Instead of banning certain members...

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A cartoon from Poland.

1647891714428.png

"I demand the de-tractorization of Ukraine!"
 
Stefan Mikes said:
View attachment 117343
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It never ceases to amaze me how much English as a language has found its way into common use in the EU. I saw a local plumber's work truck running down the road in... I think it was Antwerp. He had myriad advertisements for various services on the slab sides of his truck and most of them were in English with a bit of Flemish and French mixed in. WTF this guy is communicating with neighborhood customers and he does it like this? Or the car wash outside of Brussels where *all* of its signage was in English (it was advertised as an 'American car wash' so that kind of made sense).

None of this happens in France, of course :). Nobody there speaks English until they want you to do or not do something and then all of a sudden the clerk who stared blankly at you 2 minutes prior when you asked for something suddenly can tell you you can't do that just fine.

I asked my son-in-law, who has only visited the USA twice for short stays, why he's so fluent (he has a noticeable accent but its slight, and he's got a perfect command of slang and idiom); especially with little formal English schooling. He replied that if you wanted to come home from school and watch TV, all the best shows were in English. So everyone learns from daily listening starting very young. That was pretty much it in a nutshell.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
You have reminded me of some historical facts that bear a semblance to what happens today.

There is a small piece of land called Zaolzie in the Cieszyn Silesia, on the Polish-Czech frontier. That small area (900 km2) was inhabited in 90% by Polish population by the end of WW I. In 1920, Czechoslovakia annexed Zaolzie (a historical mistake). In 1938, Hitler's Germany first annexed Austria, and later the Munich Conference allowed Hitler to annex Czech Sudetes. In Autumn 1938, Poland joined Hitler by annexing Zaolzie (that was even bigger mistake!). Less than a year later, Poland got partitioned herself between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union. No need to continue that story: Since the accession of Poland and Czech Republic to the European Union, any internal borders ceased to exist. Often, you are even not aware you have ridden, driven or walked into the other country!

I have read an interesting analysis now. In 2014 (during the Russian annexation of Crimea), Mr. Putin put forward a proposition Russia would have incorporated the East Ukraine including Kiev, Poland would get her former historical lands in Western Ukraine, and Hungary would grab the Transcarpatian Ruthenia (where many Hungarian live). Our PM of that era Mr Donald Tusk and our Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski boldly said they wouldn't even consider that proposition as a joke!

The analyst wrote today that Putin might have considered that plan before the current invasion. If Kiev fell promptly, Putin might have proposed the partition of Ukraine again. That would make his best friend, the Hungarian PM Viktor Orban very happy. Not sure about the current nationalist government of Poland. It makes me scary. Fortunately, Kiev didn't fall, and the Polish society turned out to be the best friend of the Ukrainian people.
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Poles are good Folk, no smarter group can be found.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
I hear stories how Polish individuals help our Ukrainian guests.

For instance, there are people breeding Bernese Mountain Dogs in Ukraine. Polish breeders help the families of Ukraine to settle in Poland: women, children and their dogs. My close friend lives in a big Warsaw house and owns a Bernese. So her home is a transfer base for Ukrainian guests. For example: Four children, two mothers, seven dogs spending three days with my friend until the transport for them is ready.

Another friend lets a refugee live at her flat, and so on and so on.
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I have been away from this forum for some time and was thinking of you. Stay safe, my friend!
 
tomjasz said:
i read and like Haaretz, for me a more progressive and clearer view. But I wouldn’t qwibble with your quoted article.

quote, “In the past, Israel has armed anti-Semitic regimes, such as the generals’ regime in Argentina, which murdered thousands of Jews in camps while its soldiers stood in watchtowers guarding the abducted prisoners with their Uzi submachine guns.”

what a mess we’ve made. Gun$ and more gun$.



According to a freedom of information petition to Israel's defense ministry from last January (Hebrew: read in full here), Israel also armed Bolivia's military regimes, knowing that Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie was part of the regime. Legal documents used to convict the head of the junta also showed that Barbie's death squads used Israeli Uzis.
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Not to mention South Africa
 
Stefan Mikes said:
You have reminded me of some historical facts that bear a semblance to what happens today.

There is a small piece of land called Zaolzie in the Cieszyn Silesia, on the Polish-Czech frontier. That small area (900 km2) was inhabited in 90% by Polish population by the end of WW I. In 1920, Czechoslovakia annexed Zaolzie (a historical mistake). In 1938, Hitler's Germany first annexed Austria, and later the Munich Conference allowed Hitler to annex Czech Sudetes. In Autumn 1938, Poland joined Hitler by annexing Zaolzie (that was even bigger mistake!). Less than a year later, Poland got partitioned herself between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union. No need to continue that story: Since the accession of Poland and Czech Republic to the European Union, any internal borders ceased to exist. Often, you are even not aware you have ridden, driven or walked into the other country!

I have read an interesting analysis now. In 2014 (during the Russian annexation of Crimea), Mr. Putin put forward a proposition Russia would have incorporated the East Ukraine including Kiev, Poland would get her former historical lands in Western Ukraine, and Hungary would grab the Transcarpatian Ruthenia (where many Hungarian live). Our PM of that era Mr Donald Tusk and our Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski boldly said they wouldn't even consider that proposition as a joke!

The analyst wrote today that Putin might have considered that plan before the current invasion. If Kiev fell promptly, Putin might have proposed the partition of Ukraine again. That would make his best friend, the Hungarian PM Viktor Orban very happy. Not sure about the current nationalist government of Poland. It makes me scary. Fortunately, Kiev didn't fall, and the Polish society turned out to be the best friend of the Ukrainian people.
Click to expand...
In regards to your last line…the Ukrainian people will not forget. I hope the US can assist as much as they can including expediting visas for those Ukrainians with family here. The Poles were a major factor in WW2 with their code breaking. “History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors/and issues, deceives with whispering ambitions, guides us by vanities…” TS Eliot
 
A little joke:

Приходит последний олигарх к Путину:
Олигарх: «Владимир Владимирович свой завод я вернул государству, загородный дом подарил детскому саду, заплатил налоги за себя и всех своих родственников.
Прошу разрешения уехать за границу»
ПУТИН: а как же старая русская традиция - посидеть перед дорожкой

English:
The last of oligarchs comes to Putin:
Oligarch: "Vladimir Vladimirovitch, I returned my factory to the State, given my country villa to a kindergarten, paid due taxes for myself and my whole family. Now, I ask you for the permission to go abroad".
Putin: "And what about the old Russian tradition to sit* for awhile before travelling?"

(*Be jailed).
 
Mulezen said:
IDK if this report from the Daily Beast is pay-blocked but Russian soldiers are turning on the own Colonels.
Read This: "‘It’s a Sh*tshow’: Russian Troops Are Now Turning on Each Other"
https://www.thedailybeast.com/russi...e-soldier-is-recorded-telling-another?via=ios
Click to expand...
Not a real paywall, free registration (Scroogle or Facepalm) required. Worth the read b/c that's what I expect is happening, but not verified. Who knows?
Edit originally wrote "want" for "what" . A Freudian slip?
 
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