Arivia posted:

A pizza is a prion.

Lammasu posted:

Jack Frost is the one that comes to my head. They had some others. One was called the Day the Earth Froze with something called a sampo.

Private Cumshoe posted:

pineapple is too fancy for my pizza I just use red delicious apples

Lammasu posted:

I have a question about Finnish/Russian relations. Why are there so many Russian/Finish co-produced movies? I've seen a ton of them on MST3K.

Shaman Tank Spec posted:

Probably the most glaring example of these co-productions is "Vodkaa, komisario Palmu" ("Vodka, inspector Palmtree"), the last in a series of detective movies about a beloved Finnish literary character. The movie is basically a 95 minute handjob where the retired inspector travels to the Soviet Union to solve a murder

3D Megadoodoo posted:

No he doesn't? He travels to the Soviet Union to fetch some vodka, and that's during the opening credits. The entirety of the rest of the movie takes place around Helsinki (which is in Russia of course but was never in the Soviet Union). Also it's so extremely heavy-handed satire that only a complete idiot (such as any Soviet official watching it) would ever think it's pro-USSR lmao. Or pro-anything for that matter. The end song is literally about Big Brother seeing everything (of course the big brother in the song is the traffic chopper, not the state WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE). It's also basically the best Finnish movie ever, and has one of the greatest chase sequences I've seen. Viktor Klimenko was a wonderful physical actor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbSKfkgZDYE

Shaman Tank Spec posted:

What the gently caress am I thinking of then? I admit I've openly avoided seeing the movie since I was a kid because I remember it ... well, like I remember it: as a 95 minute handjob to the Soviet Union. I distinctly remember extended scenes of Palmu (or possibly some other main character in some other movie, then) touring Soviet TV studios and being wowed by Soviet satellite technology etc.

Huh. Maybe I need to see it again, then! Thanks, Ukraine thread!

3D Megadoodoo posted:

It's a Finnish TV studio lmao and the space thing is Klimenko and Sulin wearing tinfoil space suits and singing. It's obviously a jab at YLE being political. (Which is fair, if you read up on the history of YLE.)

Cartoon Man posted:

https://metro.co.uk/2023/11/23/putin-pardons-second-cannibal-killer-a-week-19867636/

Bernard McFacknutah posted:

I think that as soon as pension payments get hosed with, or inflation causes them to be worthless, you're really going to see things fall apart.

People look at the Ruble exchange rate and think 'it's not too bad, they are holding out' don't realise that there are capital controls in place, and Putin is practically setting fire to foreign currency reserves to buy Rubles at an inflated rate just to give an artificially strong value.

The inflation and GDP figures that Russia publishes are complete works of fiction, why on earth people (like the IMF) believe them is a wonder to me.

Shaman Tank Spec posted:

some other movie that had "Palmtree" touring Soviet factories etc.

Dwesa posted:

surely this stuff won't backfire

Eh, at this point I think people will just bear it even if Russian economy suddenly collapses because a) they are used to misery and b) they won't be allowed to protest anyway. People that would be (or already are) the most affected already left or were silenced while others will blame the West, gays or whatever.

edit: also , the best protected bridge in the world etc.

Dwesa posted:

surely this stuff won't backfire

Eh, at this point I think people will just bear it even if Russian economy suddenly collapses because a) they are used to misery and b) they won't be allowed to protest anyway. People that would be (or already are) the most affected already left or were silenced while others will blame the West, gays or whatever.

edit: also , the best protected bridge in the world etc.

Clerical Terrors posted:

Would an underwater tunnel really be safer? Sounds like an even jucier target for sabotage.

Dwesa posted:

surely this stuff won't backfire

Eh, at this point I think people will just bear it even if Russian economy suddenly collapses because a) they are used to misery and b) they won't be allowed to protest anyway. People that would be (or already are) the most affected already left or were silenced while others will blame the West, gays or whatever.

edit: also , the best protected bridge in the world etc.

staberind posted:

The Russian army ouroboros'

Clerical Terrors posted:

Would an underwater tunnel really be safer? Sounds like an even jucier target for sabotage.

Dwesa posted:

Iltalehti posted:

People were arriving in groups at the border crossing on Thursday.

The Finnish government's decision to close all other border crossings at the Eastern border, except for the crossing at Raja-Jooseppi, has prompted a lot of discussion in Russia. Iltalehti asked Russian citizens living in the Leningrad area, how the border closings are affecting their lives and how Russians feel about it.

St. Petersburg entrepreneur Xenia says she was visiting Finland, when the government decided to first close all the crossings in South-Eastern Finland. Xenia often visits Finland on family business.

- We had to act quickly and buy tickets on the last bus from Helsinki to St. Petersburg.

The second largest city in Russia used to offer relatively cheap access to Finland. According to Xenia, the bus trip to Helsinki cost around 10 000 rubles (about 100 euros). In the future travel will take more time and money. According to Xenia, coming to Finland through the Raja-Jooseppi station in Inari is not a practical option due to how expensive and lengthy the trip is.

- First we'd have to go to Murmansk, which is 1300 kilometers away. It's also winter, and the roads are in bad shape. We could get to Helsinki by plane through third countries, but the prices start at 100 000 rubles (1000 euros) and even then the travel takes a lot of time, Xenia says.

America's fault
Gleb, who lives in the Leningrad area, blamed the border closings, as well as the deteriorating relationship between Finland and Russia, on Finland.

- This whole situation is created by Finland. You don't live in peace. Our border officials aren't breaking any laws. America is to blame for everything, and Finland chose the wrong side, he said, referring to Finland's decision to join Nato.

Sergei, who used to visit Finland monthly prior to the border closings, phrases his words more carefully.

- As a consequence of this, both Finns and Russians suffer. They have been denied the chance to meet their family on both sides of the border.

According to Sergei, the blame lies with politicans on both sides of the border.

- The moral responsibility is with the ordinary officials, who are executing the will of the politicians. I mean those, who brought the refugees to the border, and who baselessly promised them access to Finland. And how many of the refugees never got to where they were going? And how does it affect their lives? We can only guess.

The Finnish press revealed earlier, that Russian government officials have been selling "packet trips" to Finland to immigrants.

Russia is an experienced bandit

St. Petersburg housewife Mariya complains about how visiting family has become a lot more difficult since most of the border crossings were closed. She is also worried about the asylum seekers who are being used as pawns in Russia's border dispute.

- I don't know how these asylum seekers are getting to the Murmansk border. I've never been there myself, because it's not that easy. I don't believe this is the mafia's work, because no mafia is going to smuggle 400 people to a border station without anyone noticing. That's just horse poo poo.

Mariya believes that Russian government officials are intentionally bringing asylum seekers to the border to create tensions.

- They have a lot of experience in this. When it's election time, they transport buses full of voters from one voting station to the next. Now they're transporting refugees from one inspection point to the next.

Ordinary citizens can't really do much about the situation, however.

- I am bored of three things: the mocking attitude Russian government officials have towards their citizens, how little most Russians care about it, and how I can't do anything about it.

3D Megadoodoo posted:

Reminder that Iltalehti is a Putinist rag. They just can't go all in on it because they need advertisers.

Shaman Tank Spec posted:

Yeah, normally I wouldn't use it to wipe my rear end, but I think there's value in hearing from ordinary Russians, even if one of them sounds like a politics forum superstar.

Clerical Terrors posted:

Would an underwater tunnel really be safer? Sounds like an even jucier target for sabotage.

3D Megadoodoo posted:

Do you think Iltalehti sought out ordinary Russians? Why would they?

Lammasu posted:

Wouldn't that be longer than the Chunnel? I cannot imagine a kleptocracy like Russia pulling that off.

quote:

The emails also reveal Chinese efforts to maintain secrecy. One emphasizes that CRCC will participate only under a “strict provision of complete confidentiality” and that the company’s name will be replaced by “another, unaffiliated legal entity” on any contracts. Another email mentions a Chinese bank willing to “convert its dollar funds into rubles for their transfer to Crimea to fund [consortium] projects.”
...
“It would be odd that either a consortium of major PRC firms or the government would support such a project,” said a U.S. official involved in sanctions policy, referring to the People’s Republic of China. “The project would seem like a pretty easy target for Ukrainians to destroy.” The official, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the subject.

quote:

For its part, China would probably insist on at least partial ownership of the tunnel, adding to its expanding inventory of global port and transportation infrastructure, experts said. China could also finance the project and extract payment either in tolls or from Russian oil and gas exports.

Dwesa posted:

Article says it would be comparable in scale to Denmark-Germany tunnel, which is shorter. And that's why they invited Chinese construction company. But even the Chinese seem to be wary of the possible consequences.

but they could also gain even more influence over Russia

Just Another Lurker posted:

Tunnelling through unstable geology might be worse than building over unstable geology.

tiaz posted:

I think Just Another Lurker is right. It may be shorter, but afaict the Fehmarnbelt tunnel enjoys comparative geological stability that is not at all the case where the Kerch bridge goes.