Eastern Europe: Olivier's sphere of influence

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Eastern Europe: Olivier's sphere of influence

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

I have some distant relatives in Tashkent and even more distant in Samarkand. We don't talk much. However, apparently his illness has been reported by local media, which suggests that it's serious and he's likely to kick the bucket if he hadn't already. Otherwise he'd be just "on vacation" for a few weeks/months and then everything would be back to normal. I've seen some sources claiming that he's already dead but there's not much evidence for it.

Some additional background. Thinking of it as the last Stalinist state, as was suggested, is probably a decent approximation, minus any pretenses at communism. This also means that he's actually fairy popular, at least among the people not being currently tortured. You'll head the usual justifications such as that he keeps the country safe and stable, with minorities peacefully coexisting etc. This is achieved in part with oppression and of course also censorship and propaganda.

In fact, there's quite a bit of crime and unrest, otherwise you wouldn't put cops on every loving corner and pat down and check papers of people entering the subways or the train station, which is literally worse than a Western airport. A law enforcement guy was taking about dealing with some horrible murders, but they'd never be mentioned anywhere. The economy is a mess and there's an active currency black market (get 2x cash for your bucks at an unmarked convenience store vs the bank). Corruption is rampant too of course, you just hand over some cash to traffic cops by default, and even the guards at tourist traps will try to hustle you.

Still, in practice, if you keep your head down, it's reasonably safe and you can get on with your sad life.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2016 22:57

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# ¿ May 8, 2024 10:21

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Yeah that seems to be a Universal Truth�.

Also the word is that Kariomov kicked the bucket.

E: Ahh, no official confirmation yet but apparently they started preparing the tomb in Samarkand:

The announcement is expected to be made tomorrow and the funeral to take place on Saturday. Some rumors also claim that he died on Monday.http://www.fergananews.com/articles/9078

mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 21:23 on Sep 1, 2016

# ¿ Sep 1, 2016 21:14

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

mobby_6kl posted:

Yeah that seems to be a Universal Truth�.

Also the word is that Kariomov kicked the bucket.

E: Ahh, no official confirmation yet but apparently they started preparing the tomb in Samarkand:

The announcement is expected to be made tomorrow and the funeral to take place on Saturday. Some rumors also claim that he died on Monday.http://www.fergananews.com/articles/9078

Karimov possibly upgraded to "critical": http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37253028

# ¿ Sep 2, 2016 08:20

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Mozi posted:

"No, wait," the source later reported, "Maybe he's just pining for the fjords."

He's an ex-president, according to Turkey's PM: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37253028

# ¿ Sep 2, 2016 14:38

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

This somehow fell under the radar. Basically some Ukrainian right wingers set a major tv station office on fire and set up a blockade because they claim it's broadcasting Russian propaganda. Which I don't think is accurate in the first place, but the company does have some ties to Yanukovych's buddies.

Anyway it's over and the protesters have been cleared out and should be investigated so hopefully some semblance of law and order is maintained.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37288630

# ¿ Sep 8, 2016 13:23

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

OddObserver posted:

If I am not getting my Russia-loving-oligarch-owned stations confused, they were literally running some of their stories by "DNR" "officials" before publishing them. Which is no excuse for arson --- though seems like a good reason to land some people in jail, were the optics on that not horrible. Mostly because *that* story got zero attention in the West, in part because journalists really don't like when they are criticized, and more so if those providing information on which legit criticism can be based are morons who think doxxing journalists is a good idea.

P.S. quite likely this is just oligarch games about forcing to sell and whatnot.

It's quite possible that it was them, honestly I don't remember either way so this was mostly based on word of mouth. Could totally see this some oligarch power play too of course.

BattleMaster posted:

Man the enforced atheism during the Soviet days really made Russian theists broken in the head.

That's why you never do half measures :getin:

# ¿ Sep 9, 2016 08:39

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Has anyone noticed how Ukraine is crushing it in the Paralympic? I certainly haven't because that's the only thing I'd normally care about even less than the regular Olympics, but eventually I couldn't not notice the third place in the tables and, most importantly, Russia's complete absence :v:

.

So the article I saw on BBC was finally some good news not as much about the sports specifically but just something finally working properly in the country. Here are some highlights:

quote:

Ukraine's own Paralympic chief, Valeriy Sushkevych, is the man credited with much of the success, in particular a programme he developed called Invasport.

Invasport works by having schools and facilities dedicated to Paralympic sports in every oblast (region) of Ukraine.

"In Ukraine we have set up the best system of physical education, sport and rehabilitation for people with disability," Mr Sushkevych told the BBC.

"There is infrastructure in all regions of Ukraine, with schools for children with disabilities. This system works and brings results.

"But the system can't work without people� people who withstand all these problems: lack of money, political crisis, war and all other troubles. And these people are extremely dedicated."
...
"We invite people for rehabilitation, and amongst those 100 who come, we find maybe five who are good at swimming, or football or athletics," he explains.

"We have to give them opportunity to realise their own potential."

The way that Invasport works means that facilities and recruitment are spread out through the country, rather than concentrated in one area.

As Mr Sushkevych told the BBC, this meant that Ukraine's Paralympians were able to come even when the main training base, the Yevpatoria facility in Crimea, was taken over by Russia in 2014.

"We had to find other options for athletes to train - and I have to say that those were not the best conditions," he said.

"But we had to adjust to those conditions, and even had to train in old post-Soviet facilities. Experience, knowledge and huge professionalism of the team made this result possible."
...
Powerlifter Lidiya Solovyova, who has won a gold medal, says that her main motivation to succeed is the fact that Ukraine does not offer many opportunities to people with disabilities outside of sport.

For many, it is quite literally sink or swim.

"This is my main job," she explains.

"In our country it is very difficult to find a job for people with disability... Paralympic sport is my main income. I live off it."

After the loss of the Yevpatoria camp, she has been training at her hotel - which she acknowledges may have affected some of her teammates and prevented them from achieving even more.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37348969

They should make a sappy sports movie about it.

# ¿ Sep 14, 2016 20:01

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

They also did this:

At first I thought it was some sort of Russia stronk thing but it's just a world of tanks tie-in.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2016 19:37

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

steinrokkan posted:

Trump has found another friend among Eastern European heads of state, this time it's a professional troll, Milo� Zeman of the Czech Republic.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-20/trump-wins-another-endorsement-from-ex-communist-eu-leader

Why am I not surprised :negative:

# ¿ Sep 20, 2016 18:28

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Cake Smashing Boob posted:

In Europe they still aren't!

Only the southern ones though.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2016 21:25

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

chitoryu12 posted:

I can't tell if you're playing along with a joke or if Canada really has cheese crime.

No it's true, how have you not heard of poutine yet?

# ¿ Sep 22, 2016 22:20

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Doctor Malaver posted:

Again with the "if I understood correctly" caveat, there is no independent oversight so they can come up with any numbers they want.

Getting over 99% on any referendum is plenty suspicious already, as I'm pretty sure you could ask if water is wet and at least 10% would vote "no".

# ¿ Sep 26, 2016 00:35

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

As long as that doesn't happen while it's still inside the bomb cavity...

# ¿ Oct 2, 2016 22:28

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Two Czech football players were made to train with the women's team for saying that "women belong at the stove" and describing the assistant referee as "the cooker" :v:

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37558116

Though in their defense, it does appear to have been a spectacularly bad call that led directly to conceding a goal in extra time so...

# ¿ Oct 4, 2016 23:04

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Baronjutter posted:

Was Russia breaking any airspace rules or was that all "international skies" or what ever? If so, oh well. But man I'd love to see any Russian plane shot the gently caress down the moment they illegally enter someone's airspace, so long as all legally required warnings are given.

This already happened, though it probably should occur more often.

# ¿ Oct 5, 2016 20:07

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

poo poo the rating is going down again, who's getting invaded next? :ohdear:

Also lol at the judicial branch being ranked the lowest. That's got to be a sign of a lawless strongman shithole, doesn't it?

For reference:

(Greece)

# ¿ Oct 13, 2016 19:07

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Cat Mattress posted:

He exploded? Guess he should have been nicknamed Samsung.

Looks like he got sold off to the Chinese.

Wait no they're not involved, joke ruined.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2016 22:43

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Punkin Spunkin posted:

This is fuckin easy guys it's like Pok�mon
You send in horses to spook the polish and then send in elephants to spook the horses and then send in war pigs to spook the elephants
It's basically how Australia was made

And when wintertime rolls around, the war pigs simply freeze to death.

# ¿ Oct 21, 2016 08:18

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

^^^
He's also as sissy who got scared when challenged by JCVD after making GBS threads on him the whole evening at a party: http://kickassactionnews.blogspot.de/2013/02/sly-and-seagal-once-got-physical.html

Discendo Vox posted:

Russia's Putin grants Russian citizenship to U.S. actor Seagal.

That's not an exaggeration. Putin personally signed an order. Cripes.

Check out this article:

AV Club posted:

Continuing its open courting of Mexican immigrant-hating, jingoistic simpletons who flirted with movie appearances in the early �90s before settling into an august bloat of reality TV stardom, treating women like sex toys, slapping their name on cheap poo poo, and thoroughly misguided political ambition, Russia has granted Steven Seagal citizenship, the Kremlin announced. It�s the culmination of a long mutual flirtation between the two warily regarded sovereignties, with Seagal having been a friend and open admirer of Vladimir Putin�s ever since the two bonded over their love of martial arts and being photographed looking loving ridiculous.
...
And it�s true: Seagal�s relationship with Russia goes beyond mere palling around with Putin at MMA fights. Seagal has called Putin �one of the greatest world leaders, if not the greatest world leader, alive today,� vocally defended Putin�s forcible annexation of Crimea as �very reasonable,� and served as Putin�s celebrity spokesman/cautionary tale in his push to make Russians exercise. Their friendship has also long given credence to our suspicion that Seagal�s IMDB bio was written by Russian hackers.
...
As a testament to the glasnost with which the country greets him, in 2014, Seagal performed with his blues-rock band at a Ukraine concert for pro-Russian separatists. According to reports, this was intended to encourage them.
...
As of now, Seagal has not been granted any further official role in Russia�s government, though Russia Beyond The Headlines notes that he is eligible to receive a standard Russian pension of 5,000 rubles�or roughly $80. Unfortunately, to collect it he�ll need to spend more time in Russia than America, so Seagal will be forced to make a tough decision between that $80 and his movie career.

http://www.avclub.com/article/russia-takes-responsibility-hacks-granting-steven--245331
:allears:

# ¿ Nov 4, 2016 10:50

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

So Saakashvili gave up and quit as mayor of Odessa because there's too much corruption everywhere to deal with. He says it's because Poroshenko is supporting two clans which are corrupt and criminals. Hard to say if this is all true but I wouldn't be surprised

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37895588

# ¿ Nov 7, 2016 19:52

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

I haven't spoken to any of my friends or relatives in Ukraine since the election but they can't possibly be pro Trump after he was openly sucking up to Putin the whole campaign. Right? On other hand he was talking about nuking everyone so maybe he's not all bad.

TBH I'm all for improving relations with Russia, but this has to come with them GTFO from Ukraine and Georgia as a prerequisite.

BigRoman posted:

On a side note, when I was 15 I went to Souyuzivka and got so drunk I fell into an irrigation ditch on my way back to the tent and passed out. There's a Ukrainian Americans for Trump analogy somewhere in there, but I haven't figured it out yet.

Seems like you got the authentic Ukrainian experience!

# ¿ Nov 10, 2016 11:56

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Poland has a solution for Agent Orange dropping the ball on EE defense:

quote:

The Polish defence ministry is launching free nationwide classes for women to learn unarmed combat.
The classes will start at 30 military facilities, running from 19 November until 3 June. Polish army instructors will provide the training.
The techniques will include defensive postures, how to break holds, and guards against kicks, strangulation and assaults with a weapon.
Some Poles see the initiative more as a way for the army to promote its image.
The ministry says it is the first time the military has offered such a nationwide programme. It is open to all Polish women aged 18 or above who are in good health.
A former special forces commander, Roman Polko, told the Dziennik Polski news website that it was not the army's job to teach citizens unarmed combat. He said it could be a way to spot potential recruits for the armed forces. But learning aikido or jujitsu moves "won't win a war", he said.
Another critic, Krakow journalist Marcin Ogdowski, said the lessons "have a propaganda dimension". He said women's self-defence classes should be run by the police, rather than the military.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37935116

# ¿ Nov 10, 2016 20:45

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Erdogan, Putin, and Hofer rebuild their empires, the rest of the decade is a repeat of 1910s.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2016 16:04

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Definitely some good progress, though the picture on the ground is still not too rosy. I guess this was last year but also there was some improvement on LGBT rights. They should also do something with healthcare (not just procurement) - nominally it's free, but in practice not so much.

Has anyone seen any updates about the EU visa free travel? Apparently this just kind of... died out, the last I heard was that there were supposed to be some proposals or discussions in Sept/Oct and then nothing.

# ¿ Nov 16, 2016 10:59

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

^^^
Unsurprisingly, those idiots were mainly the commies:

KSČM: 27 for (82% of them)
ANO: 15 for (32%)
ČSSD: 15 for (30%)
�svit: 7 for (50%)

steinrokkan posted:

Does Estonia have super-high alcohol tax or something?

They do now, apparently! All the real Nordic countries used to go there to stock up on cheap booze but they started increasing the taxes starting in 2015 IIRC.

cinci zoo sniper posted:

EU backed the visa-free travel agreement in the end of September, so now all the states need to agree on the details. The major slowdown hides in the killswitch desired by France and Germany, nobody can quite agree about some nebulous mechanism to somehow to some extent restrict visa-free travel in the event of sharp immigration increase. That is what has killed visa-free travel for Georgia as well.

Thanks! Is there a convenient way to track progress on this and other issues EU is working on? With all the emphasis on transparency there has to be some official page for this stuff, but I usually end up finding just random articles that you don't know if they're representing the latest situation or not.

# ¿ Nov 16, 2016 12:33

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Ofaloaf posted:

The Kingdom of Bohemia, in interregnum.

Agreed, let's get rid of the useless senile president and have this again.

# ¿ Nov 16, 2016 20:46

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

In actual EE news, there was some heavy fighting near Debaltseve, with separatists claiming to have repelled an attack on their position and vice versa. The government claims 5 KIA while the terrorists say they killed 20 so who the gently caress knows what's going on there, as usual.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38366712

# ¿ Dec 19, 2016 19:16

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

HUGE PUBES A PLUS posted:

https://twitter.com/IndyUSA/status/814085984824492032

Okay I think he's finally crossed the line now!

# ¿ Dec 28, 2016 14:06

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Were they also at one of those Crimea celebrations? If so, gently caress'em too.

E:

steinrokkan posted:

I mean, might as well shoot all the Soviet / Russian filmmakers, actors, musicians, singers... because they make the life in Russia less miserable, and thus contribute to the survival of its corrupt regime by placating the populace, and are part of national propaganda.

Or at least hang all those ballet dancers who were pretty much bred to raise Russia's prestige abroad.

Not necessarily all of them, just those that publicly defend lovely policies to get ahead.

mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Dec 29, 2016

# ¿ Dec 29, 2016 18:33

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Plutonis posted:

This is a sincere question and I'm really refraining my utter contempt and disgust to make it. What would be the reaction of this thread if one of the planes that bring singers or comedians to perform to the US army stationed on Iraq or Afghanistan fell? Would it be the same callousness displayed towards the RAC or would there an attempt to make a distinction between them and the troops waging war on the ground?

Those comedians didn't advocate the invasion of my country so I'd be a bit sad probably.

# ¿ Dec 30, 2016 00:37

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

At least everyone knows exactly what he has on his mind!

E: An Enter Air plane with mostly Polish travelers was forced to make an emergency landing at the Prague Vaclav Havel/Ruzyne airport (PRG) due to a bomb threat. Apparently the cops have the suspect but aren't saying if there really was a bomb.
http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/domaci/1998757-v-praze-nouzove-pristalo-letadlo-kvuli-hrozbe-bombou-policie-zneskodnila-podezreleho

mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Dec 30, 2016

# ¿ Dec 30, 2016 21:48

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Somehow 2016 wasn't actually much worse than 2015 for EE so I guess :toot:

The polish passenger was just mad about something and didn't actually have a bomb. They were doing a psychiatric evaluation but I'm not sure if he'd be charged with something.

# ¿ Jan 1, 2017 01:51

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Mc Do Well posted:

https://twitter.com/GOP/status/819668764191059968

On the bright side at least Crimea is included?

I mean I sure as gently caress hope at least someone lobbied against the candidate who'd sell out the country for a building permit in Moscow.

jonnypeh posted:

Meanwhile in Estonia the (state-run) foundation to promote enterprise or whatever it's called, came up with a newly developed brand for Estonia.

What does this look like to you?

I don't know either.

Doesn't look like anything to me.

# ¿ Jan 13, 2017 14:07

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

You know who else had a low approval ratings before trying to reclaim rightful territories?

# ¿ Jan 15, 2017 22:20

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

steinrokkan posted:

The White House has officially confirmed that they expect Russia to end violence in Ukraine and stop the occupation of Crimea, condemns Obama's administration for "allowing (the current situation) to happen".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZE2sNzrB30

While I appreciate the sentiment, how exactly are they planning on making that happen? By blowing Putin so much he forgets about it?

# ¿ Feb 15, 2017 00:08

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

steinrokkan posted:

First, the referendum was a farce.
Second, the current regime discriminates against minorities such as the Tartars and people who were Ukrainian loyalists.
Third, "resolving" self-determination issues with a military invasion by a hostile country that completely disregards the constitutional order of the target country and international law, never even attempting a peaceful transition, must never become acceptable.

As I recall, the referendum took place quite a while after occupation, with the stage set like this:

(ON May 16th we make a choice: homonazis/russia)

The surveys done before the whole mess showed that not even a majority wanted to switch, let alone unilaterally. I can't really blame anyone vote for under the circumstances, it was just never a legitimate referendum.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2017 15:08

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

drat, that's a lot of parasites, good for them!

# ¿ Feb 19, 2017 20:16

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

A Pale Horse posted:

The latter. Batka isn't giving up the throne any time soon and if he does it will probably be to the little sociopath he's been raising for the past 14 years (or however old Joffrey is).

Handover process to his son was already literally captured on camera:

# ¿ Feb 22, 2017 17:16

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Paladinus posted:

Lol if they just didn't account for Chernobyl.

This could be a plot for a spy movie, actually. Terrorists steal a whole bunch of nukes and hide them in Pripyat.

Hey, we just put a new sarcophagus up, don't blame us!

http://i.imgur.com/0vBCbZy.mp4

# ¿ Feb 23, 2017 12:56

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# ¿ May 8, 2024 10:21

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

That's because it was actually aliens!

# ¿ Feb 23, 2017 15:30

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