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Welp. Putin just signed "friendship and cooperation aggreements" with both the breakway regions in Ukraine. Basically he just made them into pieces of Russia. This is not good.BBC posted:"BREAKING https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60454795
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Feb 21, 2022 20:42
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GyverMac posted:Welp. Putin just signed "friendship and cooperation aggreements" with both the breakway regions in Ukraine. Basically he just made them into pieces of Russia. This is not good. We gave a containment thread for that, please follow directions in the OP.
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Feb 21, 2022 21:09
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In other important news: it's now 3 days until Fat Thursday.
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Feb 22, 2022 00:10
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People have been buying up paączki for the last two Thursdays because lent and easter are so late this year and everybody thinks the drat doughnut day should have happened by now.
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Feb 22, 2022 00:15
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This might be a big ask, but I need some help to better understand the mindset that blames 'The West' for forcing the privatization and shock therapy that the post-USSR countries, especially Russia, went through in the early 90s. Some reading material would be fine. I fully agree that that mass privatization was a terrible strategy the consequences of which many countries might never recover from, but I still see it less of an intentional effort to hamstring the new Russian Federation and more a case of terrible ideas being popular among economists at the time, even in the west, especially in places like the UK and US. e: biased sources are fine, if there's no truth to the claim. can't read russian unfortunately. Elizabeth Cluppins fucked around with this message at 08:28 on Feb 22, 2022 |
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Feb 22, 2022 08:22
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Elizabeth Cluppins posted:This might be a big ask, but I need some help to better understand the mindset that blames 'The West' for forcing the privatization and shock therapy that the post-USSR countries, especially Russia, went through in the early 90s. Some reading material would be fine. This was carried out with the endorsement of the Clinton administration, which zealously followed the advice of the most prominent and qualified economists they can find...meaning wastes of oxygen like Larry Summers, who from his various highly influential posts backed this process through the 90s not only in Russia but throughout the world. Anyone with a modicum of economics training who doesn't have spitting contempt for Larry Summers can't be trusted to cross the street on their own.
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Feb 22, 2022 10:09
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That's a great question and I would appreciate some good reading suggestions on the topic too. In the Baltics we also had Chicago school advisors during the 90s advising on various steps to move to the market economy with mixed results, but in the end our strategic transportation/energy/health sectors are state-owned with little support for privatizing even though we had kind of a reputation of being neoliberal hellholes/Scandinavian colonies. To my understanding Russia had a big powerful nomenclature that drove the push for privatizing strategic assets with ideological backing from free marketers while in the Baltics there was less political will for that and some fear of assets falling into hostile hands, but even then I've heard stories of armed thugs in courthouses during hearings of passing on [minor] state assets. Also heard stores about US consultants for the privatization of more significant assets like an oil refinery being paid like 5000$/day with all costs covered too and... not good results. This ties in to the politics of today in that sometimes you see democratic/anti-corruption politicians in EE treated with the suspicion sometimes to the level of a caricature of a suited wall street manager from 1994 with the sole goal of trying to privatize everything to international corporations [in spooky caps] and destroy the state, which is not unwarranted but sometimes very much disconnected from reality Speaking of, in news that are getting drowned out by that other thing, Navalny's court case is being heard now and he is probably going to get 10-15 years more. One of the witnesses against him yesterday directly said that during the investigation he was being pressured by the prosecution to sign a made up case and threatened if he refuses to do it. Today he didn't show up but seems to be ok, just understandably fearful for his safety https://theins.ru/news/248758 Somaen fucked around with this message at 10:22 on Feb 22, 2022 |
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Feb 22, 2022 10:19
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Elizabeth Cluppins posted:This might be a big ask, but I need some help to better understand the mindset that blames 'The West' for forcing the privatization and shock therapy that the post-USSR countries, especially Russia, went through in the early 90s. Some reading material would be fine. So, the fall of the Iron Curtain wasn't just a political reform, but basically failed states giving way, right? Things were desperate when you wanted to keep the ship running and events like selling a factory to a guy who just rolled in with a briefcase full of money to close the monthly budget. Hell, as ridiculous as it sounds, I know it to be an open secret circling among the power grid people that a big reason behind not picking up the stalled Żarnowiec nuclear power plant project was the Minister of Agriculture going apeshit that Russia would embargo apple exports. Now at this point, with a bunch of people having to figure out the whole market economy fast, they were thrown into a world of neolibs at their peak. We're talking missing Reagan's presidency by a handful of years. So to start with, even if assuming complete good faith, it was just the kind of poo poo the western economists would push, the zeitgeist of the time - and people were eager to eat a lot of it up out of a general strong "like West = good, like soviets = bad" sentiment, which understandably was pretty strong at the time. But it wasn't all done in good faith, as anyone the states turned to for much-needed loans knew they had a knife put to their throats. The big financial institutions in particular (IMF, World Bank, etc.) were pretty lovely about pushing their neolib vision of westernization, such as forcing mandatory participation in (the disastrous failure of) private pension funds. As if often the case with these kinds of economics, it's debatable how much of it was legitimately ideology-driven and how much a grift to set up their banking buddies to have new toys to play with on the stock market. Though it's much easier to tell who ended up benefiting from it. Having said that, some of the anger at the western capital is likely misplaced for the shortcomings of governance, such as the failure to support dying industrial towns. Private factories might come and go, but there's ultimately only so much you could expect from a private business: don't be evil, perhaps, but it's ultimately not your job to arrange for the region's greater wellbeing. For example, there's some distressing accounts from Łódź - often dubbed 'the Detroit of Poland' - where regular textile workers were so desperate about keeping their production plants running they were asking for a chance to pitch in from their own meager savings, for as little as it would do. When begging the government to help somehow, they merely got a suit from the capital to come over and tell them directly that there's little use for that, that their life's work is worthless because western textiles are of a higher quality and they wouldn't be able to compete on a Real Market anyway. So when all major employers in your city are either dying or get bought in a shady deal and then maybe restructure or fold as well, but sure are doing whatever the gently caress they want, thanks to raging unemployment, it's not unreasonable for some folks to perceive it as a bunch of dudes suddenly appearing to rob your land for all it's worth. Alas, don't have any decent writing in English to recommend.
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Feb 22, 2022 11:30
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Here’s an article about Baltics on this subject, that I like. It’s in English. https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1406217/neoliberal-zeal-spelled-two-decades-of-absolute-tragedy-for-baltic-development-interview
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Feb 22, 2022 11:39
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A little bit about LGBT in Poland - even if the general social attitude towards LGBT people would be fine (it's not), the law and the judicature is hostile, as are many people connected to/from the government. E.g.: - trans people cannot change their stated gender without suing their parents for lying on the birth certificate or something (I know it's not that specifically, but it's that in practice, and doesn't help in the transition any). The article in the law is old and could be easily changed, but, well - gay couples that were married outside the country don't have their marriage certificate held as legitimate - after all, there's no gay marriage here. About the only win in that was that during the national census they could say they are same-sex married, even though the law doesn't support that - there was a recent court case of a gay couple (a Pole and a Canadian, I think?) who had a child for whom the Canadian was the biological father, but they were both written as parents in the birth certificate - and they had to endure long court fight in order to get Polish citizenship for the child, since there was no mother for the child - the president ,,mistakes" gay married olympic athlete, using her maiden name, even though she has a hypheneted one - the second part being from her wife (all the more ridiculous since his wife also has a hyphenated name) - the same president using the menace of LGBT ideology during the campaign - loving Ordo Iuris, and their constant fight with the gay scourge and homosexual agenda - and some of the court cases they fight in are also assisted by government officials There's more, but the picture is: the laws are not being changed for the people, rather the other way around - there had been some loopholes found, but they can just as easily be closed. And even if you get married somewhere and return with your wife/husband you might just learn it doesn't count... To be honest, I don't know how much of that is specific to Poland:/ Szurumbur fucked around with this message at 13:08 on Feb 22, 2022 |
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Feb 22, 2022 13:03
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Ordo Juris is a great story for the ages. It’s a religious think-tank/law firm, initially financed by some Brazilian yahoos tied to Opus Dei. It’s staff are exclusively lawyers. They’ve inserted themselves into all religion-adjacent cases, provided pro-bono help and even drafted some of the most hardcore legislation, including the anti-abortion laws. Few weeks ago most of Ordo Juris splintered into a new organization, headed by the up-till-then second in command, one mr. Zych, who claimed the organization was too hardcore in pursuing its goals and that he always envisioned it as more of a forum of though exchange. In response, the guy running the organization, mr. Kwasniewski, pointed out the was down to moral issues - namely, mr Zych having an extramarital affair with one of the org’s top female lawyers, Pawlowska herself married. Oh, also, Zych was a witness on Pawlowska’s wedding. He also got his teeth punched by Pawlowska’s furious husband when he arrived one day at the Ordo office. It’s also worth noting Pawlowska ran an online presence where she highlighted the virtue of being in a catholic relationship (until she didn’t). This resulted in a new meme, based on a real wedding photo showing Zych in the middle and the then-happy couple in the middle. 
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Feb 22, 2022 13:17
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Is Zych labeled as ... holy spirit?
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Feb 22, 2022 14:08
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OddObserver posted:Is Zych labeled as ... holy spirit? Yes, because he impregnated Mary.
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Feb 22, 2022 14:13
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The best part about the Ordo Iuris scandal is that the two lovebirds started their affair when they were working together on the organization's project to push for abolishing divorce. 
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Feb 22, 2022 16:06
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I can see how this can bring two people together.
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Feb 22, 2022 16:59
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Wait, Prima Nocta is not part of the sacrament??
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Feb 22, 2022 17:06
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Oh, one more thing I forgot about (this is an anecdote, but interesing, I think): some documents (forms) were being translated, from English to Polish. The English ones had the form of "Parent 1, Parent 2" - the translation that the first translator defaulted to? "Ojciec, matka"
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Feb 22, 2022 17:15
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At this rate, I’ll be surprised if there’s any Russian language TV on air in the Baltics by 2023. Edit: https://www.lsm.lv/raksts/zinas/arz...laciju.a444790/ Already, drat cinci zoo sniper fucked around with this message at 20:26 on Feb 22, 2022 |
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Feb 22, 2022 20:16
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cinci zoo sniper posted:At this rate, I’ll be surprised if there’s any Russian language TV on air in the Baltics by 2023. Why not? Would it not be better if the Russian speaking population was watching locally produced media and news instead of Russian crap? Like, producing good relevant media in Russian seems like a really good way to prevent your population from getting brainwashed by Russian propaganda and disinformation.
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Feb 22, 2022 21:14
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Zudgemud posted:Why not? Would it not be better if the Russian speaking population was watching locally produced media and news instead of Russian crap? Like, producing good relevant media in Russian seems like a really good way to prevent your population from getting brainwashed by Russian propaganda and disinformation. I support shutting down Russian propaganda broadcasts here, and the edit was to express surprise at how quickly things are moving that way. That said, I think this will be a non-measure in Latvia specifically, since our political apparatus will never subsidize media in Russian, and so there won't be any replacement content. People who relied on landline TV will just get Russian satellites, or watch their poo poo online, escaping the national media environment completely. Which does frustrate me immensely, since the majority of my social circles here are Russian speakers, and I do agree that providing them with alternative information channels would've been a solid way to combat Kremlin's influence.
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Feb 22, 2022 21:21
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I wonder how will they could compete given the likely difference in production values, though. Not that they should not try.
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Feb 22, 2022 21:42
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OddObserver posted:I wonder how will they could compete given the likely difference in production values, though. Not that they should not try. They would definitely not be able to compete in entertainment television, but that's not what I'm thinking about. Currently, we have no popular Russian language TV channels with news broadcasts that are not under subject to Kremlin's influence, and just a single decent news website in Russian (which sees way less work put into it than its Latvian page). We used to have national TV retranslated in Russian, but it was this 90s-style crap network that wasn't even watched any much in Latvian. In general, our TV landscape is like this:  I'm sure you'll recognize quite a few of those. I don't know what's under "other" there, and they don't seem to explain it either. LTV1 is the state owned public broadcast service.
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Feb 22, 2022 21:51
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In utterly unrelated news, I learned about Volte Pravý Blok today. (And I won't write their full name because I don't want to summon a … gerontocratic demon right now) And uh. Huh.
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Feb 22, 2022 23:20
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well thanks to you I now know about it too!cinci zoo sniper posted:I support shutting down Russian propaganda broadcasts here, and the edit was to express surprise at how quickly things are moving that way. It's not like other content isn't available but that's the only source he can trust.
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Feb 22, 2022 23:59
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Antigravitas posted:In utterly unrelated news, I learned about Volte Pravý Blok today. (And I won't write their full name because I don't want to summon a … gerontocratic demon right now) Cibulka is a mainstay of the elections and at this point it is kinda comforting to see the party, because nobody is crazy enough to vote for him, unlike some other unhinged parties.
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Feb 23, 2022 07:35
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OddObserver posted:I wonder how will they could compete given the likely difference in production values, though. Not that they should not try. Involve all countries with a significant Russian minority and the EU. The funding should be peanuts compared to military expenses. It's far from impossible to make it happen if there was some political will and now that political will is probably ripe for harvest.
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Feb 23, 2022 07:44
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Antigravitas posted:In utterly unrelated news, I learned about Volte Pravý Blok today. (And I won't write their full name because I don't want to summon a … gerontocratic demon right now) Like ten years ago I uploaded a ton of election spots ripped from TV to YouTube, among them one of Mr. Cibulka / Pravý blok. To this day I get the occasional notification that he himself had commented on the video with some fresh public announcement because apparently this video with triple digit views is a major part of his PR platform.
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Feb 23, 2022 07:47
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I'm really craving Baltika #7 right now (with #3 in close 2nd place) but I have no idea where to get it here in Seattle  I still have my Baltika mug from when I toured the brewery when I lived in SPb
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Feb 23, 2022 07:49
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steinrokkan posted:Like ten years ago I uploaded a ton of election spots ripped from TV to YouTube, among them one of Mr. Cibulka / Pravý blok. To this day I get the occasional notification that he himself had commented on the video with some fresh public announcement because apparently this video with triple digit views is a major part of his PR platform.
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Feb 23, 2022 11:31
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Can we make bad posts now?
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Feb 23, 2022 13:24
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Xarn posted:Can we make bad posts now? We tolerated your posts before as well. 
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Feb 23, 2022 13:28
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Happy Red Army day everyone!  
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Feb 23, 2022 14:52
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mobby_6kl posted:Happy Red Army day everyone! Culture wars remark: There's a sporadically emerging minor social media debate in Latvia every year whether or not 23.02 should be recognized and celebrated as a men's counterpart to the International Women's day, because allegedly, some people still acknowledge it and others find it offensive, in ways that approach stdh.txt. It's usually short lived and repetitive, but intense enough. There are usual talking points about the propriety of some people treating Red Army day as a men's counterpart to 8th of March, whether or not Father's day is a good substitute, whether 8th of March should be abolished due to it's socialist origins, whether men even need or deserve their own day, whether or not compulsory military service turns boys into men, etc, etc, etc. edit: weren't you the goon who had to fly to Ukraine this week? how did that go if at all?
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Feb 23, 2022 15:44
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Isn't there already an International Men's Day on Nov 19th?
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Feb 23, 2022 15:49
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a podcast for cats posted:There are usual talking points about the propriety of some people treating Red Army day as a men's counterpart to 8th of March, whether or not Father's day is a good substitute, whether 8th of March should be abolished due to it's socialist origins, whether men even need or deserve their own day, whether or not compulsory military service turns boys into men, etc, etc, etc. Wasn't that kind of how Red Army day worked in the Soviet Union? As basically a men's day counterpart of women's day.
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Feb 23, 2022 16:16
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Randarkman posted:Wasn't that kind of how Red Army day worked in the Soviet Union? As basically a men's day counterpart of women's day. It’s was indeed, the folklore reasoning being that army makes a man. I’m posting this literally a minute after congratulating my grandfather with it. 
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Feb 23, 2022 16:17
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a podcast for cats posted:Culture wars remark: cinci zoo sniper posted:It’s was indeed, the folklore reasoning being that army makes a man. Epic High Five posted:Isn't there already an International Men's Day on Nov 19th?
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Feb 23, 2022 16:26
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mobby_6kl posted:Yep, that was me. I just didn't go, mostly to avoid beign stuck if return flights got canceled. Wizzair didn't cancel anything up to that point (unlike some other airlines) but you never know. Ground transport would be still available, I'm sure (unless nukes started flying) but it's just not worth the possible complications. I was hoping it would just blow over soon. https://twitter.com/EEMthethird/status/1496667112097603593 It looks like it was the correct call. Unfortunately, for many reasons. mobby_6kl posted:Lol same cinci zoo sniper fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Feb 24, 2022 |
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Feb 24, 2022 03:16
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Yep. Holy shitballs.
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Feb 24, 2022 07:33
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Только проснулся, какая пизда друзья
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Feb 24, 2022 07:46
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