Life / Racism in Poland - the future [558]


Poland was never conquered by the Mongols - get your history straight - it was invaded yes, but the Mongols withdrew pretty soon (they did not really occupy the country) because of some dynastic feuds among themselves

Tatars never conquered Poland or any part of Poland either - they frequently raided - mostly to loot and take slaves

Life / Racism in Poland - the future [558]

it's not about saying the English are not ethnicity - it is saying that if you insist only white people of British origin are English (actually what about the Irish who are now completely assimilated (Liverpool, Glasgow) and have been for a couple generations) the problem arises: what do you call people like the mentioned above Lenox Lewis, Lewis Hamilto, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole (and so on and on and on) - are they not English? does it matter if they are not 100 per cent indigenous?? -

there are a couple of reknown people in Poland who are of mixed racial background yet they were at least raised in POland (I don't know if also born in Poland - but does it really matter) - their first language is Polish - some even don't know any other language to any sensible extent - are these people not Polish? - sure they are Polish - and noone in his right mind will argue about that - we don't talk about 'white Polish' people is just because there is so few black Polish people - if you say a Pole you imagine a white person simple as that (ok some English morons might actually disagree because their sense of whiteness seems not to be actually based on persons complexion) - it does not work in England (not all whites in Britain/England are English/British (Poles/some Irish(latecormers)/French chefs/Portuguese immigrants etc) and not all blacks are not English) - I thought it was all so simple

btw there is the WASP term in American English - if you really insist on highlighting your ethnic/racial background you can perhaps call yourself Anglo-Saxon or White Anglo-Saxon - you wouldn't call a person of mixed race Anglo-Saxon would you? - case solved??

- btw it seems strange that English people are afraid to state a simple fact they are white (those who indeed are)

Life / Racism in Poland - the future [558]


well- actually I have met quite a good couple black people in England who you can't possibly call anything else but English (or British if you insisted) - because there are black English people (do I need to list some famous English sportsmen who are black) then you have also the white English (pretty simple and basic logic) - there is no popular term White Polish because of one important thing - there is no community of black Polish people to speak of - there are Polish people of mixed black and white origin but their numbers are so low they don't form any visible minority (you can't say that two or three coloured celebrities in Poland form a minority) -

the question is actually if you believe Lennox Lewis, Rio Ferdinand, Lewis Hamilton and millions of Britons who have some sort of black heritage are English - if not who are they then - consider also that there are millions of people in Britain who are not only black but hardly can be called English or Britons - neither were there born nor feel a strong connection to Britain - so yes there is a point in calling people black English people (to discern from other black people in Britain) - if there is a point of calling some people black English people there is also a point of calling some people white English people (if all English people were white save for some negligible minority like in Poland there would have been no point of using a term 'English, white')

Life / Racism in Poland - the future [558]

being non-white can have its consequences in Poland - that is not promoting racial prejudices - that is just stating there are racial prejudices and racial hate among some Poles

Food / Bary mleczne/milk bars in Poland [31]


Bar Miś is not far from rynek on Szewska street close to the main historic building (the rectorate) of the University of Wrocław - if you go straight from Rynek to the University you won't miss it (well I hope the place still exists - it kept me alive for quite some time thanks to the ridicoulously cheap prices)

History / What do Poles owe to Germans? [451]


yes, quite hard ... to find nowadays :P

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1450]

these were most probably the maślaki pawian referred to ;)

and I still like'em - if made right (vinegar,onion, salt, piment, some sugar I guess) they are great appetizer

Food / Smalec - how to make it? [53]

the best way to eat smalec is on bread with slices of onion, dill pickle and hard-boiled egg on top - yum - then down it with a glass of dill pickle marinade (or whatever you call that liquid in English)

gumishu


don't forget to add a pinch of salt over smalec

History / What do Poles owe to Germans? [451]


it's not only bricks that make buildings - it's also hours and days of people's work - and how many people did it take to rebuild Warsaw - how much time it took

Millions of Poles also left behind their property in the East - they came to the 'recovered lands' and up to late 60's didn't know if they can really stay for good

include the ammount of war time requisition by German military administration - you had to give away most cattle and pigs (if not all)

how do you calculate the price of the lives lost - if husbands died and women were left behind with children and had to make it on their own

Real Estate / How do I rent a flat in Poland? [44]

well you need to know some Polish to effectively look for some place for yourself - I don't think there is any reliable accommodation search site in English (not at this moment of the year - think students are in search of accommodation now)

History / 'Battle of Britain' won thanks to Polish aces !! [158]


no we have won the war with the help of this Czech guy ;) - i can't think what would've happened if not for the Czech guy ;)


BTW the Czech guy flew in the Polish 303 squadron voluntarily (he was offered to fly in a Czech squadron but declined)

History / 'Battle of Britain' won thanks to Polish aces !! [158]

Harry care to consider that fighter pilots (either Polish or otherwise) were a bit different lot to bomber air crews - one can easily imagine these guys were much more chivalrous -

having said that I think it is good dark things from history are also revealed


Harry there are things you can infer from other general knowlegde - like the idea that for fighter pilots an order to join the bomber force (the only logical post would a pilot of a bomber) was a plain degradation - and I don't think the Allies ever ordered their prolific fighter pilots join bomber forces - I don't say no fighter pilots were ever turned bomber pilots but I very much doubt it was a common thing

as for putting time frames to the history - the article mentions Lancaster bombers - these bombers entered service only in December 1941 - perhaps there was some training before but not long months before definitely

History / 'Battle of Britain' won thanks to Polish aces !! [158]


it is clear from the article that all the servicemen were training to be bomber air and ground crews including the Poles - most of these people simply had to train on bigger aircraft because they used to fly smaller bombers before (yes Polish ariforces in 1939 also comprised a good bomber wing (some 100 light bombers and some 40 medium bombers) - most logical conclusion: there were not many fighter pilots there and most probably none of those who fought in the Battle of Britain

History / 'Battle of Britain' won thanks to Polish aces !! [158]


actually Harry if you read the article more carefully it transpires that the events described did not happen during the Battle of Britain and also no Polish fighter pilots were involved

Travel / Best places to visit in Poland [91]

there is a top speedway league club in Toruń though (Unibax Toruń) (Bydgoszcz used to be in the Speedway Ekstraliga too- but from what I read now they have fallen to the lower leagues - Bydgoszcz is the birthplace of Tomasz Gollob.

Słowiński National Park in Poland

Travel / Best places to visit in Poland [91]

If you are in Gdańsk you should visit Malbork nearby a former seat of the Teutonic Order which hosts an impressive medieaval castle and a museum - I am not sure about the end of May but June should be good enough to visit Kanał Elbląski: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbl%C4%85g_Canal - you can consider going further east to see the Great Mazurian Lakes (the biggest things in Poland) with the Wolfschanze (Hitler's Headquaters - in ruins mostly) nearby - if you already venture to Mazury the next logical step is the Białowieża Forest: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bia%C5%82owie%C5%BCa_Forest (you can definitely find much more specific tourist information about the places on the internet in English)

again back to Gdańsk area - there is very nice vicinity in Pojezierze Kaszubskie near Gdańsk (Kartuzy are - lakes, hills, forests) and also the Słowiński National Park on the coast (big wandering dunes, a big lake and the Baltic)

as for speedway - well there is a speedway club in Gdańsk (Lotos Rafineria Gdańsk I guess) but I am not sure if they are in the top Polish division at the moment

Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]


theft? drug dealing? muging people (it is presumably common in the schools)?

Law / Buying a USED CAR in Poland, my personal experiences and TRAPS to avoid !! [133]


I have heard Kia's are pretty mechanically decent cars and buying a used one is mostly pretty safe (most Kia's have 7 year guarantee since a good couple of years now) - one of my acquaintances bought a used Kia an was happy with it for the whole time we kept in touch (like 2001 - 2006) , old Mercedeses are said be to a good bet for a used car but they tend to have pretty big engines and I don't really know the price ranges for used Mercedeses - next thing to consider is just buying the cheapest thing that looks decent enough - (perhaps you can try the car for a couple of days - I think it is possible with actuall owners and perhaps with some middle men too) - it may well break down in a year's time but you can spend as little as 4000 PLN (or even less) on it

I have found this Kia for example tablica.pl/oferta/kia-sephia-16-16v-z-lpg-IDh2ZN.html - runs on LPG

or this one - this one looks quite fine to me - tablica.pl/oferta/kia-joice-2001-IDj1uw.html

Food / Polish Pizza !! The best in the world? [330]


Oh my, sascha - staying that long in Germany and with Germans really affected your sens of humour/irony :P

btw I know German beer schmeckt gut - and that the variety is much wider - would rather have some German beer anyday over any Polish beer I tasted

Food / Polish Pizza !! The best in the world? [330]


you are just ignorant - Polish pizza is even better than Japanese sushi and much better than the whole idea of Oktoberfest :P - why drink German beer when you can have Polish pizza (did I mention that it is the best pizzza in the world)

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

do you really bear the surname - it's pretty famous one in Polish history -

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franciszek_Ksawery_Drucki-Lubecki

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Trojanowskis originated in the slums of Ropczyce in southern Poland - they were notorious thieves, drunkards and rapists - the surname more or less states that the forefather used poison ('trucizna') to inherit all of the measly fortune of his father (he was a bastard) - Troajnowski women were know to walk like ducks for ages :) - I'm sure you are quite proud of your ancestry :)

Genealogy / Seeking Czarniecki family members and ancestors from Lublin, also Margiewicz, Danilowicz and Andrulewicz [77]


Jewish tenants of Polish magnates or significant nobles often accepted the surnames of the latter - I have personally know a person of Jewish descent named Potocki (Potoccy were among the most powerful magnates in the 18th century Poland) - this can be the story behind the surname Czarniecki and perhaps some other surnames from the list

btw if you want to get in touch with your possible relatives in Poland why not trying to ask Jewish organisations in Poland

Life / Babcia or Busha - any social class difference? [359]

not really - it does not mean there are no such though (but I think the sound is alien to English phonology - many are after all - even in Polish dialects there are sounds that are alien to standard Polish phonology - you would be surprised that Kurpian dialect has the sound very similar to English 'th' in 'that' among other peculiar sounds)

Life / Babcia or Busha - any social class difference? [359]


ale these are clearly ż for Polish ears and far from ź or zia -

History / Should Poland organize March of the Living in Volhynia and Eastern Lesser Poland? [65]

I am not sure such things should be taught in school, neither Nazi crimes should be taught in school - there is far too much history in schools actually while we live in present and not the past

History / Should Poland organize March of the Living in Volhynia and Eastern Lesser Poland? [65]


sure - go and pave the way :)


to achieve what - what do you think Jews are achieving judging from the devastation their youth leave behind in Polish hotels

Life / Are Polish roads really this bad? [237]

yes - but only since quite recently (2008)

Work / How much is the average living cost in Poland for foreign student? [46]

depends on the city - accomodation is the biggest expense - basic Polish foods are pretty cheap - so is transportation in most cities (Warsaw is the most expenisve city accomodation and commuting wise)

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

'coming from Karczew' - guessing from the name form Karczew must be in Masovia or Bigger Poland (Wielkopolska) - I'm pretty sure you can find an entry on 'Karczew' in Polish wikipedia (if not in English) (aha there actually could be or could have been a couple of Karczews in Poland some may be in the present day Ukraine or Belarus)