Life / Weird names Polish parents give to their kids [43]

I never met or read about any Poles named Saturnina, Octavia, Caius or Brutus. Have you?


If you think Slavic forenames are "weird" then you must really detest Slavic surnames.

You sound like someone who is very eager to join the middle class.

Love / What do Polish women think of Italian/Native American men? [23]

Language / Extremely Hard - Polish the hardest language to learn [226]


Much like the British foreigners who go around falsely believing they can speak Polish. Perhaps they do but it is just their version of it!

Genealogy / I am looking for an African guy in Krakow, I dated [73]


What's even more hilarious are those leftist whites who abandoned their multicultural, multiracial homelands like Britain, France, etc. and now from predominately white Poland they lecture others of the needs and benefits of diversity from unfettered immigration.

It's a safe bet that once they are satisfied with a demographically changed Poland they will be off to predominately white Finland for some more hypocritical preaching.

Genealogy / I am looking for an African guy in Krakow, I dated [73]

Kasia said she is desperate to find him. The police are the best source to locate someone. She could ask to discuss her problem with a female police officer rather than an unsympathetic male officer.

And no one said she has to claim she was raped. Since she felt they were dating (as in him being her boyfriend) then she could file a missing person report. Who knows, he could be lying in a hospital and that is why she is unable to reach him. Or he is known to the police already and they know where he living or spending most of his time in Krakow.

This lover of hers could be the next Simon Mol and I'm sure everyone here can agree they had wished women started complaining sooner about him so others could be warned.

Genealogy / I am looking for an African guy in Krakow, I dated [73]


It sounds very unusual that you dated for half a month but you only know what he looks like and that his native tongue may have been French (which of course doesn't mean that he is from France).

How were you able to arrange to meet him several times over a two week period? Surely you had communicated with him by phone or email address. If so doesn't he respond to you anymore when you call or write? Or has any phone number or email of his suddenly been deactivated?

If he was just visiting then where was he staying? At a hotel or with other people?

If he was unwilling to talk about himself he may have a partner or is married; probably has children too. He may also have been in Poland illegally or was involved in some other criminal activity.

You should consider filing a police report.

History / Film "Wałęsa" - historical reality vs myth - controvercies [103]

Did the actor or director spend any time interviewing Wałęsa himself or his former colleagues and relatives? Or did they base his persona from what they gleaned from written articles, archive footage and rumor about him?

Life / What the idea of a black person is to Polish people? [14]

Yes, and the accounts are always one-sided. For all we know the OP was staring at the locals everywhere he went and so it would be a very natural reaction for them to stare back at him. Also if you go into a shop and linger too long in one section or wander around without really looking at the merchandise then any owner or clerk would reasonably become suspicious. Shoplifting and robberies are a fact of doing business so employees are often attuned not to what someone looks like but how they are behaving. Appearances only matter afterwards when a crime has been committed and the police need details of the suspect.

Furthermore, self-consciousness in public could very well stem from anything including shyness, a guilty conscience or paranoia whether other people are actually staring or not.

History / History of Poland in a pill - illustrated [38]

In Eastern Orthodox iconography St. Helen, Mother of Emperor Constantine, Equal of the Apostles and her son are usually depicted together and she is regarded as having influenced him as well

antiochian.org/node/18634

After St. Constantine became the sole ruler of the Western Roman Empire, he issued the Edict of Milan in 313 which guaranteed religious tolerance for Christians. St. Helen, who was a Christian, may have influenced him in this decision. In 323, when he became the sole ruler of the entire Roman Empire, he extended the provisions of the Edict of Milan to the Eastern half of the Empire. After three hundred years of persecution, Christians could finally practice their faith without fear.

Empress Helen is also recognized in the RCC as a saint (but often alone in statues and paintings of her). She is buried in Rome. It would be very interesting if centuries later Dobrawa learned of Helen and was inspired by her in anyway. Being of the literate classes I imagine she did hear of her so it wouldn't be surprising if there was a strong desire by Dobrawa and other royal figures of the day to emulate once great historical ruling figures right down to choice of religious beliefs.

History / History of Poland in a pill - illustrated [38]


Definitely contemporary. Originally Jan Matejko's depiction of the Christianization of Poland came to mind but as you can see the christening itself isn't the main focus of the work.

Christianization of Poland - Jan Matejko

History / History of Poland in a pill - illustrated [38]

Pawian, are you looking for other PF members to add illustrations?

I found this one for baptism; a mural in Gniezno:

Love / My Polish wife's family hate me. Maybe it is because I'm black. Advice needed. [87]

If your wife's family hated you because you are black would you only realize it now that you are on vacation in Poland?

Didn't they know who their daughter was marrying?

Where are you from? Where is your wife from? What does this have to do with Poland?

Most family's grow to hate someone who marries their son or daughter because they are a deadbeat and have no long term prospects of being a good and responsible partner and provider.

For all we know you are long term unemployed or can only get a low wage job and rather than improving your situation you are traveling for pleasure instead.

Life / Do young Polish people believe in their religion and God? [155]


Religion is a personal matter. Most young people attend religious services ceremonies because they are compelled to by their parents and other adult figures in their communities. With that said I don't see that younger people in Asian, Middle Eastern or any country for that matter are necessarily "really believing".

These so-called religious societies have always had laws on the books regarding crime. I can't think of one that doesn't have a prison system. And in some of the most "really believing" societies the death penalty is still in place and often carried out for crimes which do not involve murder. In some instances the death penalty is carried out by a mob or in front of a baying crowd; yes, even today in the 21st century.

Faith does not equate to social harmony, stability or even shared prosperity.

In Western societies you see a growing prevalence of secularization not atheism. In Eastern cultures you still see the interference of religion in daily life and you can be certain many in those places would much prefer that religion's role was diminished but not eliminated. Religion can play a positive culture role for marking personal rites of passage in life like births, adulthood, weddings, death, etc. But practices which involve coercion (such as conversions, arranged marriages, etc.) or worse the mutilation of body parts must be banned by the state and enforced by the rule of law.

Language / Dupa - what a beautiful Polish word [103]

An older generation of Polonia in North America enjoyed buying all sorts of tat with the word to advertise their Polish pride to others.

Travel / Castles and Palaces in Poland (with pictures) [155]

From what I read she became pregnant in Vienna but had the child in Walewice.

I thought it was nice to have what seems to be happy ending whereby the offspring from the affair Alexandre Joseph "was legalised by the old count Athenasius and thus bore the name of the counts of Colonna-Walewski."

Travel / Castles and Palaces in Poland (with pictures) [155]

The one in Walewice is very stately as well.

And in true aristocratic fashion carries with it a Napoleonic scandal which resulted in a bastard child for the: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Walewska - Countess Walewska

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]


Yes it is. You said so yourself:


Indeed, your quote states that Mawson's Peak forms the summit of an active volcano called Big Ben. It is not a mountain. It is a peak on a volcano called Big Ben.

Mount Kosciuszko on the other hand is a mountain outright. It is not a volcano nor is it a peak on a volcano with a different name.

Thanks again for helping to reinforce the fact which I've been stating all along and which the Australian government proudly recognizes: Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain in all of Australia and therefore is also seen as the highest peak in and of itself in all of Australia.

The geography in these other unrecognized "external territories" is not relevant to the discussion.


I've already told you several times now that virtually no one in the international community recognizes territorial claims to the Antarctic even if those making the claims don't care what the rest of the international community thinks.

Heard Island is an uninhabited nature preserve over 4,000 KM southwest of Australia; it's a wild stretch of the imagination for you to say it is "your country". You never set foot on it and you never will.

Your outlandish beliefs are even more far flung and questionable than these same "external territories" you keep trying to introduce into this thread. It is abundantly clear that you resent the fact that Australia's highest mountain was named after a Pole and by another Pole.


Both Poles and the British are proud to show off their shared affinity for royalty:

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]


Yes, it is. Really.

The link you provided clearly states for all to read that Mount Kosciuszko is on the top of "Australia's ten highest mountains"

Your argument is based on the very bottom of the page under the section "Highest mountains on external territories". That's right "External territories" which is why the Australian government didn't include any offshore mountains in the top ten list of Australia's highest mountains. Because any mountains outside the mainland don't count. They are on another continent and the claims aren't regarded as valid in the world anyway.

So thanks for helping with more official sources to reinforce the fact which I've been stating all along. You'll just have to go to bed angry knowing that the highest mountain in Australia is named after a Pole by another Pole.

Dobranoc!

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]

When people hear the word Australia it is an absolute sure bet that 99.9% of people inside Australia and all around the globe do not have Antarctica come to mind. They simply don't.

Most governments around the world do not recognize Australia's claims in Antarctica. So that means the claims are meaningless and unenforceable.

Besides all that it is even the official position of government departments in Australia that Mount Kosciuszko is the tallest peak in the country of Australia:


Source: visitnsw.com/destinations/snowy-mountains/kosciuszko-national-park

Note from the bottom of the aforementioned website:


It is an act of desperate pedantic buffoonery to say that an offshore mountain on another continent which virtually nobody recognizes as belonging to Australia is actually the tallest peak in Australia.

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]


Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Treaty_System

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]

A very salient photo to this discussion. I hope they learn a lot from each other.

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]


There are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of Poles and Polonia who now call Australia home.

Poles have had a presence in Australia for at least a century.

Australia's highest peak is named Mount Kosciuszko!



It's located in Kosciuszko National Park!



So with so much in common let Poles and Australians find peace and harmony here on PF:

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]


Every nation is different and every nation evolves. You have to remember that Poland's current borders were settled only after WWII and even then the country was gripped by communist authoritarianism during a time of the need to rebuild. Poles have every right to self-identify how they want rather than seeing occupiers, partitioners and destroyers as just another part of history to be observed in a neutral way.

As far as Britain goes it is also consciously selective at times in the wording of its past. It will acknowledge there was a "Norman Britain" but the Normans spoke French and subsequently English kings married French royalty and aristocrats and in turn ruled over parts of France too. So why not talk about "French Britain"? Because after the Napoleonic wars it won't happen - ever.

Angles, Saxons and Jutes were from the lands now called Denmark and Germany? Why not "Danish Britain"? Even Shakespeare talked about Denmark. And why not "German Britain"? Well, perhaps we should ask a Windsor (nee Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) that question. Did you know that most British don't even comprehend that English is a Germanic language?

It seems the British are only willing to add a foreign cultural adjective to the word Britain if that foreign culture no longer exists.

Perhaps none of this matters anyway. With devolution, calls for independence and many British being displaced by immigrants from far beyond Europe it is unlikely there will even be a Britain in the future as we know it today. Britain will probably only be something that might be referred to in the history books and that's assuming the people in the future living in what was once Britain will be interested in learning about it and preserving its past. Most likely they won't.

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]


I would say Poland's seafaring traditions have spanned the globe over the ages.

Polish ships and crews were an integral part of the Allied effort during WWII:


Source: polishgreatness.blogspot.com/2012/05/battle-of-atlantic-part-1-terror-on.html

Not only has Poland been a shipbuilding nation but Poland is still an active competitor in the global shipping sector. One such Polish company is POLSTEAM.

polsteam.com/offer

Unfortunately the global travels of Poland's fishing fleet only comes to light in a bad news story:

community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19960616&slug=2334875 - Polish Trawler Found Illegally Fishing Off Alaska Is Seized

And although millions of Poles were never sailors they wouldn't have made it to the Americas and elsewhere during the 20th century and prior if they had a fear of the sea and setting foot on a ship.

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]


From a quick search it seems the Prussians were busy in their day doing the digging. This would make sense during the times of partition.

But alas, the Prussians are no more.

Still, old Blighty always talks about "Roman Britain", "Viking Britian", etc. and sees constructions and developments from those disparate eras as a series of strands woven in the tapestry of their nation today.

Regardless of who built them they weren't filled in with earth. They are still there and in use; some more so than others.

Many countries have canals and many fell into disuse when rail and road took over. But some canals have been reopened mainly for tourism but I understand there is interest in reusing canals for commerce to help reduce carbon emissions.

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]


Indeed. Not only are they both port and coastal nations with longstanding seafaring traditions but each have established networks of canals used for both inland commerce and tourism.

Polish Canals
British Canals

Courtesy: worldcanals

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]


I don't see why. I merely juxtaposed two images of reality showing common uniform items worn by police engaging with members of the communities they serve.

Notice too the similar black visored cap styles worn by both police officers.


The Polish police use shotguns:





So do the British police:



So, you were saying?

Anyway, if you doubt the authenticity of the last photo then you can read more about here from a British rag:

Life / Poland's concord of cultures [86]


The police in both Poland and Britain often wear yellow reflective vests when on duty in public even during daylight hours and when the weather is clear and visibility is good.

Polish policeman wearing a yellow reflective vest:



British policeman wearing a yellow reflective vest:

Life / Polish patriotic tattoos [45]

This one had to hurt and cost a lot.



And one more with a WWII patriotic theme.

Kotwica Walcząca

Life / Advocating euthanasia routinely causes scandals in Poland... [63]

I've read recently that most people around the world are increasingly living longer but not healthier lives.

Some of the highest costs occur in providing care towards the end of a person's life as well.

It makes little sense to keep a terminally ill bedridden person sedated nearly around the clock for weeks or months on end waiting for their organs to finally fail on their own.

But the current objection to euthanasia has to be seen in context. Religious edicts regarding the need to value and protect all life certainly interferes when it comes to making personal and/or rational medical decisions. But religion aside, since Poland currently bans abortion except in extreme circumstances and as an EU member also has no death penalty then the call for euthanasia to be legalized can be hard to justify.