Travel / Why does everyone seem to hate LOT Polish Airlines? [380]

Dunno but LOt can't be worse than the US carriers - btw, none of them made the 10 best carriers list. Never flew w/ LOT but flew a lot w/ United and always kept worrying, "are they gonna lose my luggage this time or not; am I gonna make that connection or not?" (United has been my company's prefered carrirer.) Obviously lotta quesitons about LOT's top management style, that is, are they really competent in what they're doing? Why they sunk so much money in Dreamliners, which are grounded. You gotta keep those planes flying to make money! The company's beenlosing money but the top brass has been getting annual salary increases n bonuses...etc. Hm?

News / Failures of Poland and Tusk`s government [191]

I'm w/ ya! The prob is the so-called magmnt gurus tryina sell their expertise to gov't and thus to make money off their naivete. Again, Korea has a very, very good rail system - fast, reliable though you may have to inhale some kimchi from time to time - a very efficient power system, providing one of the lowest rates in the world, and Korea Telco, offering onea the fastest Internet connections (all fiber optic) in the world. Guess what? they want to deregulate or privatize them! Sadly, US-based mgmnt consulting groups are feeding the Koreans w/ these ideas for a fee, of course! It might be the same case in Poland. Buyer be aware!

News / The quality of Polish media coverage [48]


hey Val,

I dont think that's the case in the US (I'm neither Demo nor Rep) that the Demo party controls mass media. In the US it's all about the "hype" who killed whom, police brutality, etc. In other words, it hasta sell! If it doesn't, you're out! Look what happened to Newsweek...LA Times might be next. The US press ain't as in Europe, expecially in the UK, where you have a lot of junk, but also some legit papers (FT, The London Times, The Economist) and TV/radio (BBC) and the readership is pretty decent. The only good US paper to read has been The Int'l Herald Tribune though printed outside the US. It's all show biz now, bro!

News / Failures of Poland and Tusk`s government [191]


Good point! Way back in the early 90s, California decided to deregulate (for the benefit of Cali consumers) its power industry. W/ little, or none at all, oversight, SDG&E, instead of building power plants and thus increasing power output, started buying (and speculating) power from nearby states. Guess what happened? An everage electirc bill went thru the roof from $20 to $100! The company went into Chapter 11 and their response to high mthly bills was to use energy eff light bulbs! Perhaps, after all, breaking up a state monopoly aint too good, or you might end up w/ rollbacks, blackouts, etc. I dunno much about Polish Telecom but having French controlling them, that's not a good news. I worked w/ French mgmnt back in Korea (Carrefoure) and they were horrible! And what's funny, as you know French being French, is that the French mgmnt insisted on speaking English while holding meets! Gotta tell ya: It was a challange having the Koreans and French speaking English!

News / Failures of Poland and Tusk`s government [191]

Hey Gum,

All this stuff is in Polish and probably sensational! Again, the bottom line: you need PIS..ed-offs and that Gay Party (whatever the Polish name) to keep an eye on the current gov't. And then if you don't like the regime go and vote it out! But don't bi..tch n moan n use skinheads to advance your political agenda, thus making Poland look stupid!

News / Polish families are urged to establish themselves in Norway : Taking children away? [36]


Man, dunno your ethnic background, or whatchya smoking in the morning, but, hey, you need some schooling, bro!

Life / Is Poland a poor country? [578]


Gum,

quite frankly I dont care who and what created. The US State Dept cited Poland for its curruption and ineptness way back, ie, when Kaczynkys (spell?) were in office. Now let me ask you this: if they were not that corrupt why PIS got bumped off in the past elections? Bottom line: PIS or Tuskism, they need to clean this sh..t if they want to grow and get more foreign investment. And PIS's hooking up w/ skinheads/Legia hooligans ain't helping much.

Life / Is Poland a poor country? [578]


It coud also be a lingo issue - may not be able to speak other Euro lingos, sorry but most Euro guys' English is just horrible in spite of Brits' English domination in this part of the world. Plus Poles are probably more risk takers, sometimes bordering on a cavalier behavior. But then, hey, no pain no gain, right?

Back to the beef - Eurostats paints a pretty good pic of Poland's econ except a GDP slowdown. Inflation under control, which has never been an issue in the past few years, and the jobless rate might edge up one procentage point in '13.

Being poor or not, Poland has made a huge prograss in the past 20 years after switching from a planned to a market-driven econ. So comparing Poland to its western neighbors, whose developement has been uninterrupted since the US had poured money in the region after WW2, ain't right. They were rolling while Poland was making Polish Fiats, the so-called "state of the art" vehicle, according to the commies' propoganda. See some youtube pic from the old Poland (People's Rep) and now; that's a day n nite diff! In 20 yrs, not too bad!

Final note: T-Mobile considers the Polish market being saturated, meaning there are two or more cells per households. On top of that, each household has a motor vehicle and having a flat screen (LCD) tv aint a big deal over there. Polish tend to whine a lot about there current sit but, hey, there are more Beemers n Benzes over there then in the US:) Yep, they're poor.

Hey, gum, btw, as said earlier, curruption (40th on the list of the least corrupted nations) and ineptness that's what slows down Poland and it just didnt happen overnite, ie, under Tusk's, and it probably goes back to PIS..ed when in power.

News / Failures of Poland and Tusk`s government [191]


Good point!

News / Failures of Poland and Tusk`s government [191]

So enlighten me gum! Show me whatchya got, bro! Yo'l sound like one of the those PIS..d guys! Sorry, pal

News / Failures of Poland and Tusk`s government [191]


You are right, gum, but again the US has a huge deficit and there's still a market for their TBs - as I was checking lately, there was a pretty good demand for Polish paper too. Plus Polish gov't still owns lots of good brand name properties (eg, LOTO) and they can get rid of it. Again, I wouldn't worry that much about the deficit but I'd be more concerned about corruption, ineptness (both political n economic, say, not running trains, freeways being not finished or a stupid bidding process, remember the Chinese?); PIS demagogues (let's face it they're are morons, as Brzez said, no programs, only marching n screaming "hang' em high"). C'mon, bro!

Life / What is Poland B as opposed to Poland A and the otherway-round. [45]

You'll always have some regions considered dogs - just look at Europe (North vs. South), the Americas (North vs. South), et cetera - that has to do w/ political and cultural aspects of that region. Pouring tons of money won't solve the probs. Political scientists and sociologists have written tons of how-to-fix-it books, all pretty much useless.

News / Polish families are urged to establish themselves in Norway : Taking children away? [36]


Hey bieg,

easy cowboy, a stmnt like that borders on a line of anti-semi n might open a can of worms (Polish anti-semitism). Dunno where you get your info, but fyi the state of Isreal is the ONLY demo state in that crazy region! And comparing it to Iran is insane n shows your lack of geo-political knowledge or simply put it, ignorance. (I hope itis the former.)

News / Poland braces for economic slowdown [30]


Hey ant,

dunno that but I met a lot of them in Asia, especially Korea - btw, they were really cool, though drinking a lot :)

News / Poland braces for economic slowdown [30]

Hey ant,

First of all, that's a long post...and you are right that the Polish flood made a dent in the Polish unemployment rate. But on the other hand, the Polish factor had cleansed the UK's rigid labor market, ie, made it more competitive. Most Brits woudn't work - they're better off on welfare, as your bennies are way tooooo genereous - and had no intention to "actively" look for a job. And in the early 90s there was an acute shortage of trade people (plumbers, electricians, hairdressers) and the Poles filled out the hole in the market. When the things were go-go, the Brits were raking in tax revenue - don't tell me that Poles don't pay taxes, every time the local store's tilt rings, your Majesty collects tax. Then the second wave of Poles came, less educated in sense of trade, and coupled w/ the econ's collapse, things went heywire. Now your major dailies were calling on Poles to head back home, but they haven't budged yet. Why woud they? They've already planted some roots - kids are going to English schools and act as a lingo bridge - saved some money, or open their owne business, and tryina ride out the bad econ. You're talking about ESL stuff...well, dosen't that creat a market for your local ESL teachers? Now they don't have to go to Saudi Arabia or Korea to teach English, right?

News / Failures of Poland and Tusk`s government [191]


That's the prob w/ Polish: there's always someone who wants to stiff you! Tusk brainwashed Poland? For Pete's sake how? It's an open country and anyone w/ some smarts can read here and there and see the whole pic. If Brzez says that PIS is a whole bunch of paranoid morons, it tells ya about the opposition party. They've got nuthing, I mean nuthing, to offer but b..tch n moan about the current go'vt. Period! They have no econ plan whatsoever, only talking about commies here and there. It's old and tiring, bro!

News / Poland braces for economic slowdown [30]


hey scottiee,

Let me englighten ya that Amtrak is very, very profitable along the north-eastern corridor; it's a dog elsewhere! I would get rid of it! Now Poland's LOT is a dog like other Euro carriers, remember Zurich Air? But I gotta give some kudos, you Brits, as yours seem to have been the most profitable carriers in Europe. That having said, tells me that some countries can have carriers w/o pumping into lotta cash. But then the prob is that there ver few carriers that can buy LOT, right?

Life / Why are Poles obsessed with shame? [19]


hey charlie,

I don't think they b..tch n moan that much - their English ain't good enough to express themselves, right? The funny thing is that in the US you don't hear Polish b..tch at all - and most are overstayers - unless someone comes up w/ Polak jokes! In the UK you may hear here n there, but that's not a big deal. I think most Brits b..tch n moan about E Europeans coming over there n stealing their carps from ponds! And the UK econ has been headnding south for a while so you got some frictions btwn Poles and Brits, mostly about who is taking whose jobs. Then you have a slapdick, aka hudsondicks, adding more fuel to the fire by posting anti-Polish comments, even b..tching about chicks. C'mon, bro! That ain't kosher!

News / Poland braces for economic slowdown [30]


Legend,

That's not a bad idea: Poland needs a little bit of mixing up. Too many blonds!!! But I would take it easy w/ muslims.

News / Poland braces for economic slowdown [30]


Hey Mo,

Whatchya smoking? That much money just by pumping gas? Sh.t!

Let's put it this way: you'd always go to a lower bidder (remodeling, gardner) and it wouldn't matter if he's Polish or Mexi. Again, don't smoke that sh..t!

News / Poland braces for economic slowdown [30]


Yep, that's what I said earlier, they gotta get rid of some dead wood. And it sounds to me like Greece too - lotta red tape! But, also, in Poland and Greece, trade unions (this is not the same Solidarity as way back) are very strong/corrupt and very malicious, expecially if your legal system has no bite. Here, e.g., you go to the judge and get an injunction, meaning the union can't go on strike first and then talk. My understanding about Poland and Greece is that you start riots first and then talk. Again, get rid of dead wood, meaning public employees and sell off public entities that bleed, eg, LOT.


Very simple: it has kept (hope still does) the inflation rate low, as most Poles were performing services (eg, plumbing, remodeling, warehousing, house cleaning, gardening, et cetera) at a lower cost than what their Brit competition what've charaged. That extra saved pound ended up in your wallet and now you go to Costco and get that Polish dog and a slice of pizza! Before the Polish coming to the UK, you had to stick to fish n chips! The same sit here: I need to clean the carpet, so I call around and go w/ a Mexi guy (I know he employes illegals, but I dont give a rip cause it costs me less than going to Joe Schmoe Carpet). See now I'm saving 60 bucks. What am I gonna do w/ it? Spend on my kid, go to a ball park (baseball), etc. So although I ain't getting humps in my paychecks (even if so, that's like <2%), which might cause inflation, but my living standard hasn't change that much becasue of a lower service labor cost.

News / Poland braces for economic slowdown [30]


Sorry ain't gonna happen! The UK went thru some hard times when the real estate market went south...Did Poles leave as "all experts" were saying and Poland was doing well (growing). Nope. Why? Because of welfare and other socio-econ factors where Poles were still better off than heading back home.

Law / Poland economy is slowing down - how does it affect you? [117]

The US rate is higher than that: it doesn't take into account those who fell out of official stats - say, they can't collect unemployment any logner - those who are working pt but are will to work more hrs, that is , ft (full time). So when you added up is much higher than that! But it looks for those are in office now - it's all politics. Keep in mind that if you're unemployed in Poland, you still have your medical, right? Sh..t I'd better be unemployed in Poland than in the "land of the free."

News / Poland braces for economic slowdown [30]


Hey Bieg,
Don't think so. Why? Most Poles have no clue when it comes to econ. Even it the facts are true, say, no jobs in the UK, they might blame their friends for not "being friends" or blame the Polish gov't for making up bad stories about the West as way back in People's Republic - sometime the regime was saying the truth about the West's poor econ, but people didn't believe. So, my friend, won't happen: Poles will keep coming to the UK whaterever the news!

News / Poland braces for economic slowdown [30]


Everynoe is doing that and from the econ. standpoint is not bad and a such should be used (Keynesian, spell?) when the country's econ is heading south. The gov't needs to pump in money when the private sector is "taking a break." The question is: how you manage and how you spend that money...Look at Greece, they spent all on consumption and corruption - their roads are worse than in Poland now...

News / Poland braces for economic slowdown [30]

They gotta get rid of some "dead wood," which is still present in Poland's econ. Lotta noise made by PIS and its sister party (nationalists) ain't helping much, expecially if you see riots in Warsaw and hoolignas battling the riot police. The trade union, whatever its political motives, has to go as a political body and stick to labor issues. Another "Polish flood" to the UK. Possible. But there ain't jobs for someone w/ a college degree in Polish, History, et cetera, as had the first wave, which was very skilled. The Brits will have to come up w/ some scheme to keep, though, an educated tide, but, sadly, skilless and pretty much useless for the UK labor market.