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

Posts by jon357  

Joined: 15 Mar 2012 / Male ♂
Last Post: 35 mins ago
Threads: Total: 73 / Live: 22 / Archived: 51
Posts: Total: 24674 / Live: 14629 / Archived: 10045
From: In the Heart of Darkness
Speaks Polish?: Tak

Displayed posts: 14651 / page 9 of 489
sort: Oldest first   Latest first   |
jon357   
26 Sep 2012
News / The Political Circus of Poland [309]

The EU will soon collpase anyway (good riddance

I wouldn't bet on that.

Thank goodness Poland did not let itself get roped into adopting the euro. Long live the złoty!

Actually it did. Poland has signed up for it as a condition of membership. As long as it continues in its present form, Poland will adopt it.
jon357   
27 Sep 2012
News / The Political Circus of Poland [309]

Gowin would say he's got letter-of-the-law nitpickers like you 'w nosie'

There's a lot to be said for having "letter-of-the-law nitpickers" in a constitutional democracy.
jon357   
27 Sep 2012
News / The Political Circus of Poland [309]

Poles call them 'szkiełko i oko'* types

Some might, others might not.

There was once a bloke called Mickiewicz, but you wouldn't know about that.

Remember him do you?

And since you think that I don't know who he was or have read any of his (a classic liberal if ever there was one) writing perhaps you can enlighten me on his role in determining whether or not applying the rule of law has any relevance in a modern constitutional,liberal democracy.
jon357   
28 Sep 2012
Language / Burak or redneck? [36]

The only US Southerners I know are perfect gentlemen - not rednecks at all.

A burak isn't the same as a redneck. Burak implies a total lack of sophistication and a very narrow world view combined with a very low standard of behaviour. And nearly always overweight, a drinker, superstitious but not necessarily very religious, poor taste, a mistrust of anyone outside their immediate family and with a low IQ. True underclass.

A redneck is defined by right-wing politics, a closed mind, fundamentalist religion a mistrust of people from outside their community and a belief in conspiracies.

A burak is white trash, even if they have a bit of money (as some do). A redneck is not necessarily.
jon357   
28 Sep 2012
Language / Burak or redneck? [36]

Would you say say there are specific redneck musical tastes?
jon357   
28 Sep 2012
Language / Burak or redneck? [36]

"rube"

Rube is I think a US English word and surely archaic.
jon357   
3 Oct 2012
History / Lusatia allied with Poland? [19]

Have you ever wondered whether Lusastia, the tiny Slav nation within eatsern Germany's broders, would have survived better or worse if the Big Three Allies had assigned it to Poland or granted it independent status under Polish protection.

No. Being surrounded by a dominant state ensures that any 'protection' deals would have been short lived.

Ever heard of the Kingdom of Elmet?

Yes.
jon357   
5 Oct 2012
Travel / Unusual architecture - bulidings and structures in Poland [28]

There are several in Rapa.

At the time they were built, that area was German and an influential local doctor promoted vertical burials in pyramids for reasons now lost to us.

Merged: Mirrored house built in Izabelin

There are some interesting things happening in architecture in PL at the moment. A lot of what gets built is bland with most of the innovative stuff being corporate, but this is one of the interesting ones.

The walls around the base of this property, just outside the Polish capital of Warsaw, are clad with mirrors - giving the impression that the top floor of the building is floating.

house of mirrors
jon357   
7 Oct 2012
Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1450]

I almost forgot I need to eat smoked salmon

Food of the gods. Good value in Poland too, though dark rye bread never seems to suit it.

pickled herring

Boil some good potatoes, buy a jar of herrings in oil, strain a bit of the oil off, put the steaming (this bit's important) potatoes straight from the pan onto a large serving dish, then pour the contents of the jar over it.

Delicious on a winter day. A glass of vodka goes nicely with it, red wine if you want to be posh.
jon357   
7 Oct 2012
Study / Rumor about racism - will I be fine in Poland as a black International student from Africa? [245]

A friend of mine mentioned an area named "Praga" being bad.

'Praga' covers the whole area east of the river. A bit like saying Brooklyn. Most of it is OK. The places to avoid are the obviously poor-looking housing estates dotted around the fringes of the city - you can usually tell by the state of the shops and the amount of grafitti. Warsaw is, on the whole, a safe city.
jon357   
7 Oct 2012
Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1450]

If you are the same jon that washes his hair in Ludwig

yes

but just smalec on the black bread - sledz would be overkill ;-)

I love pickles but they don't love me. But the makers of Rennie do.

Worth the pain - Leclerc do great korniszony !
jon357   
9 Oct 2012
Food / Confusion over flour names in Poland [46]

bread machines are good news)

The texture is never the same. And a decent mixer + an oven with a timer does it so much better.
jon357   
11 Oct 2012
News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]

Perhaps a few photographs of what we are talking about would help us in this "discussion."

I'm sure you could easily find some pictures of hungry, unwanted children. Or women whose chance of a career has been blown due to falling pregnant. Or maybe a coffin of one of the tens of thousands of women who die every year because they try to do a home abortion because they can't sort it out properly in a clinic.
jon357   
13 Oct 2012
News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]

A foetus is not a baby, terminating a pregnancy is killing nothing but an assembly of unconscious cells. However much god-botherers try to pretend otherwise.
jon357   
14 Oct 2012
News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]

Ironic, given most of the posters in this thread are male and some here are trotting out a point of view on abortion promulgated by celibate men. But then again, you agree more closely with that point of view, don't you.

If someone is against abortion, the don't have to have one. If someone wants to end a pregnancy, given all medical evidence that foetuses are not sentient individuals, the should be no legal impediment preventing them from doing so.
jon357   
14 Oct 2012
News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]

That's something a doctor could better comment on. It seems significant that the medical profession as a whole do not oppose the procedure.
jon357   
19 Oct 2012
Travel / Why does everyone seem to hate LOT Polish Airlines? [382]

You were lucky. On my last flight, a Lufthansa Lot code share they flew Frankfurt Warsaw, circled round Warsaw for 2 hours due to fog then went back to Germany to refuel. A shame they couldn't land at Modlin or even Lodz instead.
jon357   
24 Oct 2012
Love / How are lesbians seen in Poland (more info inside)? [30]

You won't have any problem with a hotel in Warsaw, and as the capital it's fairly cosmopolitan. There are also bars, at least one of which is women only. I sometimes walk down the street hand-in-hand with my partner and the only rare adverse reaction has been off the same type of chav who would yell anywhere but isn't actually brave enough to do anything.
jon357   
31 Oct 2012
Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]

You seem to assume that not being circumcised creates the problems you suggest. The experience of millions of men suggests otherwise.

It's a useless practice, though of course if someone really wants it they can always pay to have it done. Forcing it on a child is not a good thing.