The BEST Guide to POLAND
Unanswered  |  Archives [3] 
  
Account: Guest

Posts by Paulina  

Joined: 31 Jan 2008 / Female ♀
Warnings: 1 - Q
Last Post: 1 day ago
Threads: Total: 19 / Live: 13 / Archived: 6
Posts: Total: 4693 / Live: 3684 / Archived: 1009
From: Poland
Speaks Polish?: yes

Displayed posts: 3697 / page 9 of 124
sort: Latest first   Oldest first   |
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

Whatever the vaguely khemetic-sounding word 'ekhem' means or whatever language it's in

It's in Polish, Mr Know-All. I thought someone living in Poland that long would know. The English equivalent is apparently "ahem":

dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ahem
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

It's absolutely true; read about it.

Yeah, let us read about heroin addiction - it's so fun and not harmful at all lol:

modernrecoveryservices.com/conditions/addiction/substances/opioids/heroin/before-and-after-addiction/

"Some effects of heroin use may not fully reverse, especially in cases of long-term addiction. These include:

Heart and lung issues: Damage to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems may require ongoing medical management.

Severe dental damage: Tooth decay and gum disease may require extensive dental procedures or tooth replacement.

Collapsed veins and scarring: Long-term injection use can cause permanent vein damage and visible scarring.

Chronic mental health conditions: Some individuals may experience persistent anxiety, depression, or cognitive decline even after quitting."
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

Asking is not the same as needing, as well you know.

Tell that to that Polish parademic who got stabbed to death. Oh wait, you can't tell him anything, because he's dead. So maybe you're going to tell that to his family? I'd like to watch you do that.

The problems with heroin come from

...the fact that it's a harmful, highly addictive narcotic.

You are defending undefendably, and both are devastating, regardless of the wording.

For once I agree with Ptak.
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

I can't be bothered to reply to your over quoting

You can't be "bothered" because you have no argument - what you wrote about the "Niebezpieczne dzielnice" TV show wasn't true.

paramedics do not routinely need stab vests

Then why Polish paramedics asked for those vests?? :D

medonet.pl/zdrowie/wiadomosci,ratownicy-medyczni-dostana-kamizelki-nozoodporne--jest-decyzja,artykul,32236272.html

The all-knowing jon357 knows better than paramedics what they need? lol 🙄🤦

yes, you're confusing dependence and addiction regarding gack.

No, I'm not.

in fact the chemical addiction wears itself out eventually

What kind of nonsense is this? lol If that was the only problem then there would be no heroine addicts.
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

The problem with matriachial

The problem with you is that you blame everything on women. In a matriarchal society even alcohol would be banned lol 🙄
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

A better idea would be to make alcohol more expensive

Than teaching paramedics self defence and giving them stab-proof vests, for example? o_O You can do both, you know.

Paulina is confusing dependence and addiction.

I wasn't confusing anything. Simply the fact that cocaine is one of the most addictive substances on this planet is enough for me to not consider it as "much, much better" than alcohol.

You are of course wrong.

How am I wrong?

It's a problem because it's illegal, not because of the substance's narcotic effect.

Ekhem o_O:

nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/heroin/what-are-long-term-effects-heroin-use

"Repeated heroin use changes the physical structure13 and physiology of the brain, creating long-term imbalances in neuronal and hormonal systems that are not easily reversed.14,15 Studies have shown some deterioration of the brain's white matter due to heroin use, which may affect decision-making abilities, the ability to regulate behavior, and responses to stressful situations.

(...)

Once a person has heroin use disorder, seeking and using the drug becomes their primary purpose in life."
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

Eating a roast chicken every day will just as likely give you heart disease and kill you.

lol
Roast chicken isn't a narcotic substance though.

Regarding weed and psychosis - existing can create psychosis.

Well, no, just "existing" can't create psychosis. I'd recommend you to read that article.

Alcohol is so terrible, that it kills you for trying to quit. I mean come on.

Dude, come on... The fact that alcohol is worse in some aspects than cocaine, for example, doesn't mean that using cocaine is somehow a good idea lol 🤦
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

I have no idea what they were studying there

Addictiveness.

alcohol is the only substance which has an almost 50% chance to kill you if you quit suddenly. That is, if you have a full blown addiction.

Well, abuse of cocaine may kill you without quitting:

americanaddictioncenters.org/stimulants/cocaine/long-term-side-effects-of-abuse

"Heart attack is the leading cause of death among people who abuse cocaine. One report shows it accounts for 25 percent of deaths among people ages 18-45 who have abused cocaine or crack cocaine."

Cocaine and weed do not even come close in this ability to kill you.

Long term they have adverse effects on the body and mind though. Even weed:

webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/marijuana-use-and-its-effects

"Studies note that early marijuana use can interrupt the normal development of gray matter, a type of brain tissue that helps control mental functions, increasing schizophrenia risks. Early exposure to marijuana is also linked to changes in areas of the brain that are often connected with psychosis."
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

it's a serious drug - but to me no more serious than alcohol or weed.

I don't care - I wouldn't touch that crap. I rarely drink alcohol either, I don't smoke weed. Fortunately I also never felt the need to smoke cigarrattes and I'm grateful for that, because I can see how difficult it is for people to quit smoking.

joyless American puritans

I don't know about you, but I don't need alcohol or drugs to have fun and I don't need to smoke cigarettes to be able to function normally on daily basis (and they stink like hell).

It's not bad at all unless you overuse it

Alcohol really is much, much worse.

Guys, whatever site I checked cocaine is mentioned as one of the most addictive substances on Earth (yes, together with alcohol):

addictioncenter.com/community/these-are-the-5-most-addictive-substances-on-earth/

"1. Cocaine
The study found cocaine to be the most addictive substance based on its powerful affect on the brain."
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

I enjoy marihuana while at home in Poland and do so legally.

At present owning marihuana is illegal in Poland unless it's for medical use prescribed by a doctor or it's something not higher than 0,3% THC.
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

Hard to know what your 'lol' is about or how it's possible to stop people getting drunk.

It isn't possible - hence my "lol". Those attacks won't stop, obviously, but there are some measures proposed to protect paramedics and medical staff that you can read about on the internet.

Fortunately there doesn't seem to be any here.

There seems to be - provided by you here:

Based on the Channel 5' Police Interceptors franchise.

A bit more than that; they pay for the format which is the intellectual property of C5.

Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

America is a much more liberal place when it comes to drugs, than is Poland - I gather.

I don't know about the US, but in Poland the possession of drugs even for your own use is a crime.

I would do it myself

Are you serious...

The methheads I have a good idea about, because there's simply so many of them. Their antics are on display daily.

Damn...

That's one of the last stages of alcoholism.

The son of that guy looked pretty young though (the police arrested him later in the neighbourhood)...
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

How would you solve it?

By people not getting drunk? lol

As for protecting Polish paramedics and medical staff - you can read on the internet what they propose in this regard.

The more worldly of us are used to occasional exculansis and forgive you.

Well, the "less worldly" of us do mind people sharing false info and I don't "forgive" or forget that so easily.
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

Fentanyl + Meth. Alcohol + Meth. Cocaine + Heroin. Meth + Benzos. In this way, the meth keeps your reflexes tip top, while the downer dulls your pain and removes your inhibitions.

How do you know all of this?

For this, he doesn't need to have drunk much at all.

In one of episodes of that Polish documentary "Niebezpieczne dzielnice" police patrol was called for a guy threatening someone with a knife. Once they arrived it turned out that a father called the police on his son. The son fled the flat earlier. The father said that it's enough for his son to drink one beer to go crazy like that.

Alcohol? Yes, it's a problem

If we're talking about attacks on paramedics and medical staff in Poland then I'd say it's the main problem.

It's always a pleasure to share knowledge with the less aware.

But you didn't - it looks like you might have provided false info in case of the "Niebezpieczne dzielnice" TV show.
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

I'm not sure there's an easy profile here. People lash out at health workers for all sorts of reasons.

Sure, sometimes patients can be in shock, etc. But based on my observations, what I've read, etc. the main problem in Poland is usually alcohol.

it's always a pleasure to share knowledge and experience with others

You didn't share any confirmed "knowledge" in the case of the origin of "Niebezpieczne dzielnice" TV show though.
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

Many are.

:)))
Thank you for pointing out that incredibly important info, I wouldn't know that without you lol 🙄

They only usually credit it if that's contractual.

To be honest, as long as they're not breaking the law - I don't really care what TV show is based on which TV show.

Or female and drunk.

Maf was asking for a "profile" and from my observation the most typical in Poland is a drunk Polish male.
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

A bit more than that; they pay for the format which is the intellectual property of C5.

Are you sure about that? If any Polish TV show is based on a licensed foreign format then there's usually info on this available. I haven't found anything like that about "Niebezpieczne dzielnice" though:

pl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niebezpieczne_Dzielnice

Even then, it's not an exact science.

Yes, as I wrote in my post above - in Poland it could be anyone male and drunk.

I (unofficially but.... real) know of a couple of examples of fentanyl... (not covered in media AFAIK

Drunk doctors are being covered by media (I guess it's easier for Polish patients to recognise intoxication with alcohol than being on drugs), so hopefully it's just a matter of time:

wiadomosci.onet.pl/wroclaw/pijany-lekarz-na-sor-ze-w-swidnicy-przyjal-22-pacjentow-nie-ma-zarzutow/mg9lpv9
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

I'm wondering if the current attackers (some or most of them) are not drunk or mentally ill but hopped up on something.

That's why I recommended to you watching that TV show "Niebezpieczne dzielnice" if you're interested in this. The type of people Polish police has to deal with (aggressive drunks, etc.) is usually the same type that is likely to attack paramedics and medical staff at hospitals.

Is there a profile of attackers?

A profile?
I don't know if there's any official "profile"... Based on my observations I'd say that in Poland it's usually a white Polish male under the influence of substances (most often alcohol). So, in theory, it could be anyone.

Maf, attacks on paramedics and medical staff (especially at ER) are very common - this is an article from 2024, so from before those two deaths occured:

wpr.pl/wiadomosci/818-ilu-ratownikow-w-roku-2023-doswiadczylo-tzw-aktow-agresji

According to the Jagiellonian University's research from 2018 68% of paramedics experienced physical violence - either from patients or people accompanying the patients. 88% of paramedics experienced verbal aggression and 74% - vandalism.

A fragment from the article (my translation):

"- Physical attacks on paramedics are an every day occurrence. And the summer holidays, which are abundant with opportuities to drink alcohol, facilitate such behaviour - Ireneusz Szafraniec, the chairman elect of the Polish Paramedics Society told PAP a year ago."

The chairman also pointed out that the attackers almost never go to jail for those attacks.

Here you have an incident from January this year:

wiadomosci.onet.pl/warszawa/20-agresywnych-mezczyzn-zaatakowalo-ratownikow-medycznych-pod-warszawa/whp7x17

Paramedics were called to help a guy that was beat up. It was at a birthday party for a 40-year-old guy taking place at a fire station - that's a typical place where you organise parties and potańcówki in Polish villages (this happened was in a village called Żółwin near Warsaw). Paramedics got attacked by 20 drunk men.
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

we send the police first and before EMTs...Often 3 squad cars, with two cops each...

I was thinking that this is how it should be - that the police should arrive first. But it does happen that paramedics get attacked by the patient when he's already in the ambulance and the police has left. So, at least one police officer would have to travel with them in the ambulance to the hospital. I'm not sure how realistic that would be - the police in Poland is already understaffed as it is...

What drugs are being used in what circles is not being covered in the media... and some fentanyl users get very violent...

Maf... But what does it have to do with the topic of this thread? Are you saying that paramedics and medical staff at hospitals are being attacked by drunk or/and aggressive patients, because those paramedics and medical staff are on fentanyl and those poor, innocent drunk and aggressive patients are just defending themselves? ;D Or what's your point exactly?
Paulina   
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

Since then it seems every week or so there are new reports of attacks...

From what I've read paramedics often didn't report those attacks to the police (probably because they're so common and because the court would qualify it as "znikoma szkodliwość społeczna czynu" anyway). I'm guessing the same was with medical staff at hospitals if none of them got seriously injured. Now that two people got actually killed by patients I can imagine paramedics, nurses and doctors have had enough and they are scared for their lives. And now they're reporting it and talking about it to the media to force some changes in the law and make the public aware of what they're facing almost every day. At least that's my theory. Of course it's possible that there was some increase in those attacks in recent times, but there's nothing uncanny in those attacks themselves.

I know that recreational fentanyl is being used by some medical personal

Eh? Even if that's the case - what does it have to do with patients attacking paramedics or nurses and doctors at hospitals? o_O

A few countries have bought into that and it's worth watching as good background TV.. The original is about the only TV show I watch.

Whatever it was based on or inspired by - "Niebezpieczne dzielnice" is the only TV show that shows every day work of Polish police that I'm aware of, so if anyone's interested in that (or in not the best side of the Polish society that they have to deal with ;P) - it's worth watching. The fictionalised Polish TV shows about police are not worth it, I'm afraid - Polish police officers laugh at them lol
Paulina   
5 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

What I find odd about some of these cases is that I don't think the patients are drunk...

Hmm, I'm not sure what's "odd" about that...

My impression is that many of cases when paramedics or medical staff are being attacked are when they have to deal with drunk people (most often probably). Of course there also people under the influence of drugs and those who are simply aggressive morons or mentally ill. The police officers, just like all first responders (including firefighters) also have to deal with this kind of people and they get attacked by them too, obviously (yes, there are people in Poland dumb enough to attack firefighters, I kid you not...).

If you're interested in this then I recommend watching "Niebezpieczne dzielnice" ("Dangerous Neighbourhoods") on TVN Turbo today evening at 22:20. It's a documentary showing the work of police officers in different cities in Poland in the evening and at night - they're accompanied by a camera crew, they have cameras installed in their cars and the footage from body cams is being shown. It's usually said on the show if the guy arrested was drunk (and how heavily drunk) or whether drugs were found on him (or in the car). Those are actual police interventions - it can't get any more real than this.

I'm sure paramedics and other healthcare workers know how to deal with drunk people (who are usually not coordinated/fast enough to do much damage).

Well, that depends on how intoxicated the patients are and what is the level of their aggression/rage... And from what I understand paramedics and other healthcare workers haven't been getting training in self defence. It only started now - after that paramedic got killed in January this year:

tvn24.pl/polska/ataki-na-medykow-w-polsce-oczekiwanie-na-zmiany-prawa-i-szkolenia-z-samoobrony-st8441710


Paulina   
5 May 2025
News / Will PiS be happy if AfD wins elections in Germany? [1303]

Asylum seekers receive accommodation, food, clothes, hygiene, limited healthcare

That's what they get in Poland too though:

help.unhcr.org/poland/rights-and-obligations-of-asylum-seekers/rights-of-applicants-for-international-protection-in-poland/

I'm guessing that's how asylum seekers are also treated in other (civilised) countries...

I think one of the main factors why people choose Germany is because it's a rich country and they think they'll have a good life there. 🤔
Paulina   
5 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]

What's up behind the recent spate of attacks against healthcare workers, paramedics, nurses and doctors have all been physically attacked recently....

It's nothing new though, imho... They started talking about it, because someone "finally" died... First it was the paramedic killed with a knife by a drunk patient and then that doctor at the hospital - both killed this year.

most notably an orthopedist was killed by a patient who blamed him for an infection

Not for an infection - from what I've read the murderer thought that the doctor injected him with a poison - he was not right in the head. He was a prison guard, btw. Not long ago another prison guard shot dead his 5-year-old daughter, mother-in-law and tried to kill his 9-year-old son, because he got into an argument with his wife (they were in the middle of a divorce).

it's due to inequality and exclusion that was inflicted on these persons with justice involvement.

What on Earth are you talking about? lol
Paulina   
4 May 2025
Life / Cult videos on Polish youtube [18]

Today is the International Firefighters' Day. According to polls firefighters have been viewed as the most respected and trusted profession/social group in Poland for 4 consecutive years. 🚒

And to celebrate their day - here's AJ's 48 hours as a Polish firefighter:

Day 1: Physical entry test + a try at firefighters' contest:



Day 2: The practical stuff - breaking down the doors, getting out an injured person from a damaged car, extinguishing a fire:


Paulina   
16 Apr 2025
News / Northern Lights in Poland [49]

Well, it looks like it's possible that I photographed an aurora. I'm in the city, so it was so faint that I thought it's probably just the glow from the city (city light noise). But someone else took a photo of an aurora outside of Kielce around the same time that I was also taking photos exactly of the same fragment of the sky (under the Cassiopeia constellation), so it must've been an aurora. I decided to take some photos, because I got an alert about K8 level aurora that was supposed to be visible in most of Poland (at least in theory).

This is the photo I'm talking about - taken by Monika Gajos in the vicinity of Kielce:


  • auroraKielce.jpg
Paulina   
16 Apr 2025
History / What made Poland into the country it is today? [62]

For most of us it is the dialling code for Saudi Arabia............

Who is "us"? One doesn't have to explain the 966 date to most Poles, especially if put into a historical context - it's the year of the so called "Baptism of Poland" and marks the beginning of Christianization of Poland.

The less known use of this number 966 in Poland - it's a phone number to call if you want to report a terrorist threat, espionage and any other threat to the national security of Poland.
Paulina   
5 Apr 2025
Love / I live in the US (born in the US, of Mexican parents) how can I meet a Catholic woman in Poland? [42]

Thank you for this tip

You're welcome :)

there is about 2 Catholic Churches within driving distance that minister to Polish people and Polish Americans.

Yes, I was thinking about churches too, since you're a Catholic.

There is also a couple of meetup groups that meet here to promote Polish culture and the Polish language.

That's great. Even if you don't meet any woman there that you'll find interesting maybe you'll make friends and someone will introduce you to a single lady looking for a guy.

Good luck :)