Polak? Hmmm.

i was in Gdansk for new year. where abouts were you Pete?

Pete

You should try Fox News. Plenty of favourable coverage for the Republicans there and loads of "fair and balanced" commentators in the Rush Limbaugh mode.

Like Alan Colmes, for example.

You mean they have a token liberal?

I'm sure Alan would be outraged to hear that. I note that Fox provides right and left with commentators on most debates - compare that to the rancid BBC.

Daytripper -

I was in a village a couple of hours northeast of Wroclaw. Kalisc is the nearest town. I notice now that it was Southern Prussia in the 15th-17th centuries. I know one thing - when that wind blows in from the east it cuts through you. Now back in Blighty, the weather feels balmy. But do as the locals do, I say, hence the vast amounts of vodka that were put away.

Very nice!

How are our fellow Europeans over in Poland? ;)

Reginald -

Don't be so impertinent.

Peter -

Forget 'favourable' coverage for Republicans, there hasn't been any coverage in a week. I can't even tell you which RINO won in NH. The word 'republican' hasn't been mentioned once. A Polish relative (God help me) wondered if Clinton vs Obama was the presidential race, so lacking in republicans have the news channels been. Come November, in the event of another RINO in the White House, most of Britain will think "who on earth is he?"

Pete: A Polish relative? Now we'll have to wonder if the danger interbreeding is from the Moores instead of the Moors.

Couldn't resist!

Sounds like an interesting trip.

"Forget 'favourable' coverage for Republicans, there hasn't been any coverage in a week. I can't even tell you which RINO won in NH."

To be honest Pete Ron Paul's landslide victory took us all by surprise.

Ross: LOL.

The word 'republican' hasn't been mentioned once.

LOL! On Fox, republican is the only game in town.

Of course lefties will see Fox as biased. They allow the (nominal) right to get a share of the microphone: therefore biased. For real bias, check the BBC. Now that's bias that they can no longer be bothered to hide.

Pete Moore: The mainstream media is hopeless. Buy your relatives a laptop. (and high speed cable connection - is that happening much in Poland?)

Patty - Is it your contention that the mainstream media is not covering the Republican primaries?

Patty -

It is happening, but I was staying in a rural area and these things take time to roll out. The Poles are an enterprising bunch all in all but your infrastructure is bound to be a bit ropey after half a century of socialism.

I'm not complaining about it though. Being offline means one less diversion, and when the local fun is wild boar hunting, ice fishing and downing lots of vodka, don't go against local custom is what I say.

They allow the (nominal) right to get a share of the microphone:

Yeah, a 90% share.

Pete - be glad you don't live here. Right now we know what color their underwear is and when they last burped.

Information overload on all of them. Bleh.

Mahons: "Is it your contention that the mainstream media is not covering the Republican primaries?"

No.

I was making a sweeping generalization about the state of MSM globally.

I was also curious about how much internet access there is in Poland. I've been told by Poles in LA that roads etc. still aren't great in Poland, and I just wanted to know if the internet was starting to show up yet. Knowing the industrious Poles, when it takes off, it will really be something.

Patty: Thanks. And I admire the Poles as well. Can't wait to contribute to A Tangled Perogie.

Patty its Poland. Not Tora Bora.

Its internet build out is probably at a better pace than much of the USA. Where the telcos are bottlenecking deliberately so they can tier the networks. Go "free" market.

Daytripper: Do you live on another planet?

yes. i live on earth.

what part do you have a problem with? your rankings in world connection league falling from 3rd to 16th? yes its deliberate, and is connected to the (internet) deregulation efforts of corporate media and the telcos. Create a problem (bottlenecking), that never existed and offer a solution (tiered networks).

Why? because they cant compete in a free market and are using their usual tactics, and privileged positions to undermine it.

Patty -

A decent broadband connection is no problem in any urban area in Poland, but I was in the equivalent of Montana.

The roads though - by God they're dreadful. It's not just the condition, but outside of the shiny, new, and still under construction motorway which will link Warsaw with Berlin, dual carriageways are virtually unheard of. Even the main roads are single carriageways.

What this means is that you're only going as fast as the slowest thing on the road; if you're lucky that's a Russian truck, if your luck's out it's a Soviet-era tractor. It must be all as usual to the locals, but to me each journey takes 3-4 times longer than it would do here.

We need never have worried about Soviet divisions rolling west; they'd have been stuck behind a farmer just outside of Poznan. But the motorways are coming, and they're not bad too I'm glad to say, seeing as I'm paying for it. At every bridge there's the mark of the Devil, the dark blue flag of the EU with the ring of stars. But this is one imperial conquest the commies are all in favour of.

But as I said above, they're an enterprising outfit and work harder than you-know-what. Crime's low, welfare is what your nan gives you on your birthday and they aren't a post-religious society. If we can withstand the deprivations of the EU Poland is set well to prosper.

If they can stop the Huns and Russkies from invading again.

Eastern Prussia?

Nice :)