The Navalny campaign is calling for nationwide protests on April 21 after the failure of their campaign to even get half a million people (quick arithmetic: 0.3% of Russia’s population) to register and commit to coming out and protesting on their website.
I don’t see much coming out of it. I correctly said that the previous protests would be nothingburgers, predicting that they would decline in turnout over time, and I was correct. So I think I speak with some authority when I say that this latest round of protests won’t be a big deal either.
That said, there’s one curiosity I’d like to highlight. Data blogger (and oppositionist) Seva Bashirov has a map showing the percentage of residents of Russia’s cities that plan to come out to these Free Navalny! protests.
Couple of notable things here.
First, Moscow (0.42% registered) is no longer the protest “capital” that it was a decade ago. It’s still relatively protest-friendly, having a high concentration of bobos/SWPLs. But not more so than Yekaterinburg (0.49%), which had an opposition mayor from 2013-18; Novosibirsk (0.41%);Tomsk (0.39%), and a bunch of other, mostly northern cities. BTW, this reflects a long-standing Russian electoral division between north and south, in which north is more “liberal” while south is more “traditionalist” (i.e., pro-Communist in the 1990s; pro-Putin from 2010).
Second – as per above – the south is more traditionalist. Though the least enthusiastic cities are the Caucasian ethnic minority cities: Khasavyurt (0.01%), Dagestan; Grozny (0.01%), Chechnya; Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia; Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria; Makhachkala (0.04%), Dagestan.
However, here are the more “stunning” results – at least so far as Westerners might be concerned. Excluding those ethnic minority republics, whose denizens are mostly apolitical, and some of whom (hilariously) view Navalny as a Russian nationalist, the least Navalny-enthusiastic cities in Russia are:
Sevastopol (0.09%), Crimea.
Simferopol (0.08%), Crimea.
The two major cities of the “forced to vote at gunpoint” for annexation into Russia show some of the least support of ethnic Russian cities. Presumably, they’re uninterested in Navalny’s idea of having a referendum on returning to Ukraine.
Shakhty (0.06%), right on the border with Donbass, and culturally a part of the Russo-Ukrainian mix that defines it. Its name literally translates to “mines” (i.e. coal mines). They do not like Navalny either
Pyatigorsk (0.04%), Stavropol. Stavropol region was 30-40% Ukrainian during the Russian Empire, which later Russified.
Stavropol, the regional capital: 0.20%. Still well below average for cities of its size.
Bryansk, which is decidedly Russian but has significant Ukrainian and Belorussian influences: 0.16%.
It is quite funny that the highest “Ukrainian” ancestry regions of the Russian world display the least support for Ukrainian nationalist Navalny, while arguably the most classically “Russian” (stemming from the Russian North-West) display the most.
Bearing this in mind, I suspect that the last defenders of the Ukrainian World will be ethnic Russian Nazis in the Azov Battalion in a Gotterdammerung-like last stand against the Putlerreich.
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Only email seems to be needed to register. That means the barrier of entry is low and that dedicated pro-Navalny activists can easily create fake registrations to boost the numbers. But they still couldn’t reach their goal? Not expecting much.
What about Tatars? How do htey mix in the Russia soup?
I recall you once saying Tatars had an IQ of about 100, same as Russians. Are they genetically mostly Russian? Any tests on them? Google images show them to be Hapa like for the most part, though a documentary on Youtube bemoaning the death of the tatar language shows a class full of tatar children who look very white.
Do they consider themselves as loyal members of the Russian realm or do they want separatism or some pan-Turkic larp?
I guess I should disntinguish this by saying Volga Tatar because they are the overwhelming majority of Tatars and seem to be more mixed.
If Tatars are indeed genetically mostly slavic, it would mean Russia as a country would be near 92% white biologically, ironically more than Sweden or Germany.
Hitler cries from beyond
Volga Tatar population is mixed but not fully blended.
Some Tatars are indistinguishable from Russians. A good example would be Marat Basharov, a well-known Tatar actor. He’s blue-eyed, with light brown hair.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Basharov_Marat.jpg
Others have pronounced Asiatic features.
If you come from Moscow to Kazan, you definitely see that many faces look exotic, and the overall impression of the crowd is different.
Interesting. Though what would be the explanation for an IQ similar to Russians? Any genetic studies on the matter?
“Pyatigorsk (0.04%), Stavropol. Stavropol region was 30-40% Ukrainian during the Russian Empire, which later Russified.”
I would not call this rather natural and common process of integrating into the mainstream Russian culture during the initial period of literacy acquisition by the East Slavic rural population lacking a pronounced national consciousness “Russification”. I would also not respectively call everyone who reported or was reported speaking Little Russian a “Ukrainian”.
Will it be over or under what the US Right got in the “Tea Party” back 12 years ago?
There have been genetic studies done on Volga/Kazan Tatars which show a gene pool largely shared by Europeans.
What makes northern people more liberal? From Scandinavia to Minneapolis, from Scotland to Canada. I see it is also true in Russia, too much of a pattern to be accidental. I have always associated liberal pathology with large cities – perfect human sink-holes where used up genetic material goes to die.
Does anyone have an explanation for the northern liberal angle? I can see a weather induced collaborative spirit, or conformism required for a group to survive in tougher conditions. But this liberalism is explicitly anti-tribal, anti-one’s-own group – that goes against the logic of living in a colder, less hospitable region. The gender angle also doesn’t fit – northern girls are shapely, robust, no need to meander into freakdom – yet visit Glasgow and they are all freaks.
Karlin assumes that everyone who registered at Navalny’s website is a real person, when in fact 70% are bots, and there is nothing to stop the most “committed” fans from registering multiple times.
In other news, US tried to kill Lukashenka recently, but Putin saved his hide. Perhaps, he shouldn’t have?
Based. When the video game is designed, I sure hope you can customize the tattoos on your character.
How about Nureyev?
The IQ obsession is quite pathetic.
THE TRIUNE, IT’S HABBENING!
From Ben Aris. Also saw this story on Ria, in Russian.
Read between the lines: Therefore, even if I am not there, in the popular saying, “only through my corpse” and so on, they will not succeed.
It means the union will proceed, establishing historical justice, so that even killing Lukashenko will be useless due to Belarus and Russia becoming one. Zmagars are no threat to the siloviki of the two countries combined (should we call the triune Rus’ in the future?)
Then Putin will give a speech on April 21, where he outlines Russia’s course. I saw several tweets about Russian state media being sent to Donbass yesterday, people just don’t know for what, not even the journalists themselves apparently.
The triune is almost there. Russia, Belarus, parts of Ukraine, which will in due time expand. After the Triune is settled for good, Russia will be able to raise the topic of white demographic replacement in the US and, “due to the hostile circumstances facing white Americans”, open the country for Heritage America to start anew in Russia. The new Cold War will be Russia’s to win.
Putler indeed! NOW, speculations aside, maybe it’s not outright annexation by Russia, but a more profound union is about to be announced, which will include Russian bases in Belarus and more unified structures in general.
I recall Tomsk being a University town: To what extent does that fit into some of these cities’ results?
[[[LOYALIST MUSIC INTENSIFYING]]]
NATO corruptoids throw into nether darkness!
Sources?
Okay, I found. Enormous if legitimate. (I have roughly as much confidence in that story as in Boshirov blowing up the Czech ammunition dump. Could be true, but who knows.)
What makes northern people more liberal?
Not in Portugal!
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Elei%C3%A7%C3%B5es_legislativas_2015_PS-Coliga%C3%A7%C3%A3o-EN.png/241px-Elei%C3%A7%C3%B5es_legislativas_2015_PS-Coliga%C3%A7%C3%A3o-EN.png
Agreed!
In general, people who obsessively focus on things like “IQ” or “height” tend to be paragons of neither.
And crickets for Julian Assange.
Thanks. Nice that Lisbon and Porto are only slight outliers in the north. But something tells me that Portugal geographic variance is not enough to account for this.
West is going through a Cultural Revolution – mostly silly and weird, but it will accelerate. We could hide in Coimbra, but even the nuns are not what they used to be.
PaF-Coalition would be happy with the world circa 2010-15 and that is a losing position. I don’t think it will get better until a reversal – 1725 for a few years would feel about right, the Enlightenment nonsense seems such a mistake in retrospect…(all equal? how would that work? to whom? an absurd biological failure…)
Considering under 1% support, the whole Russia tells Navalny and his ilk GTFO. Crimea and Donbass are only slightly more vehement than the rest.
That’s exactly why his puppet masters decided to kill him in prison: he is useless alive. Blinken has already promised to help his “widow”. We should congratulate her: getting rid of that piece of shit and getting financial help at the same time – two birds with one stone.
Supposedly video evidence has been aired on Russian state TV, but I can’t be bothered to watch it. A summary can be found here:
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2021/04/19/zero-mainstream-coverage-today-of-the-foiled-u-s-backed-plot-to-assassinate-belarus-president-lukashenko/
If the kremlins were very clever, they’d bribe people close to Lukashenko to fake a coup in order to scare Lukashenko into further cooperation.
Not too long ago one Donbass old lady expressed it on camera best: we are Russians, khokhols, they are Russians, katsaps.
They might not even need to fake, just let the CIA do its job ~90%. Worked with Erdogan like a charm.
The most important question now is that whether there is any chance that the shit will miss the fan.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/20/us-ambassador-john-sullivan-to-leave-moscow-as-tensions-rise
This’s real bad news Biden owns it along with the legacy media. Relations are the worst ever in 69 yrs!! Well done you avuncular imbecile uncle Sam.
To be legalistic, Sullivan was not officially expelled, he was just advised several times in no uncertain terms to get the heck out. Being a typical American, a paragon of truthfulness, he said several times that he won’t leave, and then left.
I’m assuming some kind of conflict with the aim of getting NS2 dropped by Germany. Any idea what NOT to invest in if one thinks this is going to happen?
I get this line of reasoning but then think how could anyone expect it to work? It’s extremely transparent, unless everyone at the levers of power in Germany is completely retarded how could they not see through it?
The Germans are already invested in NS2, so presumably they don’t want it to fail. Seems like it’s just as likely to alienate Germany from America for baldly trying to torpedo one of their projects as it is to force a wedge between them and Russia.
Their public won’t see through it and will demand to end the project, damn the consequences.
But don’t Germans want reliable energy?
Are Germans a lot more anti-Russian now than they were a few years ago?
I’d have thought that the phenomena Beckow was talking about applies to Northern European countries and probably not to Southern European ones.
You have a pretty dim view of Germans. The ones I know (about a dozen) aren’t that dumb. Then again, they either have PhDs or are in grad school to get their PhDs, so my sample is probably not representative.
20 billion roubles per year of public money on RT, and…….. I can’t see any mention of Yuri Zenkovich ( fat guy US citizen arrested in Moscow for this Belarus operation) on the RT website.
Nothing on US media ( expected),no comment from their government ( direct indication of guilt?) and near nothing from the remainder of Anglo media. But what excuse can their be for RT? It must be a liberast nothing media agency.
On RT – exactly what is the point of this expensive nonsense?
I hear from my sources in Slutsk that Luka’s wife is behind it. He is a bit of a prick in person and after 50 years she has had enough. He also took her tractor, jerk.
This is not political. The timing is pure coincidence. Same with the Bulgarian scrap metal guy in Czechia, as PM Babis has just said: “it was not a state attack, some goods were destroyed…‘. So we have that going for us. No WWIII, yet.
Babis has a strange biography: a privileged nomenklatura kid, he went to Swiss private schools under the commies, lived in Morocco where his dad was selling fertilizer(?). After 1990 he miraculously had the capital to buy up huge pieces of land (I suppose for that fertilizer). If you didn’t sell, your fields caught on fire, so he may also know God.
Babis is known as the most sober and hard working oligarch. His behaviour in the last few days suggests that there are some files out there. A few weeks back another Czech oligarch died in a helicopter crash. Why do I get the feeling that this is just the beginning?
When history is being made, don’t sob for a few gas tubes under the water…
In Sweden itself, the northern rural part of the country supports the socialist party the most. In Finland this isn’t the case.
In the US there isn’t so much a “north/south divide” as there is an “urban/rural divide”
With the exception of some rural parts of the Upper Midwest, and New England, rural whites are uniformly GOP.
Wrt to Canada, while they’ve always been more economically interventionist than the US, Canada was in many ways more culturally conservative until the 1990s.
If latitude is relevant, is New Zealand more “left” than Australia?
“is New Zealand more “left” than Australia” – I think that NZ was more conservative than Australia on everything related to sex but NZ was more progressive on social and economic welfare.
Boshirov story is a Western distraction for Lukashenka story. When one of the conspirators got arrested in Moscow on April 11, some Western operatives started making human rights noises about it. By now the noises stopped, which is grossly out of character for Western operatives. CIA doesn’t want its failures to be known.
https://twitter.com/sumlenny/status/1381617442288467969
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Nanaia_Mahuta_%28cropped%29.jpg
Right now 16/25 posts on the /r/worldnews frontpage is about Russia. A lot of them have few comments. Gives the impression of a rigged algorithm.
Yuck that’s so gross and this thing is the foreign minister. Bio-Leninism at work, the west will become a Kakistocracy.
Lets hear from the great Spandrell
https://spandrell.com/2017/11/14/biological-leninism/
This can be explained by the fact that the Socialist party is perceived to be more financially generous to rural areas, while staying out of social issues, compared to the Moderates, who are perceived to favor wealthy urban residents, basically the Sweden socialists still run Joe Manchins and the Swedish version of blue dog democrats in the rural north.
Do you think that twenty years in the slammer might have more to do with her psychopathy than the colour of her skin?
GUYS, IT’S HABBENING
THE TRIUNE IS ABOUT TO BE ANNOUNCED
https://twitter.com/MarQs__/status/1384768458404020224
https://twitter.com/MarQs__/status/1384783654740807680
https://twitter.com/pmakela1/status/1384769055773581312
The riot police is out in force in Minsk, despite there being no protests planned. They don’t want to take a chance, but even if there were protests planned, at this stage they would be weak and manageable, since the zmagars are demoralized.
I think Navalny’s protests will also be small. Police is already making arrests. Navalny’s Jewish pal, Volkov, who’s running the FBK from abroad (a British operation), decided to anticipate the protest to April 21 to coincide, and spoil to the extent they can, Putin’s historical speech.
I wonder what will happen re: Donbass. Reading the comments to Ze’s Facebook post, people just don’t want war. I think the morale is low. If it comes to that, I think the army will collapse fast if Russia goes all in forcefully (“shock and awe”). People are tired of the uncertainty, constant war scare and low living standard. I don’t think there will be a war, but Russia’s position on Donbass will change today, and if Ukraine continues to attack, Russia will have a perfect pretext to expand the territory.
The two things are statistically interlinked. But the point was not really about the color of her skin, it’s about that she would be at the very bottom of any sane society. And yes, because of what she did, not because of her race and sex.
Not that there is a reason for a predominantly white society to empower black women, but I certainly would find it possible to accept the leftist ideology if all they did was make it possible for smart and morally upright blacks to compete with similar whites on an even playing field.
some of whom (hilariously) view Navalny as a Russian nationalist
Navalny is certainly more of a Russian nationalist than Putin and his gang of Jewish oligarchs and ex-intelligence agents, all hiding their assets and children in Western Europe, Dubai and the US.
Putin said nothing on Belarus or Donbass.
Just strong words in the end:
Putin says doesn’t want to “burn bridges.” And continues: “Anybody who threatens the fundamental interests of our security will regret it like they have not regretted anything”
Feeling down tbh.
All is not over, however, with tomorrow and the day after being perhaps more important than today’s speech:
https://twitter.com/pmakela1/status/1384769055773581312
Maybe the Union State will solidify for good or Belarus and Russia will join as one, and with today’s speech Ukraine was put on notice: we know you have been building troops and armor on the frontline in Donbass, if you push ahead you will regret big time.
So what do you guys think: zrada or peremoga?
I pray for it, after that Ukraine’s fate is sealed, it can’t escape physical realities of it’s geography after the union of Great and White Russias. In the North there shall be Russia, in the East and in the South, and finally all between shall be again One Holy Rus!
(Galicians are then free to leave, for GOOD)
https://dic.academic.ru/pictures/wiki/files/87/West_ukraine.png
More like claimed borders, but whatever…
Northern Greece, specifically the administrative regions of Central and Western Macedonia almost always vote conservative. However, other regions which are solidly conservative are the regional units of southern mainland regional units of Messinia and Lakonia in the Peloponnese administrative region. In contrast, the Ionians Islands in the west and the Achaea in the West Greece administrative region vote progressive. And another reliably progressive region is Crete in the south of the country. So, there is no north-south divide. The origins of these tendencies probably have more to do with the origins of certain historical figures i.e. the progressive Eleftherios Venizelos was from Crete whereas the conservative Konstantinos Karamanlis was from Macedonia. Obviously, Venizelos would be considered a Fascist by our current progressive airheads.
I always trust the Polish when it comes to Russia.
What makes you think that Russia wants, or even would agree to accept, Ukraine?
Current Ukrainian joke: Putin, please attack ASAP, or we’ll all die out.
On a serious note, current Ukraine is repulsive to many Russians. Most of those who contacted their relatives in Ukraine concluded that they are only fit for a lunatic asylum.
Politically, one of the greatest crimes of current Ukie regime is that former feeling of brotherhood in Russia turned into contempt. The rhetoric of their “leaders” induces gag reflex in many Russians. Economically, in its present broken and dilapidated state Ukraine is a huge burden that Russia is reluctant to take. Even if its humongous external debt (which is arguably greater than the remains of today’s Ukraine are worth) is written off, bringing its infrastructure, industry, and agriculture to the level of the poorest Russian regions would require hundreds of billions in investment. Living standards in Crimea greatly improved after it rejoined Russia, but even now Crimeans who travel to the rest of Russia via Crimean bridge say that they are shocked how far behind they are in everything. Ukrainian politologist Pogrebinsky (formerly a fan of their Maidan) now says that the Ukrainian government is doing everything to convert it into an uninhabited desert, so that later Russia, Europe, and the US would have to decide what to do with that desert.
I think what stopped Putin is 2014 and is stopping him now is that he is reluctant to waste Russian treasure on the revival of Ukraine. He won’t let Ukraine have military bases of the Empire or its vassals, but he does not want the expense of making it fit for human habitation.
According to you, Navalny is a nationalist. Not: according to 100% of self-identifying actual Russian nationalists.
https://twitter.com/akarlin88/status/1350838605346971648
I mean, what did you expect from the speech? Proclaiming the restoration of the Russian Empire and the imminent termination of the svidomy entity? 🙂
Putin is well practiced in zrada-peremoga. Or, in market terms: Buy the rumor, sell the news.
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1270139615576502277/XjvzwbR9.jpg
I would ask why Czechs in the first place allowed for Russian embassy in Prague to have more staff than Czech embassy in Moscow.
Because more Czechs wanted to be in Washington and there are limits on headcount and budgets, that’s the way it works. Russia will now apologize and fly the expelled Czechs at its own expense back to Moscow. Then Czech government will get new instructions and demand that Russia immediately vacate all chochki shops in old Prague that they own. Russia also needs to apologize for the destruction they caused in 1945. Damn vandals, who asked them to “liberate” Czechia? Czechs were doing quite well under the Nazis: sausages, soup, peace.
Nobody will ever outdo Czechs in obedience and brown-nosing. In 1942, after resistance shot Rheinhard Heydrich, hundreds of thousands of Czechs assembled on squares to swear loyalty to German Reich. The Czech arms factories (25% of Nazi Germany arms) worked double shifts all the way to May 1945. It is just the way they are…
Yes, Czech government behaves like obedient imperial lapdogs. Yes, all Czech governments in the past always behaved like somebody’s lapdogs (Austro-Hungary, then Nazi Germany, then Soviet Union, then the US). Still, I think you are too hard on Czechs. There were and are decent people among them, not all of them approved and approve of shamefully obsequious behavior of their governments.
I strongly suspect that the rest of Czech diplomats will follow their colleagues back to Prague. If this means the breakup of diplomatic relations with Russia, Czech Republic will suffer a lot: Russian tourists provide a good chunk of their business, Russian oil is refined in Czechia, Czech-produced Skodas are imported by Russia, etc. When all of this stops, Czechia loses a lot more than Russia. The situation would be like with Turkey when they stupidly shot down Russian military airplane (which was likely instigated by the same imperial power).
Looks like Putin is in the mood to call a spade a spade and show impotent poodles exactly where they stand in the grand scheme of things. Personally, I can only commiserate with Czechia: I enjoyed my trip to Prague some years ago.
No surprises on the Crimea, those people must light candles for President Putin. I’d guess part of the motivation to really fix up how the Crimea is run, and make sure the development money is spent efficiently, is as an effort to entice neighboring parts the You-crane. I’ve seen some recent travel vlogs for the Crimea and it does look incredible, whereas Odessa, in my brief experience not so many years ago, is a depressing ruin filled with desperate, stressed people. Granted, Crimea was probably way better run than Odessa before 2014, but still, my impression is governance has significantly improved.
Do any of you Russian speakers know if this ‘Crimea as example’ has worked to entice the south Ukrainian/Novorossia population? I’m getting my intel on this by inferring from youtube travel vloggers, so it’s not exactly unfiltered, but my sense is: ‘yes’ would be the short answer.
It’s so true. I’ve noticed that central/east Europeans truly love to brown nose for the Eternal Kraut in particular. Which, you know, I get, the Germans are pretty impressive. Even the Poles, secretly love being in a union with Germany specifically, it makes them feel as though they are “good enough”. Sad.
It’s going to be funny if the USA loses it’s ability to control Germany, to see the tears in Prag and Warsaw and Bucharest, as the Germans reconcile with Russia.
Prague is a very enjoyable city and people in private are in general very normal. That has always been the case: under Habsburgs, under Hitler, even during communism Prague was a relatively wealthy, easy going place. But this is not about the place – there is a hysterical strain in the Czech psyche: a combination of pathological self-denial and extreme shameless opportunism. Too many have it, and unfortunately even the ones who are quite normal on the surface, when put under pressure become like that. It is concentrated in Prague, most of the countryside is ok.
Havel was a great example: from a Nazi-collaborating family (his uncle run the main propaganda movie studio for the Nazis), he had an IQ well under triple digits and a lifestyle of an alcoholic. His artistic writing was retarded – nobody has attempted to stage any of his plays since he died. But by the 80’s commies were soft, West was generous, and Havel would prance around his multiple properties, drink liquor and spout cliches. Then he made a deal with the communists: he got to be the president (of what exactly?) and the commies grabbed the wealth that was accumulated in the country. People like Babis who was first a communist, and then an oligarch, now a corruption-fighter.
I suppose one finds it everywhere, what is so special about Czechs is that they tend to really overdo it. I think your analogy to Turkey is apt – there is little to be gained and a lot to be lost by the stupid confrontation that Czechs have signed up for. Don’t be surprised if they weave and bob and change a few times. This is not comfortable for them, but when you have no balls or core beliefs life tends to be like that. Maybe now people can understand why Czech-slovakia split – it is hard to take too much of this “cechacek” behavior for too long.
My (limited) understanding of traditional Maori culture is that as men would advance in leadership and status they would acquire more – and more elaborate – facial tattoos as symbols of their advancing status and leadership in their tribal culture. This looks like some kind of feminist woke perversion of that “tradition”. Then, maybe it just looks that way to those of us not from that “culture”.
When Obama started the game of expelling Russian diplomats, it also eventually turned out that the number of American diplomats in Russia was higher than the number of Russian diplomats in America.
I don’t know the answer, but my guess is that the number of diplomatic staff occasionally gets decreased due to budget cuts, and it’s not reciprocated by the other side.
Oh, yes! Havel was a truly world-class phony, and so was a hero in the deracinated West. His ‘plays’ as you observe, are tripe.
The mouse that squeaked-Russia should just expel the lot.
You didn’t answer the question. Was twenty years in prison responsible for her act? Is she insane? Did anything drive her to murderous lunacy, or is it all her own fault, and that of her forebears and community?
https://twitter.com/anders_aslund/status/1384949824047431685
LOL
Her act of murdering her child was responsible for her twenty years in prison.
Looks like Russian troops are returning to their bases?
https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/11218263
I was in Prague twice. Once in late 1980s, when we were saying things openly, while Czechs were still fearful, saying what they thought only after a few beers. The second time was a few years ago. I drove from Germany, spent several days in Prague, then drove back. Prague seemed inundated with tourists, many of them from Russia. In downtown you could hear in the streets German and Russian more often than Czech. Waiters in all restaurants spoke enough Russian, German, and English to serve customers. When it came to paying, they always pretended that my credit card does not work and wanted cash. I guess neither them, nor restaurant owners wanted to pay tax. I saw the same trick in several other countries, so I didn’t consider this petty cheating important. Interestingly, there was a lot greater variety of good beer in 1980s than recently.
There is nothing specific to Czechs in this. Shit often rose to the top in commie regimes, and that same shit, having no compunctions about changing colors for personal advantage, ended up on top in many Eastern European and post-Soviet countries. The examples are plentiful: former Russian president Yeltsin (may he rot in Hell), former Ukrainian president Kravchuk, former Lithuanian president Grybauskaite, etc.
You sound like late Vltchek. He passionately despised Czechs and his contempt for them is clear in most of his pieces. I can’t judge, don’t have enough info. I worked relatively closely with only one Czech, a not particularly appetizing female with rather disturbed personality. The only thing that kept her afloat was working in the lab of a very smart and remarkably jovial Austrian in Germany, who I collaborated with. In this collaboration I mostly interacted with his graduate student (a German girl), only tangentially with her.
That’s a sign that Ukies sincerely believe their self-flattering fantasies. In reality, they are not important enough for Russia to bomb them. Ukraine is rotting and disintegrating under its own power, and Putin is a patient player. He scared the shit out of Ukies and their masters. As this job is now done successfully, he is returning Russian troops to their permanent locations.
Another piece of Putin’s trolling. Ukie clown suggested a meeting with Putin in Donbass. Putin responded that if he wants to discuss Donbass, he should meet with leaders of Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics before meeting with Russian leadership, while if he wants to discuss Russian-Ukrainian relations, he is welcome to visit Moscow. The trolling is that Putin knows perfectly well that the clown cannot do either: his puppet masters won’t allow it. I wonder how the clown will squirm out of this one w/o playing piano with his dick, which he is a lot better at than playing president.
Did you know that Slovakia decided to follow Czechia and join the league of losers? It decided to kick out three Russian diplomats. Russian response is rather obvious now, after 20 Czechs and 10 Americans were kicked out.
War canceled lol.
Russia finishing up training exercises, it’s pretty normal. Unless Ukraine does something unwise in Donbas, it will all blow over.
AFAIK Ukraine has not committed to removing its own troops from Donbas. Back channel reassurance that Ukraine won’t make a move?
It’s been a long time since Ukraine did anything wise, in Donbass or elsewhere.
Perhaps, and for some, but it doesn’t look like Ukraine has agreed to pull its own large numbers of troops back or change any of its own internal anti-Russian policies. The buildup may have prevented an invasion and reincorporation (in which case Putin gave Ukraine a huge favor) and may also have contributed to worsening relations with the West (also good for Ukraine if it results in more support).
LOL. See # 55 and # 74. Supporting a corpse does not bring it back to life.
We know that in your fantasies Ukraine is in eternal 2014. In reality it has seen significant and steady improvement starting from the last quarter of 2015 and its Covid decline has been modest in comparison to that of most countries.
As for “scaring the shit out of” – Ukraine does not seem to have changed any policies in response to the Russian show of strength. No backtracking in its ban of pro-Russian media or politicians, no standing down of its troops from Donbas. Perhaps Putin prevented an invasion of Donbas. Hopefully the occasional comments from Ukraine that “Putin blinked” doesn’t reflect an emboldened attitude that would result in an invasion after Russia disengages in early May.
The limitrophes have reached new, hitherto unsurpassed levels of impudence. Organizing this gayop against Russia and then using it as a lever to expel Russian diplomats.
If Russia wishes to retain credibility, it must totally sever diplomatic relations with Prague.
It’s almost as if bigger countries can afford larger diplomatic staff, by dint of their greater populations.
How much use would there be from a Laotian diplomat in Togo?
That’s exactly what he did. For this purpose only he scared the shit out of the Empire and all its lackeys. They started running around like cockroaches when you turn the lights on in a badly maintained kitchen.
That’s exactly what I mean by saying that it keeps rotting under its own power. If Putin likes popcorn, he needs a lot of it. He seems to follow the wisdom that when you see your enemy committing suicide, do not interfere.
The events of the last few days highlight the unfixable nature of Central European history: dangerous and volatile location, mostly Eastern European people, but longing for the West without being a part of it. Life goes on for decades without any drama, then the same old dynamic kicks in. I used the hapless Havel who was so confused and absurd that he once claimed to American visitors that “Czechs are Celts“.
Everyone knows that the narrative is made-up and manipulated: there were actually two explosions in the munition storage in 2014. They were investigated and it was determined that it was an “accident”, or more likely an attempt to cover up theft – there were about 1,000 machine guns that were not found after the explosions, guns don’t disintegrate. This was not about arms for Kiev – Ukraine has more than enough of the low-level crap that exploded, they make it. The fact that it is all classified tells you that they cannot present what they have: probably a suspicion (or even a proof) that Petrov&Bashirov were in the country at that time. Damning!, pre-corona there were at least 100,000 Russian tourists there at any given time. Central Prague literally lives off Russian tourist money, so do Karlovy Vary.
Slovakia is a younger brother currently ruled by a collection of weirdos, including an oligarch who has 11 kids with 10 wives (he married all of them serially) and a party whose raison-d’etre was that they are a non-party, just citizens. Kind of people like Zelensky without playing a piano with his d.ck. Predictably they do what they are told. In a typical local twist they all play both sides, you would be surprised how many pro-Russia statements are also made. Babis (who is a Slovak from Bratislava) is twisting and backtracking, his face contourted with fear. At the end of the day, they just want this to be over. But if you are other people’s plaything, you don’t decide when it is over.
Biden’s stupid move to bring overmatched ships to the Black Sea was cancelled but this was miscalculated from the beginning and its cancellation doesn’t reflect fear.
Who was running anywhere? Ukraine hasn’t backed down it’s troops nor backtracked on any of the internal policies that Russia has condemned. It’s military upgrades continue.
Only if by “rotting” you mean ongoing GDP and wage growth and ongoing military upgrades.
Geopolitics and US fossil fuel industry interests are not the only issue here, and climate change warrior Biden is doing a pretty good job appealing to the substantial number of Germans who are against fossil fuels regardless where they come from. German politicians have to navigate this minefield of competing interests between pro-Russian pipeline industrial interest and anti-fossil fuel environmentalists. They can also not afford to be perceived as boot-licking either Biden (not to mention Trump) or Putin
Apparently the removal of troops is only partial.
https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1385205048918089728
Germany caught itself into a trap. The only non-carbon-polluting source of energy is nuclear. Germany shot itself in the foot by closing all nuclear power stations, caving in to silly demands of idiots posing as “greens” (they are real idiots, as they sincerely believe their idiotic mantras). A lot of people tend to make fun of French, but France did not walk into that trap and keeps producing lots of electricity (more than 70%) at nuclear stations. The next lowest carbon pollution comes from natural gas, because if one counts pollution caused by the production and disposal of parts, both solar and wind produce more CO2 per unit of energy than natural gas. Not to mention that recent cold snap in Texas showed how “reliable” these sources are when you need electricity most. German government failed to educate its citizens, so the average Joe sixpack (i.e., Hans grosse beer in this case) believes that solar and wind are carbon-neutral.
In any case, there is no alternative to NS2 for Western Europe. North Sea production is declining. Ukrainian gas transit system is on its last legs, no major upgrades were made since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago. If NS2 is shut down, Germany would lose a lot more than Russia. That would doom the competitiveness of its heavy industry. Not to mention that South Korea has already snatched a good chunk of industrial equipment market, partly due to Germany caving in to imperial demands for sanctions on Russia. Russia is prudently preparing for even more raging insanity of Europe, building gas pipelines to China and producing ever increasing amounts of liquified natural gas for Asian markets.
As to boot-licking, German case is hopeless: only truly impotent lackeys lick Uncle Sam’s boots more shamelessly.
This is for show of force, just to keep Ukies and their puppet masters shitting in their pants. When Putin decides to act, Western intelligence services would learn about Russian troops movements from newspapers (like in Crimea and Syria).
“If NS2 is shut down, Germany would lose a lot more than Russia. That would doom the competitiveness of its heavy industry. “
I suggest that is a big part of the anti-Russian Anglo-American scheme, to destroy German industry. Precisely why the German politicians are boot-licking. Unless you believe WW1 and 2 against Germany was about liberation, freedom and democracy. Germany is a competitor, the industrial engine of the EU, and it has to be destroyed – again. And Russia blamed for it.
Yep, imperial sanctions policy was aimed at destroying German competition at least as much as at weakening Russia. The Empire seems to be succeeding with Germany, but it failed with Russia.
I do not understand German cowardice. It is a strong and capable country, yet it behaves like Ukraine or the Republic of Palau. A lot weaker Iran is not scared of the Empire. Maybe Russian joke that Putin is the last German man has some truth in it. Or maybe rumors that the US has proof of Merkel’s past service as Stasi informer are true. Or maybe both.
That sounds about right, among the elite – the emasculation of the top German politicians (after Schroeder) is a sad spectacle. A few decades of careful selection will get you there – anyone who showed signs of being hard to control was eliminated early on.
A bigger story is that if US has it, Russia must have it too.
“imperial sanctions policy was aimed at destroying German competition at least as much as at weakening Russia. The Empire seems to be succeeding with Germany, but it failed with Russia.”
Comparing Germany and Russia is comparing apples and oranges. Look at a map.
“I do not understand German cowardice. “
Again, look at a map. A little knowledge about German history prior to the 20th c would help as well
“It is a strong and capable country, yet it behaves like Ukraine or the Republic of Palau. A lot weaker Iran is not scared of the Empire. “
Iran is anything but weak. Same population size as Germany, with a lot more territory and what’s called military depth. and a proud national identity and culture that reaches back thousands of years. Also sth Germany doesn’t have. Neither does Ukraine or Palau
“Maybe Russian joke that Putin is the last German man has some truth in it. “
How about Hitler was the first Russian? He certainly wasn’t German.
“Or maybe rumors that the US has proof of Merkel’s past service as Stasi informer are true. “
I don’t need such speculations to find her behaviour understandable, even though I disagree with her Atlanticism. Maybe she’s just faking it to gain time.
Czechs order Russia to pull out most embassy staff in worsening spy row
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-will-retaliate-again-if-czech-spy-row-escalates-2021-04-22/
Thursday’s decision, announced by Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek, requires Russia to have the same number of envoys as the Czech Republic has in Moscow. That means Russia will have to withdraw 63 diplomats and other staff from Prague, although Prague gave it until the end of May to do so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0OTtUolj-8
As I said, Russia has no choice but to close down diplomatic relations with Czechia after this, if it wishes to retain its credibility. The sheer gall, running this CIA gayop and using it as pretext to boot out dozens of Russian diplomats.
Any other limitrophes that follow in Czechia’s footsteps need to have the same treatment applied to them. Russia has negligible economic interests in this region.
Oddly enough, the renowned ballet dancer (and open homosexual) Rudolf Nureyev was an ethnic Tatar/Bashkir. He had a Western given name, but his patronymic and family name were clearly Moslem. “Khametovich” means “son of Hamed” and “Nureyev” derives from the Arabic word for “light”, which is closely associated with Islam in the Moslem world.
The real mistake was buying into the climate change bullshit in the first place. “Climate change” is an imaginary liberal problem, just like the “pandemic” and “police brutality” toward Afropithecines. Carbon emissions should not be a consideration in determining a nation’s energy policy.
Tend to agree. Climate change might be real, but humans aren’t powerful enough to be blamed for it. There is no proper scientific data to show cause-and-effect relationship between anything humans do and climate. What’s more, carbon hoaxers studiously avoid explaining Mesozoic era, when the temperatures on Earth were a lot higher than even their wildest projections, while no humans and no fossil fuel burning existed.
I don’t know whether Putin believes in this BS, or just pretends to and plays along for undisclosed purposes. It is entirely possible that he believes: people believed and still believe all sorts of preposterous things. After all, Putin is just human, and, as Romans aptly said, “errare humanum est”.
I thought that a lot of the coal, oil and natural gas didn’t exist yet either, as those are partly the result of plants using up the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. What we are doing right now is releasing some of this carbon back into the atmosphere, resulting eventually in similar temperatures. Though obviously we’d need to release literally all carbon back (i.e. using up all available coal, oil, natural gas) to get to the same temperatures. Also, probably we’d get higher temperatures, because the Sun did not yet release as much energy as it does now.
Whereas there is only one theory about coal origins, biogenic, there are alternative theories about oil and natural gas. In fact, oil is now drilled from depths where no sediments are found, so at least that oil cannot possibly be biogenic.
I am not an astronomer, but I’ve read that there are multiple models of the sun, some saying that its radiation now is stronger than in Mesozoic era, and some claiming exactly opposite.
The main difference between scientists and preachers of fossil fuels/climate connection, or mask mandates, or other things, is that scientists know what constitutes proof and what does not, whereas preachers of all stripes sincerely believe that their faith is all the proof one needs.
Well, with masks, you don’t need proof that they work, because they are pretty low cost, so if there’s a minimal chance that they work, you should introduce a mask mandate.
The only issue is that they are often difficult to enforce, in my experience many people often start to wear them weeks earlier, but then some people don’t use them even after they become mandatory. And even after they are more or less enforced, many people will only use them below the nose, which kinda defeats the point. Unfortunately improper mask wearing is very difficult to police.
Are you being deliberately obtuse? Or is it me? Did she murder her child, then do the twenty years, getting a PhD? What sort of person is she now? Still a child-killer? Perhaps she killed her child accidentally, or perhaps someone else did, and she’s covering for him. You’re too full of vengefulness, of course, just like me. Thanks for the info on the Ukrainian arms depot in Czechia.
Your argument sounds like “nose rings are low cost, so let’s mandate wearing them”. There is no scientific evidence that masks reduce the probability of infection or transmission of covid, so from scientific standpoint mandating them is equivalent to mandating nose rings.
Masks are low cost price-wise, but mask mandates are very high cost psychologically and socially. Mask wearing promotes mass hysteria, which is totally unwarranted from medical standpoint: this covid thing is not the plague, malaria, or something on those lines. Even if you take official stats at face value, it is just slightly more dangerous than seasonal flu.
As far as the society is concerned, if the any government can trample laws and constitution by declaring mask mandates, this is the end of constitutional regime, the rule of law, and thus civilized society.
I wish I hadn’t seen that photograph. Must be a member of Biden’s cabinet.
Maori culture had many great features about it, such as constant tribal warfare and cannibalism. We just cannot grasp its greatness because we are too civilized….
While full-face tatoo is AFAIK a Maori male-only thing, women also had facial tatoos, but IIRC limited to the chin, the kind we can see in this picture.
You can’t fix or spoil an ugly face.
Unsanitary, brutal society: Kiwis celebrate anniversary Māori discovered Britain
On Tuesday Kiwis acknowledged and celebrated an anniversary many might not know about – Moehanga Day – the day Māori discovered Great Britain.
On April 27, 1806, Moehanga of Ngāpuhi became the first recorded Māori visitor to England when the whaler Ferret berthed in London.
Moehanga (Te Mahanga) boarded the Ferret after it visited the Bay of Islands in 1805.
While Māori travelled as far as Tahiti and Australia in the 18th century, Moehanga was the first to reach the Northern Hemisphere.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/BdbF1szCUJ_2T-I2J1nUsCnVSnQ=/768×1151/smart/filters:quality(70)/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/FD6SB2GORIX3GYEXUSPYMSW4U4.jpg
On this day in 1806 Great Britain was discovered by Moehanga. Of course, various indigenous tribes had already inhabited the British Isles for thousands of years, but Moehanga was the first Māori to discover Britain.
Moehanga’s journey has now become part of a anniversary celebrated by Kiwis about how Māori discovered the UK’s “unsanitary” and “brutal society”.
Deputy Labour leader and fellow Ngāpuhi man Kelvin Davis gave his nod to the commemoration with politicians and historians eager to give fuller voice to Māori history and cultural identity.
“The day that Māori discovered England, It’s got a great twist to it. I like it”.
“This is all part of history that we should be talking about and celebrating. If it’s celebrating some of our Ngāpuhi ancestors, then why not?”
“The British natives were in awe of Moehanga’s tattoos and they insisted he meet their chieftain King George III”.
“When Moehanga arrived on the island he saw families living in primitive, damp and unsanitary conditions and a brutal society that punished almost any act of disobedience, from theft to living with Gypsies, with death”.
“The Britons were a warlike people, renowned and feared for their prowess at fighting other European tribes and even raiding and conquering lands and taking slaves on distant continents”.
“Today Britain is a thriving multi-cultural nation, producing a range of quality exports whilst preserving its rich heritage and traditions. Happy Moehanga Day!”
While in the UK, Moehanga met with Earl Fitzwilliam and also King George III and Queen Charlotte, who apparently gave him tools and money, according to the New Zealand History Government website.
He took a keen interest in the sights and people of London.
Celebrated historian Tony Ballantyne, “he was interested in music and culture but disliked London’s rowdiness”.