News / How Polish diaspora see future of Poland? as ethnic Polish state or just Polish in origin? [120]

I think you missed the point, so I'm highlighting them:


Polish Tatars do not fall into the described category.

History / The restoration of Polish cities from WW2 destruction [118]


Omitted ones I won't comment about and I left just Wroclaw.
In short, in regards to that city, you have no idea what you are talking about.
Google Festung Breslau.

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]


Structures such as Mary says... and ..., says Mary are not uncommon in English, although the second tends to be more frequent in written rather than spoken English.

History / The restoration of Polish cities from WW2 destruction [118]


I was kinda very young in 1945 so I can't vouch for how the city looked and who did what.
The quote was from the city's official website.

History / The restoration of Polish cities from WW2 destruction [118]


Perhaps we do know after all.

translation:

Withdrawing German forces destroyed the bridge on Slupia River, damaged and disabled the power plant, gas supply plant and water supply infrastructure. Soviet artillery destroyed central part of the railway station. The Old Town - the business area, was looted and burnt down by the Red Army troops 3 days after they occupied Slupsk.

Whatever was German before WW2 experienced little mercy from the Soviets. I'm sure there were some Polish soldiers who participated in some of the destruction that now, from the comfort of a sofa, and looking at things through a laptop screen, might be called senseless. We'll never know how we'd feel about that if we just covered a few hundred kilometers of distance through Poland and saw all the destruction caused by the Germans, or how the British pilots (some of whom saw what Germans did to some of their cities) felt when they were bombing Dresden.

Some of the destruction after the direct hostilities ceased may have been committed by Poles. A lot of it was deliberate action of the Soviets. One such example was the Wroclaw Cathedral. While it was seriously damaged in 1945, the steeples were still standing. Soviets took them down for the raw material they contained. In many parts of what is now Western Poland, they disassembled entire factories and they even took away railway tracks, loaded them on trains and off they went to the USSR.

Law / PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF SWASTIKA AND NAZI SYMBOLS in Krakow, Poland - Where I should report them? [56]


There is a little recursive problem with these silly rules.

If people can't display a swastika then eventually subsequent generations won't know how a swastika looks, which will make it impossible for them to avoid displaying it since they wouldn't know they are displaying a swastika. Consequently,since ignorance of the law is not a mitigating factor, the law would turn them into swastika displaying criminals.

Life / Understanding Poland's Birthday Tradition [66]

Never heard about spanking for the 18th, or any birthday. Must be some newer import.
Still, there is nothing wrong with a little spanking. Ask her, maybe she actually liked it ;)

Language / 'Ciężko powiedzieć' (anglicism?) - is it a copy of the English 'hard to say'? [51]


quote?
source?

USA, Canada / What do Poles think about drinking raw milk? In America, unpasteurized milk is PROHIBITED. [49]


You are correct in the US (and Canadian) governments' approach to raw milk. I will not exaggerate when I say that in North America is is safer and easier to get hold of a pound of marijuana or AK47 than of a gallon or raw milk. In some jurisdictions (B.C) they even have legislations deeming raw milk as a hazardous product.

One Canadian farmer found a way around the red tape not by selling raw milk but by selling shares in a cow. The scheme was simple. You buy a part of a live cow and thus you have the right to milk it and use the product (but not to sell). His farm was literally attacked by militarized police detachment in an action one sees sometimes in movies where they take down some big drug dealer. This fella won the court case but raw milk still cannot be sold in Canada. This is protecting big industry from the competition of small farmers that have been around for thousands of years. Sounds like a conspiracy theory, sadly it's not.

Life / Why Poles have so pro-emigration attitude? [66]


The British didn't have communism, neither did the Spaniards, the Dutch, he Germans or the Portuguese, and their emigration levels haven't been a whole lot lower.

I don't think there is anything unique in Polish emigration.

News / Polish immigrants contribute to the world [32]


His son, Peter en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gzowski
is still probably the biggest name in history of Canadian broadcasting and journalism. There was barely a day on CBC radio without his name and the weight of his influence on Canadian media being mentioned by, among others, one of his disciples, Andy Barrie.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Barrie

Barrie left the US to avoid the Vietnam mess and chose Canada as his new home.

Work / English teacher from Turkey, have any chance to work in Poland? [71]

Anybody they accept as a guest will always experience unbelievable hospitality.

Given sufficiently decent level of knowledge I can't see why a Turkish gal shouldn't teach English anywhere she wants. I taught ESL in New York City to Poles and to Hispanics. Not such a difficult job at all but money was good just to get started.

History / Poland Lithuania - current relations [124]


The solution is simple - get civilized.

None of the problems described took place in Lithuania even though, surprisingly, a lot of people spoke Polish very well. Within minutes they decided which language would have been the easiest for all and nobody was bittching about anybody's lack of the ability to speak Lithuania. They just had a god time.

And that is the main difference between Ukrainians, who allegedly like Poles, and Lithuanians who allegedly don't. Your post, referring to someone you never met, and based on a two sentence paraphrase of a week long visit to Ukraine, in such a thick and primitive manner is a further case in point. While I can communicate with Ukrainian speaking persons, she can't and I'm glad she didn't waste any time or money of Ukrainian phrase books. I bet they don't contain "fukc you" which at this point appears to be the only thing one might want to say to a Ukrainian.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]


A neighbor of mine where I lived before was a Mexican. Remarkably intelligent, well educated, hardworking and a good buddy.

Feedback / Why are there so many on here, who do not like Poland [150]


Yeah, there was so much money coming in we couldn't keep up with cleaning the streets, and that cost a lot of money :)

Study / Is there racism in Poznan and hate crime against coloured people (students)? [59]

You'll be just fine.

UK, Ireland / Immgration to UK. A success? [114]


So they offered British citizenship to 200,000 Polish criminals and that's why they had to kick out thousands of British kids to make the room?


If you can find out about a few acres Poland took in 1938 then I'm sure you'll be able to find out what Czechs mean by thheir own term zrada Západu.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]

the muddafucckers are killing the middle class.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]


I'd probably spend more money on shoes if I had to walk 50 miles a day. Although in winter I might try to ski.
Things are changing. The time is almost here to look at them little 2 liter engine cars.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]


brings lots of money to the rich and some to the poor, mostly those from Atlantic provinces who go out west for work. But those fields are indeed a major environmental problem.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]


Canadian proven reserves are allegedly 2nd to Saudis, but then, there were some wikileaks suggesting that Saudis exaggerated their estimates. In reserve to production ratio Canada is also rated 2nd after Venezuela (about 188 years) while Saudis will run out in 75 years.


Actually, it's our gas that is less expensive to you than to me :)
Our gas taxes are much higher. Gotta pay for that free health care somehow I guess.

Today I bought at $1.37/liter, i.e. about $5.33/Gal.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]


They are about the same in Ontario and NY, but I like the Canadian smokes better. They don't stink as much. Not that they don't sink at all. When I commuted to work I used to always "smuggle" a few packs across the border for some American buddies of mine who also prefered Canadian smokes, mostly this brand


It may.
Some predict it will be $1CDN to $1.15USD before it turns around.
Canada enjoys high comodity prices at this point. That's where the US gets most of its foreign oil from.

Love / Is it true that Polish women are very busty? [71]


depends on which part of her you'd aim for


don't be silly
she wouldn't be able to stand in an upright position if those were real :)

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]

I started going to the US weekly now. Our dollar is stronger than the US$. Bad for our exporters but good for me, and to Canadians the prices in the US feel like those in a 3rd world country - everything is dirt cheap so I buy even groceries. Except for milk which tastes like a mix of PVC, penicillin, and detergents and diluted in some white fluid.

Otherwise the selction of goods is good, even though not all products I can get in Canada are available across the border. Might be just branding though.

I wouldn't move back to the States though. Much of the Buffalo, NY area, inspite of the best efforts, is still pretty much a dump.

UK, Ireland / Immgration to UK. A success? [114]

I put my bet on the few acres of Czekoslovakia that Poland took in 1938 after the Brits broke their deals and gave the couuntry to Hitler on a silver platter.

History / Poland Lithuania - current relations [124]


I know no Lithuanians and I heve never been to your country but I heard wonderful stories form my dughter. She visited your country last year and she was warned not to speak Polish inLithuania as people would treat her poorly.

According to her, nothing could be further from what she exerienced. She spent 3 weeks in Lithuania, and all Lithuanias she met were wonderful and very helpful even though she did not hide the fact the she is Polish. She travelled with a Polish fella and Lithuanian people offered them car rides when they missed a bus, some offered shelter for a night or two and one couple invited them to their home for a week and showed a few interesting places of interest. Many spoke Polish.

She visited about a dozen EU countries + Turkey and Tunesia last year. She disliked Ukraine (people nasty towards Poles), didn't fall in love with Tunisia, and she hated the Islamic Republic of Belgium that she said felt like a gutless eunuch :) She's back in Canada but the two areas in EU she liked the most and plans to visit again were Sicilly and Lithuania.

It would seem the Polish-Lithuanian bullshhit comes from the politicians and from the dumbasses on both sides of the border.

UK, Ireland / Immgration to UK. A success? [114]


So the Polish army was authorized to give British passports?
Interesting.

History / Question on Poland 1980-82 (the history of Solidarity during the years of 1980 and 1981) [17]

I smoked mostly Caro, sometimes Kent which was carried by one of the stores. But that was pre-martial law.

I remember one night I ran out of cigs. It was almost midnight and the nearest place to get them was the railway station, but busses were no longer runing and my dad quit smoking a few months before. In desperation, I tried to smoke a joint made out of Ulung tea. That didn't work too well, so resigned, I took to reviewing some school notes from previous year in preparation for a major Polish Language test.

And voila!
Between the pages of one of the notebooks there was this one caro cigarette, pressed thin after a year among and under the notebooks. That was perhaps the best few puffs I ever had. The dry cig felt exactly the way it should.

I smoked it in my bedroom and to ensure that my parents would not smell the smoke, I used to use some grade 5 knowledge about temperature and air movement: on colder days, in a room the cold air flows in through the bottom part of the window opening, it gets armed up and escapes though the upper part of the opening. Works like a charm. You could stand right next to the smoker and not smell a thing.

Two guys were passing outside and chatting. I heard fragments of their conversation" "who wudda thunk they'd elect a Pole..." That's all I could make out. The rest of the words was absorbed by the echoes of their footstep.

I turned on Radio Free Europe. Yes. That night they elected Karol Wojtyla to be the next Pope.

History / Question on Poland 1980-82 (the history of Solidarity during the years of 1980 and 1981) [17]

I guess the rate varied, but you could get much better profit if you just sold the vodka. That was for those who knew how to beat the coupon system or who bought from the Soviets.


I went through that twice only.
Once when traveling from Zielona Gora to Wroclaw (at the time a permit was required) and the second time in Wroclaw about 10 minutes AFTER I unloaded some "micro literature".

History / Question on Poland 1980-82 (the history of Solidarity during the years of 1980 and 1981) [17]

Answering only regarding things I know about:


There were coupons for vodka. I believe it was a bottle per month. Beer was rather available but hard liquor was the preferred dope, and defacto an indicator of the US Dollar value. $1.00 equaled 1 (half liter) bottle of Zytnia Vodka (give or take a sip)

All Polish cigs were available in stores (some Marlboro reds too) but the coupons were sufficient for 10 packs/month. Anything could be bought through Pewex (kind internal export where you could buy most "deficit" products for hard currency)

You could buy cigs from the Polish or Soviet troops by the pound (or kilo, rather). These came in the form of really long cigarettes you had to cut to practical length. The longest one I saw was about 5 feet long, but nothing above 8" was "smokeable", no kick.

People traded coupons. I gave away my vodka coupon for cig coupons.
Some people made moonshine.


It was discussed but most people didn't know a whole lot. I knew more than most.

As for music, the scene was pretty rich (considering...). There was quite a lively movement within musicians who concentrated on politics, illustrated the reality, kept up the hopes etc. Some names Kaczmarski, Gintrowski, Ewa Bem and lots of others. Some mainstream musicians touched on politics too, but that would be sometimes hard to translate due to the subtlety of some of the language we used - to say things we wanted to say but could not say openly.