*roundtrip ticket
Final score, game two
Warsaw Eagles 25
The Crew Wrocław 6
PLFA League standings
Next Games:
November 5, 2006
Crew @ Fireballs
Eagles @ Seahawks
Shame on Ireland and the UK
The UK and Ireland have decided that they like cheap construction workers, doctors, nurses, hairdressers, dentists, mechanics, and yes, even plumbers. They just don't like the fact that those cheap workers are coming from another country. Out of fear of... well, I'm not sure what, these two countries have decided not to leave the door open for laborers from Romania and Bulgaria.
Thankfully though, somebody is setting an example.
Final score
Warsaw Eagles 66 - 1.KFA Fireballs Wielkopolska 6
Link (Polish): http://ww6.tvp.pl/350,20061008405063.strona
What's in a flag?
or
?
Another diplomatic meeting, another hilarious faux pasIf the government was trying to convince the Russians that they want a relationship of mutual respect, they failed miserably - again - as the Foreign Ministry's employees hung the wrong flag - that of the Czech Republic- in the Ministry building today for the official welcoming of Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov. Before the meeting took place, the workers were caught on tape scurrying around changing the flags at the last moment. What more do Poles need to be convinced that this government is incompetent?
The NFL in Poland?
Well, not exactlyBut we hope some day -- maybe I'll even get to see it -- the league whose games begin this weekend will be spread across the country, drawing large crowds to watch top-quality games with top-quality players, maybe even ones who are paid. Poland's first (American) football league begins play this weekend, as the Warsaw Eagles face off against the Wielkopolska Fireballs. The two other teams in the league are The Wrocław Crew and the Pomorze Seahawks. All the teams will play each other once, and then meet up for a championship tournament in Warsaw on November 12. Read the Warsaw Business Journal article or listen to the Radio Polonia report. So if you're in Łódź this weekend, why not come out, have some fun, and maybe watch a little bit of history? (find time and location here) Oh yes, and by the way:
Go Eagles!
Renata=Fiona?
You be the judge
 
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Final score, game two
Aargh. I hate blogger formatting.
Go here if you want to see the standings in Polish, but nicer looking.
congratulations!
Polish Bowl ;-) will be the Birds game - Eagles vs Seahawks
And we'll play twice in a row.
For those who don't know - Nov. 5 will be the regular season game between Pomorze and Warsaw. However, regardless of who wins, both teams will still have the best records (one will be 3-0, the other 2-1) in the league, and will play each other again the next week in the league championship (Nov. 12 in Warsaw).
See you next week Sirmicho. Come ready to play.
Shame on Ireland and the UK
Yeah, no surprise this one. What newspapers like the Daily Mail etc have been doing is beating the government over the head with its prediction in 2004 that there would be around 11,000 Poles coming a year to UK. Of course that was a silly prediction, based on demographics that had no basis in fact – the EU had never expanded eastward before so there was no precedent for it.
But of course, Brits don’t distinguish between a large country like Poland and comparatively smaller ones Romania and Bulgaria. They also don’t realize the cultural roots of those countries – Latin based, who will be packing their bags and heading for Italy, not the UK.
But still, what’s a few facts when you can make political capital by looking like you are doing SOMETHING to stem the ‘flood’ of those pesky central and eastern Europeans?
I am 100% for the free flow of people. Period.
and if you listen to a Romanian speaking you will see what I mean about 'Latin'.
Top Cat -
I've been in a non-blogging funk. Didn't feel I had anything to add on the coalition getting back together since it was hardly surprising and very depressing.
I've been very busy with all things American football, from watching it on the computer (any expats out there who miss American TV should check out www.viidoo.com) to coaching the Warsaw Eagles for our next game (this weekend we play the Wrocław Crew). I've also been following the Tigers, who - even if they lose the WS - we are all very proud of.
As for UM-OSU, everything will fall into place Nov. 18. But neither team can look too far ahead, or they'll get upset -- just look at what Indiana did to Iowa...
And the Brits don't need "time to absorb" the Poles they have now -- Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, et al. have arguably added a percentage point or two to their economic growth. By making things harder for Bulgarians and Romanians, they're putting their own country at a disadvantage, keeping those countries poorer, longer, and worst of all, sending a terrible message to the rest of the EU.
Beatroot -
I'm not so surprised either. A large amount of change in a small amount of time is guaranteed to scare people, regardless of whether the change is good or bad.
It's probably closer to 1 million Poles now -- and business in the UK has never been better. The US might be planning to build a wall in Texas -- but it's an extremely bad decision.
Britian is the most popular destination for a several reasons.
One is a lax attitude toward the personal details of employees (who are largely treated like interchangeable parts) that means almost anyone can get an employment toehold.
Job security in a particular position may not be high, but finding some sort of job just isn't that difficult.
Countries like Sweden (which also opened its job market) are much harder to get hired in partly because new employees aren't treated on the basis of 'if this one doesn't work out the next one off the street might'.
Also, there's the popularity of English. 'Everybody' knows or thinks they know English and going to some other country means having to learn another, less popular, language.
And even poor, almost non-existent language skills are not necessarily the barrier to employment in Britain that they are in many other countries.
I think Bulgarians and Romanians would go to England if given the chance.
I was in Bulgaria this summer for vacation and there are strong British links there and the tourist industry functions largely in English. I also read (no idea hwo true this is) that it was easy for non-Bulgarians especially Macedonians, whose country is in horrible shape, to buy Bulgarian passports almost certainly for the intention of travelling to Britain. The estimate of how many of those had been sold was in the tens of thousands (if not more).
A similar situation is found in Romania except the poor passport buying cousins there are Moldavian (and I knew a Romanian professor almost 10 years ago almost his entire social circle had moved to britain then).
The total population of both countries is around 30 million, which could generate a lot more migrants than Britain probably wants, especially with France and Germany acting like free riders and treating the new member states so shabbily.
Germany would siphon off a lot if their economy weren't so controlled. Where I live (western poland) has very little history of immigration to English speaking countries and lots of history of going to Germany, that changed with the open jobs market in Britain and closed market in Germany
Mike - you are right about the ease of getting jobs in the UK - legal or not - and that is something that I am proud of being a Brit. We give anyone a go!
That's really come about since the 1980s, when all those social reforms the French and Germans are scared of making now were pushed through by Thatcher. Now Britain has one of those 'flexible' economies where you cam get a job, lose a job very easily. There is also high employment, again because many employers rip off people by offering miserable temp jobs, or part time with no rights at all.
So Britain will always get immigration. And good. But don't underestimate the links between Italy and Romania. There are 500,000 Romanians in Italy right now, so many will follow them.
Brits ought to be proud that they give opportunity easily.
And those temp jobs may be shit, but they often provide young people with the "experience" they need to get better jobs later -- "experience" which I hear so many unemployed students in Poland complaining about being impossible to get, but which is demanded by decent employers.
Surely one can be proud of one thing and ashamed of another at one time?
I was responding to Beatroot's description of the "flexible" economy - which Britain's certainly is, and of which Brits ought to be proud.
What they ought to be ashamed of is their decision not to make it more flexible, and worse, cherry picking the benefits of EU membership. They are also sending a message to the entire EU that the earlier open-labor experiment was a failure -- which it most certainly wasn't.
op
Britian has been exemplary.
For who? The millions stuck in insecure and temporary employment? All those in de-unionized MacJobs?
It's a good economy to absorb immigrants but it's pretty shitty for millions of others.
Good old Thatcher. Good old Ronnie Reagan! Good old neo-liberals.
And what the fuck is wrong with these comment counters at the moment? Blogger must be run by a bunch of low skilled kids on MacJobs.
What's wrong with the counter?
It should be noted that the UK was one of very few EU states to allow free movement for workers in last batch of new member states (e.g. Poland). Instead of bashing the UK, which has been more generous than most, it would be better to examine EU policy as a whole. It should also be noted that Romania's economy is a lot worse than Poland's, and the resulting brain-drain in Romania would cause a lot of domestic problems. And I'm currently in the UK and unemployed, so it's not as easy to get a job.
Jeff -
This blog has been very critical in the past of other EU members' unwillingness to open their labor markets. It has also praised the UK for opening theirs.
But now what the UK is doing is sending a message that the first "batch" wasn't beneficial, when it was, and give the other members reason to keep their labor markets closed.
Pointing to someone else and saying: "Don't blame us 'cause somebody else is behaving worse" is no defense. Hypocrisy is hypocrisy.
Final score
So...quite a competitive game, then...
The Fireballs continue to improve. They had about half as many players as we did, and we were able to wear them down. They need a lot of work yet, but we were extremely glad that we had an opportunity to play. We love the sport, so we'll get out there on the field any chance we get. We may meet them during the championship weekend on Nov. 12th, so we look forward to that - and we don't expect such a blowout.
Seems to me the Republicans' spin has spun out of control:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-09-poll_x.htm
Also, I think the Dems have to win Congress to set the stage to win the presidency.
Fireballs? I see, too, some teams are playing without helmets. Maybe you can form a special helmetless league for skinhead fascists to wean them away from soccer. In fact, please do!
Well, hope springs eternal. I can't say I don't want USA today to be wrong... but on the other hand I don't see the dems "setting the stage for the presidency". If they do win, I see them going on several witch hunts, holding lots of trials and hearings, and dividing the country even further. That's what the "base" seems to want. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans don't want witch hunts, but they do want competent governing. If that's what the Dems decide to do, it will indeed set the stage for the presidency.
I hate the name "Fireballs", and we duly punished them for their poor choice of name on Sunday. At the moment the league is more-or-less a democracy, and the teams get to decide thier own names. Soon to come will be the Łódź Lemons (Cytryny)-- I hate that one too, but it's what they chose. To be honest, I also hate "The Crew". But I think the name "Pomorze Seahawks is alright, especially since they're from Poland's seaside.
At the moment, the team from Łomża will be the "Hussaria" which I think is a fantastic name, and the Krakow team will be the "Tigers" though I don't understand why they didn't choose the "Dragons" which in my mind would be most appropriate.
Top Cat - As a matter of fact, this blog is not exclusively about Poland - it's about whatever I feel like making it about. We've had numerous discussions about American sports here -- and if you dig way back in the archives, you can find lots of commentary on American politics. I've even had some "complaints" that I don't cover enough American politics -- but at the moment there's so much American political blogging that I don't know if I can add something original. Still, as the midterm elections get closer, expect more about American politics for WS' significant American audience share.
Well, I spoze things could have been worse. They could have monikered themselves the Hotnuts.
Don't worry TC. I won't rub your whiskers in it!
ig da geezer, why not give it a rest. This blog is about Poland. Enough.
Top - but Gustav often posts on US issues. He's a patriot. He especially likes posting on obscure sports with men wearing Edwardian dress. I don't know why. Maybe Warsaw Station is a historical fashion blog.....
it's me deleting, something wrong with blogger...for a change!
A little correction:
Łomża Jackals... Husaria is from Szczecin.
There are also temas forming up in Białystok (Lowlanders), Ostrów Wielkopolski (Islanders), Radom (Hornets), Katowice (Silesia Miners), Nowy Targ (Mountaineers). There is also another team in Wrocław (Devils) and Kraków (Knights).
Greetings from Pomorze Seahawks
Greetings sirmicho. Can't wait to play you.
I know about all those teams coming up -- but will they be able to start next season?
What's in a flag?
do you really think all Foreign Ministry's employees belong to the PIS party and to kaczynski ???
i think you should cool down a little bit...
Of course they don't. Actually most Polish foreign minsitry officials are just functionaries. Professional functionaries. Who function for a living.
Maybe even the dog catcher in America really IS elected?
Of course not. But those at the top have to take responsibility for those they're managing.
And by the way -- PiS has been notorious for its micromanagement since it got into office. If you think there wasn't somebody from PiS involved in the preparations for this meeting then you're kidding yourself.
When a team loses (given the time of year, I can't keep away from the sports metaphors), the coach takes responsibility.
I'm not saying we go all the way up to the Duck brothers, I'm saying this is yet another example of PiS being unable to properly run the government they were elected to.
So maybe you should cool down and think for a moment before you flippantly try to reduce my arguments ad absurdum.
They functioned pretty badly this time, didn't they.
..if the "coach takes responsibility" the US "coaches" should retire every two months or so...
-slavery
-Indian-Reservates
-Roosewelth
http://www.self-gov.org/freeman/8910ebel.html
-hiroshima (was it REALLY tho only way to stop the war ?)
-vietnam
-kissingers massacre in Chile
-the creation of the taliban movement and saddam hussain during the war against russia and iran.
-secret CIA prisons (tortures)
-pollution (Kyoto Protocol)
-Mark Foleys
-monica levinsky
.I could go on...
the creation of the taliban movement and saddam hussain during the war against russia and iran.
You know that is not true. Taliban was an indigenous movement, encouraged and paid for by the Pakistan secret service (to get rid of the Northern Alliance).The US funded all sorts of groups in Afghanistan during the 1980s but they did not ‘create’ the Taliban.
Same with Saddam. He is a product of the old Arab ba'athist nationalism. The US helped destabilize Iraq right from the 1950s (Cold War stuff) and they encouraged Iraq into war with Iran…But they did not ‘create’ Saddam. Iraq did.
And who gives a toss about Lewinski? Not important. Neither, in the long run, is Foley.
Sweet! Tigers win. Even sweeter: Yankees lose AGAIN!
Quite a scene in Detroit after the game. Never saw the players of a winning team running around dousing the fans with champagne like the Tigers did. Wonderful pandemonium!
Let's cheer them on all the way!
Foley is bringing about the downfall of the Republican Party.
An epochal shift.
Tsk.
Thank you for bringing some sense into this conversation beatroot. But I won't argue with anonymous that US leaders (especially THIS administration) have shown their share of incompetence. But that US leaders are incompetent doesn't make this Polish administration less incompetent either.
The Tigers -
I really don't like baseball, and still I'm ecstatic. The lowly Tigers have downed the mighty Yankees. During the regular season the Tigers had plenty of problems with the A's though. It ain't over yet. But I love to see an underdog win -- especially if it's a Detroit underdog (or should I say undercat?).
Foley-
Bringing about the downfall of the Republican party? I'm not that optimistic. The Repub's are great spinners, and Dems always find a way to look terribly opportunistic when it comes to these things. That turns people off. My prediction for next month's elections is that the Dems won't do nearly as well as everybody thinks they will, but they may just squeak it out in the House. That may not be all bad. If they win in Congress now, they will share the blame for everything that goes wrong between now and the Presidential elections in 2008. I'd rather they won the Presidency (and maybe the Congress at the same time....). I can wait two years.
The NFL in Poland?
And for an amazingly well-written overview of American Football in Poland, you can go here: http://www.warsawvoice.pl/view/11066
Go Fireballs! (Sorry Gustav, but they've got so much heart!)
Go Fireballs? There is a team called Fireballs?
Renata=Fiona?
Back where it belongs
So...couldn't they afford to buy a new jug, then? I saw one in IKEA just like that...shall I send them a catalogue?
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