The admission to the EU is what allows them to migrate freely. NATO is a military alliance.
I don't mean migration as in people moving, I mean as in a cultural migration if that makes sense.
The admission to the EU is what allows them to migrate freely. NATO is a military alliance.
I don't mean migration as in people moving, I mean as in a cultural migration if that makes sense.
I don't mean migration as in people moving, I mean as in a cultural migration if that makes sense.
It's a genuinely tough pill to swallow for Russians that virtually every single country in Europe including even Russian friendly ones (Cyprus, Serbia, Greece, Hungary) has no desire to ACTUALLY associate with them. That they all want the Western European/North American sphere of influence and what that brings. Which when even Serbia is doing it is really something.
Belarus is an exception, but considering it's a dictatorship that hardly reflects the actual will of the country.
Russians can talk up their paranoia regarding NATO encircling them, but I think what really beats at the heart of Russia's terror is becoming irrelevant.
Honestly, the sad thing is pride aside there's nothing at all stopping Russia from long term joining the EU or even NATO. It all comes down to mindset. And that mindset is a total inability to mentally deal with changing times and the end of their empire and it's associated prestige.
Oh wait. We're getting worked up over nothing. Putin says they're just volunteers. Not Russian soldiers.
I thought Russia was invading Ukraine with soldiers but "volunteers" sounds so innocent and it's not like Putin ordered them to go. They volunteered themselves for the job!
Da!
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/sep/02/dying-russians/
Well, that's depressing as hell.
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/sep/02/dying-russians/
Well, that's depressing as hell.
On the topic of dying Russians, the casualties for Russian forces in the war so far are apparently really really high. Largely because Putin is sending in many poorly trained conscripts being lead around barely aware of where they're even being deployed next.
Of course they're still pushing back the Ukrainian army unfortunately. Mariupol is apparently on the verge of being conquered.
@Monkey:
Largely because Putin is sending in many poorly trained conscripts being lead around barely aware of where they're even being deployed next.
Hasn't institutional corruption along with hazing pretty much killed unit cohesion in the Russian military?
If the Ukrainian military hadn't already been bogged down in a civil war, it'd probably be going a lot differently right now.
Allegedly, there will be a ceasefire in about 10 hours.
I wonder where Putin intends to stop.
Is he just going to Crimeasize Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts? Or is going to go for more?
@Monkey:
I wonder where Putin intends to stop.
Is he just going to Crimeasize Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts? Or is going to go for more?
Zaporizhia and Kherson still seem to be likely targets since that way Crimea will be connected to Russia by land.
Zaporizhia and Kherson still seem to be likely targets since that way Crimea will be connected to Russia by land.
Why stop there though. He could take all of the coast plus Tranistria.
@Monkey:
Why stop there though. He could take all of the coast plus Tranistria.
That seems more like it'd be a long-term goal after consolidating his hold on the Sea of Azov since taking that much of the Black Sea coastline is going to make the neighboring countries even more hostile towards him. Ukraine and Moldova are one thing but Romania is a member of NATO after all and isn't going to be thrilled by the prospect of Russia being that close to them.
I've become convinced that Putin's new strategy is to essentially destablize every country he can on Russia's borders with a seccessionist movement.
Because having a disputed territory/frozen conflict essentially means that country can't join Nato.
Georgia has Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Moldova has Transnistria.
Azerbaijan has Nagorno Kharabarakh.
And he has gone and created the Luhansk and Donetsk statelets in Ukraine, and as long as they exist Ukraine is not NATO material. Nevermind Crimea.
If Belarus or Kazakhstan tried to worm their way out of Russia's orbit they would quickly find themselves facing Ukraine style uprisings of Russian minorities or pro-Russian somethings. Kazakhstan's north is ripe as hell for this shit.
Nato aside, Russia could essentially just keep that phantom threat of seccesionist violence over their heads.
I wouldn't count on Kazakhstan leaving their orbit anytime soon sadly, which given their status as brightest (non-Baltic) success story in the former Soviet Union is a huge shame. Ironic that Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are safe from Russian aggression…but are both run by insanely terrible dictatorships :I
But hey, it just reinforces why Russia is a dying former empire of zero relevance. They simply have no soft power whatsoever. And too large an ego to run to the arms of European/North American soft power.
People keep talking about Russia being afraid of western invasion. They're right, but in the sense that Russian rulers and oligarches are afraid of genuine people power and all that which comes from Europe and North America. They dupe their people into thinking MEAN NATO MONSTER HITLER NAPOLEON TEUTONIC HOMOS WANT TO KILL US, but reallythe leaders are terrified of "color revolutions" and Euromaidans.
Nato has extremely little to actually do with it.
^In fact, you can see a glimmer of that genuine 'people power' fear through the reflection of the discussion and thoughts lawmakers are engaging in, in rebel held Luhansk.
@article:
In fact, the perverse logic of the Luhansk lawmakers is a reflection of their close ties to Moscow and their hunger for old-time religion, old-time politics, old-time strongmen. Klodchenko says he figures that, after the war ends, Luhansk will be a liberal and democratic republic but, personally, he favors a monarchy. "Luhansk needs a strong Tsar,” he said, suggesting that the separatist region’s elections on November 2 may help point the way. (The rest of Ukraine is voting for a new parliament in Kiev on Sunday)
[h=1]Egypt court sentences 528 Morsi supporters to death[/h]http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26712124
So far 1,400 hundred Morsi supporters have been killed. 15,000 jaied. Over 200 sentenced to death. And we're still giving military aid to Egypt? To the tune of billions of dollars and weapons?
http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/146147/egypt-to-receive-us-apaches-next-month-presidency
Morsi's consolidation of power and possibly volatile influence might have been widely rejected by the Egyptian people but this military interim government and ensuing crackdown is a gross and obvious human rights violation under the guise of law.
On the other side of things 30 soilders were killed recently by a jihadist who commited a suicide bombing.
http://news.yahoo.com/car-bomb-kills-10-troops-egypts-sinai-142753454.html?noRedirect=1
Things over in Egypt are in…a turmoil.
**Pro-Western parties will dominate Ukraine's parliament after the first elections to the body since February's revolution, exit polls suggest.**As votes are counted, President Petro Poroshenko's bloc looks set to win the most, with PM Arseny Yatsenyuk's People's Front party a close second.
Mr Poroshenko thanked voters for supporting what he described as a call for a reformist, pro-European majority.About 3m people in two eastern regions ravaged by conflict did not vote.
Ukraine's parliamentary elections potentially could completely transform the country's political landscape. The question is, in what way.
Already this is shaping up to be the most pro-Western legislature in the country's post-independence history. Former heavy hitters, like former President Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions and the Communist Party, have been sidelined.
Turnout in the election had reached more than 51% by close of polls, the central electoral commission said.
But the figures differed widely between east and west, with the highest percentage in the western Lviv region (about 70%) and the lowest in areas of Donetsk region under government control (about 30%).
Two exit polls published immediately after voting ended showed the president's bloc, comprising his own Solidarity Party and Udar, led by boxer Vitali Klitschko, leading with about 23%.
Mr Yatsenyuk's People's Front appeared to have performed unexpectedly well, polling in the region of 21%.
The Self Help Party, based in western Ukraine, was third with more than 13%, the exit polls indicated.Correspondents say all three groups are strongly pro-European and should give Mr Poroshenko a strong mandate to pursue democratic reforms and a plan to end the conflict in the east.
Four other party lists seemed set to enter parliament, overcoming a 5% threshold. They include the Opposition Bloc, formed by allies of ousted Pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych.
Its leader Yury Boyko described the elections as the dirtiest in the country's history.The pro-Russian Communist Party failed to clear 5%, the polls said, and may be without representation in parliament for the first time.
The picture is complicated by the fact that almost half of the 450 seats are from single-member constituencies, chosen on a first-past-the-post basis.
Source
Results of exit poll
The process so far, 4.48% of votes counted.
It appears Right Wing party won't make it, but -
Where it concerns first past-the-post voting, it's leader, Yarosh, just might.
I've personally voted for Self Help Party today.
*it's leader is Lviv mayor, and while the elections didn't require open lists of party members(because parliament failed to vote that), the party posted it's list on their official webpage, and the leader is only 50th in the list, which means he won't be in parliament, and chooses to stay as a mayor.)
Talked granny out of voting for Opposition Bloc and instead reasoned with her to cast her vote in favor of Self Help Party. Mom didn't want to go to elections (she thought she wouldn't have enough time to wait in lines, had to get ready for work), didn't know whom to vote, so I went there early to secure spot in line. Turns out there was no need, not much of a line. So in the end I got my family to vote.
Otherwise than that, I've been very out of touch with things.
@Lef:
The pro-Russian Communist Party failed to clear 5%, the polls said, and may be without representation in parliament for the first time.
Hahahahaha!!!
I'm glad to see a stronger mandate for reforms and bigger steps can now be taken to finding a solution to ending the conflict in the east and moving the country forward.
Hahahahaha!!!
I'm glad to see a stronger mandate for reforms and bigger steps can now be taken to finding a solution to ending the conflict in the east and moving the country forward.
That's what I'm hoping for as well! Less parliament drama, less failed vote attempts in parliament. LESS ENEMIES IN GOVERNMENT WHO WORK AGAINST UKRAINE! Plus something really needs to be done with people out there on front-lines, it's cold, they get blocked constantly, some don't have food, or water, or ammunition, that temp-peace is a joke.
@Lef:
That's what I'm hoping for as well! Less parliament drama, less failed vote attempts in parliament. LESS ENEMIES IN GOVERNMENT WHO WORK AGAINST UKRAINE! Plus something really needs to be done with people out there on front-lines, it's cold, they get blocked constantly, some don't have food, or water, or ammunition, that temp-peace is a joke.
Yeah, I hear tha "cease fire" has been in name only.
Yeah, I hear tha "cease fire" has been in name only.
Yes, fighting has continued around Mariupol and Donetsk.
Well it's not quite a 'fight', but its never silent around those places. Frankly I got no clue how bad it is at the moment.
In positive news, Tunisia has just held it's most recent parliamentary elections. And things went super smoothly, the main secular party gained the most seats I believe, and the Islamic party that had been in power before that peacefully conceded to the results as well.
No cries of corruption or fraud and threats of coup? For a government that had a revolution that overthrow their president just 3 years ago (wiki) that isn't bad at all. I say this in the least condescending way as possible because in fact that is a remarkable improvement that shows a true appreciation for democracy.
Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia have always existed in their own world apart from the rest of Arabia. Though Algeria and Morocco have much steeper hills to get to democracy, I wouldn't expect them to resemble what's been going on over in the Mideast and Egypt, or Libya (who occupies kind of the transition zone between the two regions).
Morocco's king seems like a decent guy; I would be shocked if he accepted full constitutional monarchy within a few years.
@Monkey:
In positive news, Tunisia has just held it's most recent parliamentary elections. And things went super smoothly, the main secular party gained the most seats I believe, and the Islamic party that had been in power before that peacefully conceded to the results as well.
I guess you haven't been watching this closely and frankly I don't blame you. Look at this bland bbc coverage http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29828706 yay secularists how mild and modern. Except the real secular parties got only a couple of seats each. Nidda Tunis that won https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Tunisia is this massive refugee camp of former members of the ruling regime and corrupt businessmen. lead by Beji Caid el Sebsi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beji_Caid_el_Sebsi who used to be Bourguiba's defense minister. Hmm.. Why does that sound familiar? Oh right Sisi used to be a defense minister too. How did that turn out for Egypt I wonder?
The only difference is that Beji is an old fart (nothing says change like an octogenarian) While Sisi is a new one. Speaking of farts… "The Arab Spring" is now officially a fart in the wind. It's like it never happened. unless you count the hundred thousands of the dead.
I guess you haven't been watching this closely and frankly I don't blame you. Look at this bland bbc coverage http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29828706 yay secularists how mild and modern. Except the real secular parties got only a couple of seats each.
What does that mean "real secularist". This sounds like you're complaining that a North African country hasn't fielded a secular party as secular as say Sweden would or something.
Nidda Tunis that won https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Tunisia is this massive refugee camp of former members of the ruling regime and corrupt businessmen. lead by Beji Caid el Sebsi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beji_Caid_el_Sebsi who used to be Bourguiba's defense minister. Hmm.. Why does that sound familiar? Oh right Sisi used to be a defense minister too. How did that turn out for Egypt I wonder?
Complete guttings of old regimes rarely end well. The US did that with Iraq after our bungle there, sure worked out.
Meanwhile old regime elements have participated in democratization processes before in many cases, namely South Korea and Taiwan.
There have been no observers saying the election showed any irregularity, there's no indication that there was rigging. This puts it ahead of South Korea in the late 80's to say the least.
Corrupt businessmen are going to haunt things for awhile because that's what they do in emerging countries like this, ask any Eastern European nation.
And as for the comparison to Sisi? Huh? The dude pulled a coup, brutalized his enemies, and then held a completely transparently bullshit election.
How is that in any way comparable because of two related former posts?
The only difference is that Beji is an old fart (nothing says change like an octogenarian) While Sisi is a new one. Speaking of farts… "The Arab Spring" is now officially a fart in the wind. It's like it never happened. unless you count the hundred thousands of the dead.
This is actually extremely par for the course. I don't know why everyone and their mother was so quick to think regional democratization always looks like the East Bloc in 1989 and not Western Europe in 1848.
@Monkey:
What does that mean "real secularist". This sounds like you're complaining that a North African country hasn't fielded a secular party as secular as say Sweden would or something.
Complete guttings of old regimes rarely end well. The US did that with Iraq after our bungle there, sure worked out.
Meanwhile old regime elements have participated in democratization processes before in many cases, namely South Korea and Taiwan.
There have been no observers saying the election showed any irregularity, there's no indication that there was rigging. This puts it ahead of South Korea in the late 80's to say the least.
Corrupt businessmen are going to haunt things for awhile because that's what they do in emerging countries like this, ask any Eastern European nation.
And as for the comparison to Sisi? Huh? The dude pulled a coup, brutalized his enemies, and then held a completely transparently bullshit election.
How is that in any way comparable because of two related former posts?This is actually extremely par for the course. I don't know why everyone and their mother was so quick to think regional democratization always looks like the East Bloc in 1989 and not Western Europe in 1848.
Damn it stop being so reasonable. By real seculars I mean people who were opposed to Bin Ali. People who were thrown in jail and tortured. People I can trust. Not some past goon.
And I know that even Patton didn't remove all the Nazis from government. I understand that need for expertise, for bureaucrats. But this smell really bad.
Tunisia was never as brutal as Egypt. Since the sixties perhaps even beyond the fucked up Arab violence continuum goes like this:
category 1) loads of death everywhere no reasons required:
Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon as well, but Lebanon is weird; it is very dissimilar to these other ones except violent death per capita.
category 2) lots of executions if you opposed the government:
pretty much Egypt. Though this was getting better under Mubarak and slipping to category 3. Not any more.
category 3) Lots of prison and torture with occasional execution and "accidental death" which seems to be an occupational hazard for torturers or as I like to call it "premature execution".
Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain.
This is not exhaustive and not up to date; Kuwait is graduating into C3 for example.
So naturally any retreat from democracy in Tunisia is going to be less ugly and less violent and obvious than Egypt. But mark my words this "Party" is not going to give up power in the foreseeable future elections or no elections. No real opposition will be allowed to exist either.
I dearly hope I'm wrong. But I have a first row seat watching the incredible amount of money and propaganda being thrown behind this "election" and other "corrections" in the region. I might as well be passing the coffins and neck shackles myself.
One of soldiers from volunter battalion is giving a speech to us right now, while it's big break. A big guilt trip, not that I get out and hang out a lot, but I don't really put as much input as I would have wished…
Sometimes I wish I had either god-like powers, or god-like amount of money...
It's good that our nation got a big enough amount of people who volunteer/help/donate. But it's so shitty that government cares so little about soilders, so damn little, they just don't wish them to return back to Kiev to finish what maidan started...
Peace-treaty is a shit
Damn it stop being so reasonable. By real seculars I mean people who were opposed to Bin Ali. People who were thrown in jail and tortured. People I can trust. Not some past goon.
And I know that even Patton didn't remove all the Nazis from government. I understand that need for expertise, for bureaucrats. But this smell really bad.
I'm not sure you know what secular means? It has nothing to do with closeness to the old regime or not.
Tunisia was never as brutal as Egypt. Since the sixties perhaps even beyond the fucked up Arab violence continuum goes like this:
Yes and that's part of why this isn't as alarming as it would be elsewhere. Tunisia is the Yugoslavia of the Arab world in terms of communist government, or post 56' revolution Hungary. (Syria and/or Iraq is the Yugoslavia in the uh…other sense...)
category 1) loads of death everywhere no reasons required:
Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon as well, but Lebanon is weird; it is very dissimilar to these other ones except violent death per capita.
Sudan, Syria and Iraq sure. But Libya is not as bad as any of them or close. Libya belongs maybe in a category down with Yemen and Algeria. And right now Algeria is fine, though I think your referencing their 90's violence. Which I assume you mean with Lebanon too with their 80's.
Lebanon's dissimilarity is that it's much more cosmopolitan and demographically diverse proportion wise. It's a really bizarre country.
I find it funny that the two historical power bases of Phoenicians are the most liberal and democratic in the Arab world, but maybe that's not so strange.
So naturally any retreat from democracy in Tunisia is going to be less ugly and less violent and obvious than Egypt. But mark my words this "Party" is not going to give up power in the foreseeable future elections or no elections. No real opposition will be allowed to exist either.
Corrupt semi-democratic countries don't usually have this issue with power like that. Tunisia resembles more Eastern Europe to me, and lacking anything as nasty as Milosevic or even Lukashenko. The Tunisian dictatorship was not as iron clad and ideologically tied to faux historical relevance as the East Bloc was. It was just some corrupt mafia family.
Best of all you don't have a decaying bitter former imperial overlord with motive to hold you back from progress in Tunisia as Eastern Europe has Russia.
I dearly hope I'm wrong. But I have a first row seat watching the incredible amount of money and propaganda being thrown behind this "election" and other "corrections" in the region. I might as well be passing the coffins and neck shackles myself.
I hate to tell you this but elections are dirty filithy money backed propaganda fests everywhere.
@Monkey:
I'm not sure you know what secular means? It has nothing to do with closeness to the old regime or not.
Yes and that's part of why this isn't as alarming as it would be elsewhere. Tunisia is the Yugoslavia of the Arab world in terms of communist government, or post 56' revolution Hungary. (Syria and/or Iraq is the Yugoslavia in the uh…other sense...)
Sudan, Syria and Iraq sure. But Libya is not as bad as any of them or close. Libya belongs maybe in a category down with Yemen and Algeria. And right now Algeria is fine, though I think your referencing their 90's violence. Which I assume you mean with Lebanon too with their 80's.
Lebanon's dissimilarity is that it's much more cosmopolitan and demographically diverse proportion wise. It's a really bizarre country.
I find it funny that the two historical power bases of Phoenicians are the most liberal and democratic in the Arab world, but maybe that's not so strange.Corrupt semi-democratic countries don't usually have this issue with power like that. Tunisia resembles more Eastern Europe to me, and lacking anything as nasty as Milosevic or even Lukashenko. The Tunisian dictatorship was not as iron clad and ideologically tied to faux historical relevance as the East Bloc was. It was just some corrupt mafia family.
Best of all you don't have a decaying bitter former imperial overlord with motive to hold you back from progress in Tunisia as Eastern Europe has Russia.I hate to tell you this but elections are dirty filithy money backed propaganda fests everywhere.
Why do you have to assume stupidity? I know what a secular is. There were three major secular parties composed of actual activists who suffered under Bin Ali just as the Islamic opposition did. They range from center left to hard core labor socialists and unionists. But the point is they are real. They fought Bin Ali since the 80's and payed for it just like the Islamists. I think they got a total of 5 seats between all three of them. Beji isn't a secularists he doesn't believe in anything aside from gaining power. That was my point.
As for imperial overload I think that part is being played by the rich gulf states. Hell, they are sending troupes into Libya if you believe the Libyans "historically not very accurate".
As for imperial overload I think that part is being played by the rich gulf states. Hell, they are sending troupes into Libya if you believe the Libyans "historically not very accurate".
That's a long way back to go for a former imperial overlord!
I know meddlers don't have to be the old boss, but not having what the Ukraine (and all other former USSR states) has with Russia is a huge boon that can't be discounted.
I suppose to some extent Saudi and it's allies behave a little like that, and we certainly did in the Cold War.
Today mark the 1-year anniversary of EuromaidanRevolution.
! It was so small at the start, something that would die out in month or two, and people paid little mind to it, me included, because EU association deal wouldn't have magically make everything right in my country, there was no reason to truly be upset…
! I was even of opinion for short while that someone deliberately ordered a violent dispersal of protesters on 30 November, to fuel it. But one day later, with no higher up brought to justice for committed crime, it became clear that our then-government was just that dumb. And with that, I've been following the progress of the movement, its aftermath, and events that followed after, albeit lately not as attentively as I should have….
! It did bring about positive changes, but at great price... If I am to be fair, the trade-off wasn't equal at all, Russia meddling tipped the scales quite a lot. People effort could have been channeled into controlling the government, keeping it clean and tidy, thinking of ways to make our economy flourish. Instead the efforts are spread thin between supporting soldiers, refugees, and attempts to clean the remains of old regime.
Funny, back when I've been creating this thread so much was happening in Venezuela and Thailand as well. From what I understand the movement in Venezuela is on decline (?) while in Thailand protests eventually resulted in change of power with followed Coup d'état of caretaker government and apparently an establishment of junta (I can't take this word seriously).
And today, I can recall the most recent ongoing unrest being in Hong Kong, the one in Mexico and Ferguson. How would those pan out in the end I wonder…
I'm gone, things are worse by the day… But I'm mostly ignoring it.
The breaking point was kind of lack of any true cohesive sentiment with the massess, they tried to focus in "the exit" of the goverment, but they should have focused in actual terrible issues like the scarcity of food and insecurity.
But well, if you need to be told that you should be able to find any food in the market, and that people being killed in the streets without punishment is wrong..
So the Moldovan authorities busted a ring of terrorists planning some violent pro-russia uprising in the Moldovan capital for after their elections.
And yes they know that it was being orchestrated and funded by Russia.
Russia is continuously sending more weapons and ammunition into eastern Ukraine to supply the rebels under the guise of humanitarian aid. While there is some humanitarian aid involved much of the delivery is military aid to help the combatants. They don't even care if everyone has them figured out of course but just to keep up appearances they're going to continue saying it's just humanitarian aid. Go figure.
http://news.yahoo.com/large-unauthorized-convoy-enters-east-ukraine-russia-ukrainian-134642916.html
Russia's economy is dying and we are all paying awesomely low gas costs for coinciding reasons at least in the US lol.
Couldn't happened to a nicer country.
Oliver Stone is still crazy: https://www.facebook.com/TheOliverStone/posts/901387646552202
I read some of the comments and it's hilarious. Most of the westerners commenting are all supporting this bullcrap and throwing anti-western pictures and comments while ukrainian people, right bellow them are dishing out at oliver and saying that the documentary is kremlin propaganda. Simply baffling, the way many westerners hate their own culture these days and constantly criticise it, while taking advantage of the benefits created by it.
I read some of the comments and it's hilarious. Most of the westerners commenting are all supporting this bullcrap and throwing anti-western pictures and comments while ukrainian people, right bellow them are dishing out at oliver and saying that the documentary is kremlin propaganda. Simply baffling, the way many westerners hate their own culture these days and constantly criticise it, while taking advantage of the benefits created by it.
Moronic westerners have always been the bread and butter of Russian info warfare even back in the Soviet days.
Apparently Oliver Stone wants to be this guy.
Ah, so that's why Stone's name is trending in Russian Twitter.
About yesterday's news:
The Navalny verdict was due to be announced next month, but the government announced on Monday that it would come today, apparently hoping to sap the energy of protests that were scheduled for January 15th. That strategy does not seem to have been effective: there were protests on the day of the verdict despite the short notice and bitter cold, and the January 15th demonstrations have not been cancelled.
It is sad or maybe ironic to see Putin who was credited with resolving hostage situations in his early rule, use tactics eerily similar to what he stood against.
Stone is the sort of simpleton who has concerned himself with issues of US meddling in Latin America, and when traveling over to Eastern Europe he winds up ass backwards blind to Russia behaving in the exact same fashion to that region.
I've always thought his movies were childish black and white morality tales, the man is a giant seven year old.
The nuance of "Russia and the US both act badly and arrogantly toward regions of their historic hegemony" isn't even complex. But it's apparently beyond him.
What makes it even crazier is the US has significantly cooled off toward Latin America after the Cold War ended, whereas Russia has literally invaded and begun to annex portions of the Ukraine. Yet his concerns lean toward the former apparently.
Reminder that Oliver Stone is cheerleading Putin harder than the dictators of Belarus and Kazakhstan. Putin's closest allies.
Stone also believes JFK is one of the greatest presidents ever, even though the guy lacked any political savvy and the Cuba crisis is his one major win. He wouldn't have been able to push the civil rights laws through congress. Johnson was better in every way. Yet Stone never stops depicting him as the scheming racist who only ended segregation to win votes.
Stone also believes JFK is one of the greatest presidents ever, even though the guy lacked any political savvy and the Cuba crisis is his one major win. He wouldn't have been able to push the civil rights laws through congress. Johnson was better in every way. Yet Stone never stops depicting him as the scheming racist who only ended segregation to win votes.
Eh Johnson was a fantastic domestic president, but a lousy international one (rather like Teddy in that regard).
Also ending discrimination to get votes is the opposite of what happened lol Oliver you idiot, the civil rights legislation was the start of the Republicans devouring the South as a voting bloc (to be later taken over from inside by them). And Johnson famously said on signing the legislation something to the effect of "we've lost the south for a generation".
Oliver Stone is the film version of Howard Zinn.
@Monkey:
Eh Johnson was a fantastic domestic president, but a lousy international one (rather like Teddy in that regard).
Well, keep in mind that his peace talks with North Vietnam were sabotaged by Nixon.
Well, keep in mind that his peace talks with North Vietnam were sabotaged by Nixon.
That just makes Stone's take on Nixon to be even weirder.
Looks like Russia have started offensive to make a land connection to Krim peninsula, Mariupol is getting hammered by heavy artillery and rockets. As long as russian soldiers remove any identification tags from uniforms and equipment UN and EU can't do anything about it, Ukraine is alone in this :getlost:
Honestly the situation is so shite, it gets depressing to follow the daily news. Which in a way kinda coincide with last year… the bus shooting in Volnovakha, Donetsk airport, soldiers that died there, those that got imprisoned, checkpoint getting captured, another bus shooting in Donetsk, village Krasnyi Partizan captured by pro-russian forces, today attack on Mariupol (which pro-russian forced admitted as being their advancement on Mariupol, 30 civilian dead, 97 injured, east side of the city that was attacked is being evacuated to west side), forming of new potential encirclement around Debaltseve. But hey, peace.
Ram their economy so far into the ground they don't recover for a decade.