high school student. :):)