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SaltyJesus posted:I don't do communism/WW2 tours or "The House of Terror" type stuff because I'm not particularly interested in paying for the experience of being propagandaed at What exactly are you trying to say here?
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Jul 10, 2017 01:48
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Hey I'm a whiteboy from America who really wants to know more about Ukraine. If I ask some stupid questions please don't chase me off. I was just boo-ing in the Trump thread about Paul Manafort. Can I ask your opinions on this guy? Anybody in the region. I know it's a very general question, but general answers are good when you want personal opinions imo.
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Jul 10, 2017 02:02
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KickerOfMice posted:Hey I'm a whiteboy from America who really wants to know more about Ukraine. If I ask some stupid questions please don't chase me off. I was just boo-ing in the Trump thread about Paul Manafort. Can I ask your opinions on this guy? Anybody in the region. I'm a whiteboy from America who spends an inordinate amount of time in Ukraine. And EE generally. What do you want to know?
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Jul 10, 2017 02:04
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spacetoaster posted:I'm a whiteboy from America who spends an inordinate amount of time in Ukraine. And EE generally. Well first, how safe would it be for your average joe from America to travel there, say to Kiev? (My world travels include: Canada.) I was honestly asking peoples' opinions locally about Paul Manafort, if there are any. I got this book But I am a dumb and it's a long read. I'm not so sure why there's a soft spot in my heart for this place/people, but the more I learn, the more I like. I don't mean to be cheesy. Also: What's the best Ukranian dinner? Is the infrastructure there as terrifying as the Russian [FAIL LOL] videos I have seen? And not a question but a statement. Ukraine has the best loving battle flag on the planet. KickerOfMice fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Jul 10, 2017 |
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Jul 10, 2017 02:16
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I mean I'm obviously not planning an immediate trip, and I don't wanna junk up the thread. Just Curious!
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Jul 10, 2017 02:23
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KickerOfMice posted:Well first, how safe would it be for your average joe from America to travel there, say to Kiev? (My world travels include: Canada.) I was honestly asking peoples' opinions locally about Paul Manafort, if there are any. I got this book But I am a dumb and it's a long read. I'm not so sure why there's a soft spot in my heart for this place/people, but the more I learn, the more I like. I don't mean to be cheesy. Absolutely safe. I've got cousins in Kiev and it's business as usual. If I'm just passing through (catching a train usually) I'll stay here: https://www.booking.com/hotel/ua/chetire-sesona-borispol.html The lady that runs the place will pick you up at the airport and drop you off wherever you need to be the next morning (for a reasonable tip/fee). Also, if you've got no time to go out for a meal, she'll cook you something.
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Jul 10, 2017 03:39
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I've been to Kiev twice fairly recently and my wife was there a few months ago, it's totally fine. I mean it's not fine but the reasons for it not being fine have nothing to do with the war and everything to do with crippling corruption and horrible drivers.
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Jul 10, 2017 03:49
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Despite the fact that going to Donetsk would be dangerous, going to Kiev is fine, the same way that going to Chechnya would be dangerous but going to Moscow or Petersburg is fine.
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Jul 10, 2017 05:10
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Riding with Ukrainian "cab" drivers who consistently drove on the wrong side of serpentine Carpathian roads, while going over the speed limit, just because "that side has fewer potholes" remains the most terrifying experience of my admittedly coddled life.
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Jul 10, 2017 09:52
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Russia (Petersburg) is similar there. Traffic is utterly terrifying. You try crossing the road and it feels like everyone is trying to speed to run you over. Also has the whole phenomenon of "cab" drivers. Seemed every car doubled as a cab if they felt like it, once I hitched a ride in a dumpy old Lada that the driver pushed past 90 down the street which is about when I realized that the seat I was sitting in was loose and not bolted or fastened to anything in the car, it was just lying there wobbling around.
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Jul 10, 2017 15:10
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Randarkman posted:Russia (Petersburg) is similar there. Traffic is utterly terrifying. You try crossing the road and it feels like everyone is trying to speed to run you over. Also has the whole phenomenon of "cab" drivers. Seemed every car doubled as a cab if they felt like it, once I hitched a ride in a dumpy old Lada that the driver pushed past 90 down the street which is about when I realized that the seat I was sitting in was loose and not bolted or fastened to anything in the car, it was just lying there wobbling around. At least you didn't get a Soviet car old enough to not have a seatbelt at all. Although these should be banned, the Russian Empire and the USSR were remarkably eager to adhere to international traffic regulations.
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Jul 10, 2017 15:23
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Pride parade in Tallinn, there were a few troublemakers but they were dealt with http://www.delfi.ee/news/paevauudis...Gqy8BCNsYUa0cTW (link to a picture, takes a few seconds to load) In Russia they have those StopHam fellows who go around blocking drivers who drive on the sidewalk, or park in the public transport lane. Their videos are quite amusing.
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Jul 10, 2017 15:28
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While amusing, yes, they are a United Russia PR tool.
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Jul 10, 2017 15:31
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steinrokkan posted:Riding with Ukrainian "cab" drivers who consistently drove on the wrong side of serpentine Carpathian roads, while going over the speed limit, just because "that side has fewer potholes" remains the most terrifying experience of my admittedly coddled life.
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Jul 10, 2017 16:06
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Make sure to ride a rush hour marshrutka or take an over night train somewhere in platzkart.
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Jul 10, 2017 16:23
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A bit off topic: am traveling through Eastern Europe on a bike alone and with a tent on the back. Am currently near Krakow. Am going to keep ob heading south(ish). Already visites Suwalki park and bloody ejlnjoyed the spot. Any advice on a destination? I did the same last year and went through Brasov in Romania, Burgas in Bulgaria and a fe places arouns Serbia and Hungary. Got to tell you this: Eastern Europe is loving awesome. Just wish Poland would get those roads done as I almost crashed into a pile of sand while trying to drive around a car accident.
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Jul 10, 2017 18:54
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Cugel the Clever posted:What's the story behind the Czech Republic and Estonia being as non-religious as they are? (and where's Slovakia on this chart?) Estonians are traditionally Lutherans, who in general aren't fiercely religious these days, and I would wager the large Russian minority brought by Stalin is not all that convinced that God exists.
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Jul 10, 2017 20:48
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Nenonen posted:Estonians are traditionally Lutherans, who in general aren't fiercely religious these days, and I would wager the large Russian minority brought by Stalin is not all that convinced that God exists.
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Jul 10, 2017 20:53
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Thanks for your responses, everyone! I'm thinking maybe next year sometime, if the planet doesn't catch entirely on fire by then.
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Jul 11, 2017 04:16
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KickerOfMice posted:Thanks for your responses, everyone! I'm thinking maybe next year sometime, if the planet doesn't catch entirely on fire by then. If you find yourself in Zakarpattya then we could meet up depending on my teaching schedule and when you visit.
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Jul 11, 2017 12:15
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Karmalis posted:Eastern Europe is loving awesome  quote:Just wish Poland would get those roads done as I almost crashed into a pile of sand while trying to drive around a car accident.  There's, like, medieval texts of foreign merchants already bitching about the sorry state of Poland's road network.
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Jul 11, 2017 12:32
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Lichtenstein posted:
There are only two things that remain constant in the Universe - human stupidity and the road network of Poland.
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Jul 11, 2017 12:36
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Hey, EE is pretty loving awesome if you get to leave afterwards!
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Jul 11, 2017 12:48
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Debate & Discussion > Eastern Europe: loving awesome when you get to leave it
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Jul 11, 2017 14:41
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Caspian Report on Poland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmQGJ4gkMEM
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Jul 11, 2017 20:29
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Estonia right now has the presidency of the council of the EU. Well... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj0DJ-eNv_M I heard that our minister of entrepreneurship / IT was even worse at some press conference, but I haven't seen it. I do not dare to look it up either.
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Jul 11, 2017 21:47
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Lichtenstein posted:
but you see, black plague cannot infect you if there are no roads for it to spread by. 
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Jul 12, 2017 00:21
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Poland was spared the black plague, so instead they invented the plait.
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Jul 12, 2017 10:23
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cinci zoo sniper posted:There are only two things that remain constant in the Universe - human stupidity and the road network of Poland. Might not be as constant much longer. since joining the EU there has been a huge development in Poland. This is a small flash app that displays the existing and under construction motorway network for each year, from 1936 to 2012, when the app was made. Data since that year is not entirely correct, but the displayed network for 2016 is correct for 2017. Click on each year in the middle column to se the status for that year. Green is completed, red is under construction: http://stadiony.klszarak.org/scc_a_s.swf Worth noting that the only motorways in Poland from 1936 to 1977 were those that were built by Nazi Germany.
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Jul 12, 2017 10:45
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catfry posted:Might not be as constant much longer. since joining the EU there has been a huge development in Poland.
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Jul 12, 2017 13:34
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sorry, not to my knowledge. I have taken some screen grabs: 1977  2002  2012 
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Jul 12, 2017 15:14
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In news that should surprise no one. Crimea is not doing so hot under Russian rule. Most of the site is under a pay-wall (I think you get one free article) but I've taken out this choice quote for context: quote:Economic conditions on the peninsula, meanwhile, have deteriorated markedly under Russian rule. Agriculture, once the mainstay of the local economy, has collapsed, with production of staples such as rice, soy, and corn now “almost fully destroyed,” and a surge in the once largely self-sufficient region’s need to import commodities like milk, meat, and eggs. (In just one example, Crimean meat production fell by an estimated 84 percent over the course of 2016.) The region’s banking sector, meanwhile, has cratered, ravaged by Western sanctions and an exodus of Ukrainian financial institutions that has led to an increasingly cash-intensive economy.
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Jul 13, 2017 18:15
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This one is frightening if true (the frame up part, if the other part is true it's just sad) https://www.yahoo.com/news/hunter-stalins-mass-graves-trial-friends-hes-framed-102350054.html Guy who is known for finding proof Stalin was a jerk rung up on child porn charges. He was asked to go to a police station to explain an antique gun he had and entirely by coincidence while he's there mysterious parties break into his house and copy all his files. Said mysterious people anonymously forward pictures to police.
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Jul 13, 2017 18:26
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Just dropping by to say that the weirdest crossover happened and Pewdiepie made a video about Janusz Korwin Mikke.
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Jul 13, 2017 19:45
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Palpek posted:Just dropping by to say that the weirdest crossover happened and Pewdiepie made a video about Janusz Korwin Mikke.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrDD5NTnoU4 *watches first minute* I get why you didn't post it. 
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Jul 13, 2017 19:47
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Randarkman posted:Russia (Petersburg) is similar there. Traffic is utterly terrifying. You try crossing the road and it feels like everyone is trying to speed to run you over. Also has the whole phenomenon of "cab" drivers. Seemed every car doubled as a cab if they felt like it, once I hitched a ride in a dumpy old Lada that the driver pushed past 90 down the street which is about when I realized that the seat I was sitting in was loose and not bolted or fastened to anything in the car, it was just lying there wobbling around. Traffic when I was in Saint Petersburg was mostly completely immobile, though I think that was the fault of the Confederations Cup. cinci zoo sniper posted:At least you didn't get a Soviet car old enough to not have a seatbelt at all. Although these should be banned, the Russian Empire and the USSR were remarkably eager to adhere to international traffic regulations. The ancient GAZ jeeps that ferry people around Olkhon and have 6 extra seats bolted in without seatbelts are great fun.
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Jul 14, 2017 03:26
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My grandpa had Gaz 69A when I was a kid. 
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Jul 14, 2017 05:17
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Not nearly enough making fun of ZAZ here.
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Jul 14, 2017 11:19
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Since the end of march, some guy has been making a podcast on Polish history: "The History of Poland Podcast" http://historyofpoland.libsyn.com/2017
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Jul 14, 2017 13:37
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cinci zoo sniper posted:My grandpa had Gaz 69A when I was a kid. It's one of the most versatile all-terrain vehicles I have ever seen. The versatility comes at the cost of every imaginable car comfort invented after 1932. edit: drat thought of the later UAZ.
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Jul 14, 2017 13:56
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