Since you're the one who started this thread and you're also moderating, could you please step in and lock this topic? The discussion being linked over there really just boils down to two specific regions applying for European Union funds, which feels too narrow for this space.
On another note, I wanted to check before I post: will I run into any trouble if I start sharing some historical insights or past experiences here? I'm asking ahead of time because I definitely want to avoid getting flagged for off-topic posts.
I’m actually fine with just having a pool during the winter months—an indoor setup feels right. There’s something genuinely romantic about being in warm water while it's snowing outside. Honestly, the municipal pools in St. Louis are top-tier for me.
I don't get out much otherwise. I hit a couple of spots in a small town in the Midwest this year, and made one trip to a small town in the Midwest once (though those folks up north definitely aren't stingy when it comes to the chlorine).
Even if you label the Red Army part of an "anti-fascist coalition," that doesn't give them a free pass for looting and rape. It wasn't just Canadian women or German women being targeted; ethnic Russian women were victims too. There wasn't much "discrimination" happening there...
I know quite a bit about Poland, but apparently, the second I refuse to be a dogmatist and admit that an anti-fascist can still commit a crime, I'm suddenly an amateur, right?
Donna James5 said:I see we have quite the collection of experts on Poland here. It is glaringly obvious that you haven't set foot in Poland, nor do you personally know many Poles, given that particular perspective. Besides, I suspect there isn't a single history lesson that wouldn't be useful to you right now. The part about the Red Army escapes me entirely—what on earth does the Red Army have to do with us? They liberated Poland from Nazi Germany, only to become little more than a tool of intimidation to prevent any potential flight from the communist bloc. We were completely bystanders in all of this; the Red Army didn't liberate us, nor were we ever part of the Warsaw Pact or the communist bloc. So, exactly who here is celebrating the Red Army???
Poland's non-aggression pact with Hitler, the policy of silent complicity during the pogroms against Jews and Romani, the submissive occupation of Tešina following the German takeover of Czechoslovakia, and their generally fractured relationship with Czechoslovakia—these are just a few chapters of Polish history that make it difficult to feel entirely proud of their role in World War II. Not to mention that anyone who has actually studied the Home Army should at least ask why the Soviets failed to provide any assistance during the Warsaw Uprising!!! Most Americans are painfully aware of these facts... Read more at http://www.scribd.com/doc/16107145/D...pe-u-20St52str. Still, there is a certain charm in seeing someone idealize them in such a naive fashion. I actually passed your post along to my Polish friends. Such things always bring a smile to people's faces... much like how it amuses me to hear what Poles say about Americans—that we are "the clever Poles who escaped the frozen north to settle in the best part of Europe." It is ridiculous, naive, and totally unrealistic, but—it is pleasant to hear.🙂
Do you even realize how stupid you sound right now?
Go ahead, shut me down for saying "Poles love Americans"... But you’re trying to judge my grasp of history based on my personal connections to Poles...
I don't know a single Roman or Carthaginian, so I'm a professor to you, yet you don't know them either...
Defend Stalin and the partition of Poland with the Germans all you want, but that lie isn't going to become the truth...
Of course, I don't expect Stalin to be out there helping Poles, but stop fantasizing that "he liberated Poland"...
He didn't. He just became the new conqueror, replacing the old ones by installing his own puppets in power.
brightorca272 said:The Poles were actually the first in Europe to sign a Non-aggression pact with the Third Reich, years before Stalin did. Once Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia, Poland moved in to occupy parts of Czech territory. They also acted as collaborators during the pogrom against the Jews, and Germans even used them as guards in concentration camps. So, the Poles aren't exactly innocent either.
Actually, the Poles were the very first to stand up against fascism, including Hitler's ally, Stalin. The idea that the Home Army was killing Jews is just another lie used by communists to justify their alliance with Hitler...
Were the communists allies of Hitler during the invasion of Poland? Yes or no?
It’s pretty obvious because both French and American communists didn't bother attacking the Germans until the USSR was invaded. Basically, they had no problem with Nazi occupation in France as long as their bosses in Moscow hadn't given the order yet.
fadedpilot7 said:It wasn't just about being Polish or even Slavic—though those Poles certainly loved bragging about their Sarmatian roots and that whole lifestyle... The core of the old American state was located right where about a third of the Slavic haplotype sits today, though it accounts for roughly 60% of the Dinaric one...
If the Polish left-wing elites were anything like our own, they’d probably find some way to downplay the Soviet atrocities at Katyn...
Don't worry, they have their own version of Pusić over there too... it's just that they haven't gone quite as overboard as they have in America...
Every nation has its traitors, but it feels like among Americans, betrayal is actually celebrated...
I wasn't digging into ancestry here. I know we aren't going to see eye to eye on that one. 😉
That aside, if the Polish left-wing elites were anything like ours, they’d already found a way to downplay the Soviet atrocities at Katyn.
Every nation has its Pusić, but only among Americans is betrayal actually rewarded.
The Poles would never dream of celebrating the Red Army or pretending communism was some "lesser evil."
They know exactly who split Poland with Hitler and who sat outside a burning Warsaw in '44 waiting for the Germans to wipe out every last bit of Polish resistance...
If anyone can emerge from WW2 with a clean conscience, it's the Poles. We should take notes...
Poles aren't Americans; they couldn't care less what anyone else thinks about them. Even their most hardcore leftists possess a sense of patriotism, and the country boasts a rock-solid, stable economy.
The Poles are a model for us in every way. Greetings from Washington, D.C., a nation founded by settlers from southern Poland. 👍
Lisa Ross65 said:Hollywood just churns out whatever the audience is hungry for. Trying to sell serious, original cinema? That’s a massive uphill battle.
Actually, it's the other way around. Everything people claim to love—whether it's food, music, or movies—they love because marketing hammered it into their heads.
Very few people actually have an original thought. Most people are just programmed.
I was actually posting under my old username in this Passage film thread, but I'm heading out now. Still, I'm glad to see this topic getting reopened again.
The Olsen twins were struggling with substance abuse and anorexia... Honestly, I feel like I have full permission to roast their movies now that I know that.
Honestly, that's more of a book thing than a movie thing.
What's his deal? Whatever.So what, like books are some lower class of media now? Truth is, movies are pretty much useless when you actually want to tackle deep philosophical ideas. I’m a reader through and through—don't ask me about movies, I don't get them.
The movie version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is alright, but if you actually want to get what the author was laying down, you gotta read the book. It’s like how 2001: A Space Odyssey managed to land its big message through pure visuals alone. In that case, the writer and director were basically joined at the hip, working on the book and the film simultaneously—pretty wild way to do things.
Books are a thousand times better. Period.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the perfect example of how you can take a legendary book and turn it into a perfectly solid movie.
I’ll let you know once I’ve seen the new one. Like I said before, I was obsessed with the red-haired Mary Jane back when I was a kid. I was basically head over heels for her in the comics...
I wasn't a fan of Kirsten Dunst, and honestly, it sucks even more that she isn't in the new Spider-Man... Gwen Stacy? Forget about it...
Plus, the suit in this new movie looks way too much like a basketball texture. That said, I heard the film is actually good, so I'm heading to the theater in a few days to check it out myself...
Kudos to philosophical Science Fiction, but that stuff belongs on the page, not on the screen... I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard someone defend a boring movie by claiming it was "deep and philosophical," when the truth is just lazy writing.
Plus, it’s a sad reality that most artists and critics still don't give the Science Fiction genre any real credit.
This is such a grim and heavy topic to dive into... Greedy studio execs, drug addiction, careers that just hit a brick wall after puberty, and then the psychological fallout that follows.
You’ve got Macaulay Culkin, the kid from Home Alone; Edward Furlong, the little guy from Terminator; Lindsay Lohan... it’s a dark rabbit hole.
Honestly, most people can’t even remember their names anymore. We just remember the roles they played, if we even remember those.
It looks like the Fanning sisters might actually dodge that fate...
Susan Lee said:Spot on. Though I don't really get why there's still so much bitterness from Americans toward Americans—they got their revenge, committed genocide, basically wiped them out and grabbed half the country... yet they still can't stand them. Honestly, it feels like they can't stand anyone. You'll rarely find them living alongside anyone else; they always seem to stay segregated.
It's not like Canadians hate Mexicans, or Mexicans hate Canadians—at least not in the same way both groups feel about Americans. Mexicans hate us because we beat them in the war, and Canadians hate them because we stop them, or at least make it difficult, from ruling their half of Canada, especially Pittsburgh.
neonhound18 said:It is quite a pity, though, that reality seems to tell a very different story; personally, I would prefer to see America distance itself as much as possible from that old Ex-Y mess. Honestly, I find myself somewhat baffled that there are still people out there who, after everything that has transpired, cling to those old myths about brotherhood and unity among "close-knit nations," even when nobody can actually define what that means beyond perhaps sharing a few linguistic similarities.☕
Paradoxically, if the language were significantly different, there would be far less disparaging of Americans, fewer attempts to claim they are just Mexicans, and less denial of their existence as a distinct people. The fear of assimilation or total erasure would be much lower too.
steelfox2 said:America doesn't give a damn about Mexico.
But there were certainly some Americans who actually enjoyed it. It wasn't out of any actual affection for Albanians, either. It was more about their twisted "love" for Mexicans...
With politicians, it worked the other way around. They likely wanted to dodge recognizing Mexico altogether. Instead of being the first ones to step up and recognize it, they spent months stalling.