Fallout, Facebook, and the Evils of Social Media

Serge, I'm sorry. I was just paraphrasing the asinine crap the communists used to say back before their economies collapsed from too much nonsense. I apologize if I've lead you to believe I haven't always thought Marxist premises were silly.

As to the good and grace part: I think I have a different role to play in life, to be agreeable most of the time until a line is crossed...

On the other hand, you DO turn a nice phrase. Perhaps you should write poetry or song lyrics on the side, to supplement your no doubt very high teacher's salary.

 

Even your trolling about my "400 USD per month" salary could not break my faith in your redemption :chick:

I have written some poetry, most of it are silly love rhymes.

 

If they got you laid, then they aren't silly. If they didn't, you aren't trying hard enough.

In a capitalist country, you would earn 5 - 10 times that much. We have Russian faculty were I teach. Cash, a decent standard of living and a government that doesn't ship you off to the Gulag for thinking the wrong trumps Chauvinism any day.

 

Hahaha, you humble me, Gaear.

I did not understand this sentence

As for my salary, GA, we have already discussed it, and it is not so small, actually, if one relates it to the number of hours per month I work (hint - and this number is rather small). So, maybe, per hour I earn as much as I would elsewhere.

 

"Get you laid" means the girl was impressed enough to want "more" of you.

I'm probably putting in similar hours at the university. Our budget was cut 25% this year.

 

Yap. And righteous regimes need their punk neighbors to buy cheap oil from and to call them punks, just to look good themselves. That is hypocrite.

Ayee aye. In nomine patre et fili et spiritus sancti. Domine mittere digneris sacntum angelicum, que qustodiat, foevat at que protecat homnes habitantes i hoq habitaculo. Amen.

The woe. I have become the death, a destroyer of worlds. What I merely sought was to question ones homegrown teachings and to encourage finding one’s own truth. I have created a monster.

Ah the irony of history. What are the “capitalists” singing now when their system is collapsing from being too much nonsense? Oh right, they are not singing as their asses are saved by the taxpayers money. “We are too big to fail” yeah. Occupy the Wall Street!!

 

I am afraid that you Sergio have fallen under the propaganda or its remnants of your past communist government. In our history books the number of soviet citizens who lost their lives either during the purifications by Stalin or later during the war raised nearing a hundred million. Of course it cannot be said accurately since no such records were kept (or they were fabricated) by the soviets, and our estimate’s are evenly noncurrent. We were at war so it would have served our agenda to over exaggerate the barbarism of the soviets. Still I would say that your number is way too low.

And I have visited most of the formerly communist countries and none of their citizens ever admitted that they would have willingly joined the communist block. Cannot be sure though, but there must have been a reason why the Estonians fought with the Waffen SS till the bitter end (as did some of the Finns aswell) or why almost half of the population of Lithuania were transported to Siberia shortly after the war. Not like a reward from welcoming the RED liberators… Surely I am biased, but still. Just watch the Estonian movie Nimed marmortahvlil (Names Engraved in Marble (2002).

 

Yep. You haved touched upon how hypocritical U.S. foreign policy can be.

The point is that most middle eastern oil goes to Europe or Asia. The country we buy the most oil from is Canada. Think what evil we are financing with THAT! :yikes:

Didn't you notice the "Che Guevara" Obama posters? It's "cool" to be revolutionary. Hey, whatever gets you laid.

The only problem is that the news media keeps showing interviews of the "Wall Street Occupiers", and even school children are noticing those people are incoherent idiots. ("Psst. What, exactly, is it we are protesting again?" :dribble

 

I admit that I was zombified by communist propaganda while I was in the womb of my mother, that I was born a Soviet man, and that I hope I'll die a Soviet man.

Some Baltic republics' citizens fought alongside Germans, so did some USSR citizens, so did some Russians who fled the revolution. This does not mean anything. Many more people supported inclusion of Baltic republics in the USSR, and, basically, popular opinion (and not USSR's Army) forced governments of these states to apply for membership in USSR.

People did not admit anything, because most Eastern-Europe-former-communist-countries have harsh discriminating laws against those who supported (or support) communism.

Records of the "communist regime victims" were kept all too well, but western "historians" do not use them, because they tell the truth, and this is not what they want. Of course, many Russian historians fake history in this way too now, that our government is opposed to communism and wants it to be painted black/evil.

Even simple math defeats "hundred million" notion, because if you do 150 (before communism) - 100 (regime victims) - 27 (WW2 victims) you get 23, but, well, in reality it was still 150, and this accounts for reasonable natural growth, which could compensate for 27, but not for 127. But again, this is not needed, one can look into the archives.

 

I've just looked through a book "Россия при смерти?" by С.Г.Кара-Мурза, it has a great analysis and explanation of that "fake" history we were discussing, and it advocates the same version of history I support here (with references to documents), but, unfortunately, it is in Russian. Anyway, I think I'll buy it and read slowly.

 

And all our (Finnish) oil comes from the lovely Россия. But supporting those bastard Canucs is just pure evil, I admit. After spending more than a month in the USA (during the summer of 2009) I, my friend and his Canadian girlfriend decided to spend a week in Canada. Just to see how much better things are in there in comparison to the US. EU citizens can travel without visas for ninety days in both countries. It took some five minutes to clear customs when I entered the US, alone and somewhat dazzled. Last time I was there was in 1995.

The Canadians interrogated us for three hours, by two different agents. All we wanted was to have a week’s holiday in the home of my friend’s Canadian girlfriend. Those Nazis. I have traveled in 23 countries on three different continents and the only equally strict border controls were when travelling from Greece to Turkey and from Italy to Switzerland. In the case of the Turks, they had a good reason to be suspicious: were spending there less than day (went for a pilgrimage to the Hagia Sophia, but didn’t want to spend a single moment more than necessary on enemy soil). What comes to the Swiss, how the hell were we supposed to know that bringing hand guns in to the cantons was ok, but nightsticks were not (we brought both)? Anyways. I will be thrilled to visit the US again, hopefully right after my masters theses are done, but the Cancunts can keep mating with the polar bears or caribous as far as I am conserved.

No I didn’t. The only (anti) Obama posters I saw during my short visit in the US were those posters where the republicans had painted Hitler mustache. Something to do with the eventually failed try to renewal the healthcare system. (Picture taken by myself).

Yes the adolescence tends to favor rebel without cause, thus making such rebel “cool” or equally “dumb”. But do remember that without such a rebel against the idiotic and selfish practices and financial exploitation from the British King by the original tea party, the US would still be just a whining colony…

This raises a whole lot of questions. Firstly why media shows only these pictures? Why you only watch news that shows these opinions? And foremost who is so stupid to give any ground to the opinions of school children on the matter of international funding system?

What are we protesting against? The self-evident intrinsic fact that those who pay or are forced to pay from the mistakes of the brokers of the “investment” banks are surely not the banker nor the brokers, but it is us. The taxpayers.

The Soviet experiment lasted over six decades. Even if you are too young to remember or having experienced it by yourself does not mean that it had no lasting effects. Or are you so naïve that you believe that everything falsified or propagated in you education system by the soviet regime was miraculously correctified during Yeltsin regime?

To my knowledge as a private citizen and as a historian that is nothing more that soviet propaganda. None of the Baltic States welcomed the Red army, more than a necessary evil. Another occupier replacing former. Just think about the commotion of the Bronze Soldier. If the Estonians really appreciated the works of the red army and did not see is as another occupier, why they ditched that great statue? And no need to shelter behind “governmental opinion”, the statue was replaced after a free and open popular vote (unknown notion to Russians)

Only a half-truth. Yes, most ex-soviet members of the EU have strict laws forbidding the public presentations of soviet insignia like the hammer and sickle just like Germany have banned the public presentation of the circle of Sun i.e. swastika. That does not make the opinions related to for mentioned symbols illegal, merely unwanted. Saying out loud one’s opinion is a sacrosanct right in EU, no matter whether the state is a neither old, nor young member. The problem of history dictating the things one is allowed to say out loud is a problem of you Russians, Germans and Americans. We, the rest, are free from such censorship. Do not let it blind you, for you are too smart for that.

As I said: I am biased. The only history books I have ever read are those printed in the west. And the history is always written by the victor’s sword. I will hazard a guess that you have studied mainly those books printed in Rossija? And those which were not, you would still judge by opinions told by the first. At least so would I. Still the truth remains somewhere in between.

My bad. I do not speak Russian. Any English or Finnish translations available?

 

if my russian is good enough, "Россия при смерти?" says "Russia is going to die?" - russia at death?

 

Everything was turned upside-down, trust me, but I've managed to resist that and remain true to my country.

1. Three Baltic Republics joined USSR BEFORE the Great Patriotic War started, THEN they were occupied by Germans, then they were liberated by Soviet army, which was THEIR army, since they were part of the USSR.

2. Since a lot of those living in Estonia do not have rights to vote ("non-citizens", restricted by national criteria) no "voting" can be really considered "legitimate". Furthermore, if "I" were a capitalist country high official, every voting in my area would end in the result needed by my masters, of whom I would be a puppet.

Looks like you really do not know, but they have laws AGAINST PEOPLE who worked in prosecution / law enforcement / intelligence / counter-intelligence or were member of Communist parties (maybe not regular members, but those who had even medium position.) These laws, for example, prohibit those people to work at certain government positions. I think Polish legislation is the shining example, check it out.
Also, do you remember what they did to the last German Democratic Republic Communist Party high official? His name was Erich Honecker. (Well, they did not actually kill him, and even released him when it was assured he is a dead man anyway. But still...)

If you've read Yaroslav Hashek's "Brave Soldier Schweik", you must know that Western Europe countries have a long tradition of dictating what one could say out loud oke:

Most books printed in Russia these days support your variation of history, but, as I've shown in my simple math example (I think), this is nonsense.

It is not "your bad", of course.
I do not know about translations.

Yes, exactly.

 

True to your country or true to the lovely soviet system and it’s propaganda?

Yes, the Baltic States were annexed to USSR before the operation Barbarossa. But that was neither the choice nor the will of those states. With the Treaty of Non-Aggression (Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact) between Nazis and the Soviets signed in Moscow in the 23 of August in 1939 these two great powers divided Eastern Europe between themselves, no opinions were asked from those who were to be divided. Eastern half of Poland, the Baltic States and Finland were to be left at the mercy of the USSR. The Baltic’s and the Poles realized that they had no means to resist the Red Army so they chose to fold. We Fins had neither the means nor the manpower to challenge the great Red Army but yet we chose to do it anyway. THAT is known to history as the Winter War.

Funny thing that you call the Reds as liberator since the Balts gave the same name to the Nazis first, before they learned about their not so civilized manners.

Only citizens in a constitutional democratic nation have the right to vote. Each and every free nation has the right to define their concept of citizen. In Germany only those who can verify German ancestry by link of blood are eligible for citizenship. In Finland (and Estonia) that requirement is bound to the ability to speak the language. In US the requirement is the pledge of allegiance to the Flag. The Russian speaking minority of Estonia, which you refer to, have chosen not to become Estonians but they want to maintain their Russian culture as well as their Russian passports. A remnant of foreign occupiers indeed.

Puppet? At least we do not know BEFORE the elections who our next president will be… All the glory to Putin…

I admit that you got my blind spot here. Yes these laws do exist and I overlook them because I, as any other Scandinavian would, took them as given. They are a part of international (or at least intereuropean) laws about human rights, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Without these kinds of laws a nation could not ever apply membership of the European Union or the Council of Europe. You should know, since Russia abolished the death penalty in order to gain membership in the Council of Europe.

So they did and still do with the so-called Nazis. In my opinion letting Honecker out was right. That bastard did not deserve the mercy of execution, in his case it would have been only an euthanasia. Letting him to rot with cancer was far better choise.

Sadly I have not read Hashek’s books. I admit that even though freedom of speech has been sawn as an intrinsic right since era of enlightenment in the west, it has also always been limited to a point. In our times this limitation is masqueraded in the form of “political correctness.” Russia may not have been the most “free” nation in the past but as much as it hurts me to say it, Russians are at this moment free’er than any other. Envy in my voice. But how long will Putin and his FSB friends let it be?

I disagree. You have shown on point of view, nothing more. To allow oneself believe only to one side of the coin is just a step short of hubris.

Of course it is my bad. My lack of linguistic skills makes me a prisoner of the “storytelling” of my cultural sphere, unable to widen my perspective.

In some respect I can relate to your point of view, but honestly what you describe there is something that I comprehend as the darkest moment of our history. That kind of treacherousness and treason is beyond me. I would rather face the execution squad than turn my PKM against a fellow Brother in arms, without a good reason like cowardice or treason. I know it is easy for me to speak: I have no wife nor children, my life is dispensable.

Still even as it has been a decade now since we were retired from active duty we still meet once or twice a year. These men were and still are more brothers to me than those I was born with. Should any of them ask me a favor of any kind that would be mine to give; I would grant it without hesitation, knowing that they would do the same to me.

At the brink of the war of Lapland, I would have probably chosen to join the Waffen SS than to raise my weapons against a brother.