hey masta

[masta247]

I think it's a desperate minority but half of the problem is that those people are allowed to work for less than minimum wage. It shows that the system is faulty too. Part of the problem is that there are huge disproportions between what you get for low-level work here vs England. I think it's changing partly at the expense of countries with high minimum wages, where low-level jobs pay more than average.
It was an expected outcome of Schengen - in turn my country is getting elevated prices for basic goods, because low-level workers here will have to earn more - otherwise we will have no low-level workers in Poland or all of them will come from China.
So you either keep what you have in your own country and close the borders or take advantage of international supply/demand if it comes to workers and watch the economic globalization happen.

It was me defending those workers though. I know that a lot of those guys that go there to find work aren't too likeable to English people. Those are people who mostly couldn't handle their lives here - they are desperate. Too bad that Poles get that poor name based on people who weren't able to handle life here.

 

[masta247]

On a side note - look, this is the German national team:

I think I should cheer for Germany more than for Poland. At least there are good Polish players there ;-)

Despite the fact that they play for the German team people here are pretty proud of Podolski and Klose. There are a lot of Polish fans on the stadium there.

 

[S O F I]

It's because they work for less than minimum wage. English people can't afford to do this as they prefer not to have 12 other people living in a 2 bedroom apartment with them. The Polish people (and other nationalities) that come here to work, appear to be willing to do this. I have seen the inside of some of these places. Animals. There is no understanding of hygiene. I presume a lot of them are gypsies.

English people also prefer to work to live, not to live for work. Some might call it laziness. But I prefer to work as little as possible myself. I call it working smart. Anyway.... My office cleaner works from 5am until 3pm, cleaning. He then works in the evenings gardening. He is a fucking hard worker. He sends a lot of money back to Poland, but due to our social system he also gets a lot of benefits, including child support for children who have never set foot in England. Madness.

I am not up to speed on economics, but I can't believe the current model is sustainable. We pay far too much in tax, and the higher earners aren't contributing at all. England also relies heavily on this fake financial model to keep us going. Without investment banks we have very little income. Unless we start turning our hand to manufacturing and invention, like we excelled at a few hundred years ago, we have a weak future. *Looks at Germany for inspiration.

_ I was cheering for the Danes. I like an underdog. The England team being my favourite underdog, obviously.

All I understood was, "Unless we colonize a few nations like we did a few hundred years ago, we have a weak future."

LOL, i had to laugh at that.

 

[Pittsey]

All I understood was, "Unless we colonize a few nations like we did a few hundred years ago, we have a weak future."

LOL, i had to laugh at that.

We were the USA before the USA.

I was talking about engineering and innovation. There seems to be very little of that in the Western World, and particularly England.

I think it's a desperate minority but half of the problem is that those people are allowed to work for less than minimum wage. It shows that the system is faulty too. Part of the problem is that there are huge disproportions between what you get for low-level work here vs England. I think it's changing partly at the expense of countries with high minimum wages, where low-level jobs pay more than average.
It was an expected outcome of Schengen - in turn my country is getting elevated prices for basic goods, because low-level workers here will have to earn more - otherwise we will have no low-level workers in Poland or all of them will come from China.
So you either keep what you have in your own country and close the borders or take advantage of international supply/demand if it comes to workers and watch the economic globalization happen.

It was me defending those workers though. I know that a lot of those guys that go there to find work aren't too likeable to English people. Those are people who mostly couldn't handle their lives here - they are desperate. Too bad that Poles get that poor name based on people who weren't able to handle life here.

They work the cash in hand jobs. Legally, you can't pay less than minimum wage.

 

[S O F I]

One thing I can't wrap my head around is internationalization of national teams. The whole point of cheering for a national team, to me, is that you're cheering for people who share that deep ethnic, national bond with you. The whole point of one nation against another is that you get to see which nation, defined by its borders and ethnic roots, can play better than another. There's this Russian guy on FB who said he'll cheer for Russia until they play Spain or the Netherlands. I'd slap the shit out of him but he knows karate and judo and stuff, cause, well, he's Russian.

and before someone points it out, me cheering for Serbia and not Bosnia is not the same as what that guy is doing so shut up.

 

[S O F I]

We were the USA before the USA.

I was talking about engineering and innovation. There seems to be very little of that in the Western World, and particularly England.

They work the cash in hand jobs. Legally, you can't pay less than minimum wage.

The Western world is still innovating the most. It's just that we innovate and then let China and LDCs manufacture at low cost. Perfect example is the iPod and the iPhone.

As far as engineering, I guess it depends on what type. There's a ton of engineers in the software and financial sectors in the US. Also, in London as well, because it's a huge financial hub.

 

[Pittsey]

I agree. I only want people who are English. I don't mind first generation English, as long as they were born and have lived here all their life, and actually feel English. Danny Welbeck, for example, has Ghanian parents. But he feels English (because he is), and England is his home. SOFI - I imagine you would chose the USA as your national team for sports over Serbia?

I hate people who wear Brazil shirts because they are successful. What's that about? Although I haven't worn a football shirt since I was 15.

 

[Flipmo]

Fully agree. That said, it's a bit different in the Balkans... due to long historical and cultural ties I don't see any wrong in cheering for the likes of Bosnia. That said, I wouldn't ever wear a jersey from a different national team than Croatia's. I see people wear Brazil jerseys, then Italy jerseys another week. GTFO BANDWAGON BOY. In regards to ethnicities of players, I wouldn't want the Croatian NT to look like France for example.

 

[Pittsey]

The Western world is still innovating the most. It's just that we innovate and then let China and LDCs manufacture at low cost. Perfect example is the iPod and the iPhone.

I need more than Apple products to counter my point. Apart from Germany, who have 30 massive engineering companies, which other country is innovating on a scale comparable to Japan, Korea or China.

 

[S O F I]

I agree. I only want people who are English. I don't mind first generation English, as long as they were born and have lived here all their life, and actually feel English. Danny Welbeck, for example, has Ghanian parents. But he feels English (because he is), and England is his home. SOFI - I imagine you would chose the USA as your national team for sports over Serbia?

I still root for Serbia because I came here when I was 11 and I was already naturally accustomed to cheer for Serbia because I lived there in my formative (you could say) child years from age 7-11 (ha, 7-11). Also, while I will maintain that I'd never leave the US for Serbia or Bosnia because I just like the US in most ways, I can't fully cheer for them on the international stage because the team represents the US, duh, and its foreign policy in a way. I was bombed twice by US in both Bosnia and Serbia. So because I was a kid when that happened, there was that resentment that formed that I can't just get rid of easily.

Fully agree. That said, it's a bit different in the Balkans... due to long historical and cultural ties I don't see any wrong in cheering for the likes of Bosnia. That said, I wouldn't ever wear a jersey from a different national team than Croatia's. I see people wear Brazil jerseys, then Italy jerseys another week. GTFO BANDWAGON BOY. In regards to ethnicities of players, I wouldn't want the Croatian NT to look like France for example.

Yeah, I agree in regards to the Balkans. Also, in regards to Ukrainians for example, I don't see a problem with them cheering for Russia, depending on which side of Ukraine they live. Some have deeper ties to Russia than others.

 

[Flipmo]

Yeah. It all depends. I find myself being more lenient with Eastern Europeans as it shifted so many time geo-politically and for the most part the history and culture of the region has spread pretty far. Also, I think a lot of people confuse the likes of supporting and wishing a team well. Like Pittsey said, he wanted the Danes to win, doesn't mean he'll be running around with a Denmark jersey. For me, I'd obviously like to see the Balkans do very well, and to a lesser extent most Slavic/Eastern European teams. But I kept my supporting heart for Croatia obviously.

I remember during Euro 08, there were hardly any Spain fans in my city, as there are very little Spaniards that immigrated here. We have a lot of South Americans though, it seemed like with every round they got through more and more 'fans' kept joining in until they won the final and we had to close down a damn street for their partying. These are fucking South Americans; Mexicans, Columbians, Guatemalans running around with Spain jerseys like they won something. Bitch, GTFO. The Conquistadors ran a train on y'all more than 300 years ago. Most Spaniards from proper Spain give two shits about Latin America.

 

[S O F I]

I need more than Apple products to counter my point. Apart from Germany, who have 30 massive engineering companies, which other country is innovating on a scale comparable to Japan, Korea or China.

Yeah, I know, I just picked the easiest one. I'm too lazy to go looking for data to prove my point and defining innovation is a bit tricky (we probably see it differently). But my point is, we don't need manufacturing to succeed. We need manufacturing only in the sense that unskilled laborers need something to do. But we're OK and better for it, with being service-oriented economies. People need to get rid of the archaic notion that a country has to produce a tangible, physical good, to be successful.

 

[Pittsey]

Yeah, I know, I just picked the easiest one. I'm too lazy to go looking for data to prove my point and defining innovation is a bit tricky (we probably see it differently). But my point is, we don't need manufacturing to succeed. We need manufacturing only in the sense that unskilled laborers need something to do. But we're OK and better for it, with being service-oriented economies. People need to get rid of the archaic notion that a country has to produce a tangible, physical good, to be successful.

Financial services are a house of cards though. You can't build the foundations of your economic success on that.

I still root for Serbia because I came here when I was 11 and I was already naturally accustomed to cheer for Serbia because I lived there in my formative (you could say) child years from age 7-11 (ha, 7-11). Also, while I will maintain that I'd never leave the US for Serbia or Bosnia because I just like the US in most ways, I can't fully cheer for them on the international stage because the team represents the US, duh, and its foreign policy in a way. I was bombed twice by US in both Bosnia and Serbia. So because I was a kid when that happened, there was that resentment that formed that I can't just get rid of easily.

I didn't realise you came to the USA that late. That is understandable.

 

[S O F I]

Yeah. It all depends. I find myself being more lenient with Eastern Europeans as it shifted so many time geo-politically and for the most part the history and culture of the region has spread pretty far. Also, I think a lot of people confuse the likes of supporting and wishing a team well. Like Pittsey said, he wanted the Danes to win, doesn't mean he'll be running around with a Denmark jersey. For me, I'd obviously like to see the Balkans do very well, and to a lesser extent most Slavic/Eastern European teams. But I kept my supporting heart for Croatia obviously.

I remember during Euro 08, there were hardly any Spain fans in my city, as there are very little Spaniards that immigrated here. We have a lot of South Americans though, it seemed like with every round they got through more and more 'fans' kept joining in until they won the final and we had to close down a damn street for their partying. These are fucking South Americans; Mexicans, Columbians, Guatemalans running around with Spain jerseys like they won something. Bitch, GTFO. The Conquistadors ran a train on y'all more than 300 years ago. Most Spaniards from proper Spain give two shits about Latin America.

There's this American dude on FB talking shit about Croatia right now because of the Irish loss, saying they shouldn't have won because they have only one decent player. I felt the urge to talk shit back (cause I gotta stick up for my balkans lol) but I just don't know enough.

 

[Pittsey]

There's this American dude on FB talking shit about Croatia right now because of the Irish loss, saying they shouldn't have won because they have only one decent player. I felt the urge to talk shit back (cause I gotta stick up for my balkans lol) but I just don't know enough.

lol

One decent player more than Ireland then....!

I hate fake Irish Americans. Really pisses me off. My Nan was Irish. But I consider myself 100% English, so does my Dad. How many generations are Americans going to claim heritage. How many times has he been to Ireland? He needs to bore off.

 

[masta247]

Lol, Croatian fans:

 

[Flipmo]

There's this American dude on FB talking shit about Croatia right now because of the Irish loss, saying they shouldn't have won because they have only one decent player. I felt the urge to talk shit back (cause I gotta stick up for my balkans lol) but I just don't know enough.

That makes no sense. He's probably talking about Modric, who was great today, but Mandzukic and Jelavic are the goal scorers, and Perisic was great as well. The Irish should have gotten a penalty shot, but their defenders were all over the place. That's why we won.

 

[masta247]

Sweden Fans are okay too:

 

[Flipmo]

Much love to the Ruskies as well.

And to make up for those drunken old witches in the other thread.

 

[masta247]

The first chick has a really nice face.

I stalked her:

But someone hits her already