Tag: russia

Exclusive: Even Pokémon Go used by extensive Russian-linked meddling effort

Just a reminder: this happened not just on FB and Twitter, but also right here on this site, and the right-wing voters are not the only ones targeted.

This whole story reminds me of that strange support/protest/counterprotest flashmob-concert at Grand Central that I wrote here about a few months back, that strongly smelled of Russians staging it.

The goal there is not really to do some one specific thing – the goal is to divide us and to disrupt us as a country and liberal democracy as a viable system. So far, they seem to be succeeding. Think about this next time you repost something that looks outrageous and gets your blood boiling. And yeah, dontshootus tumblr is a confirmed Russian-government troll entity that has nothing to do with ending injustices in this country.

Exclusive: Even Pokémon Go used by extensive Russian-linked meddling effort

Everyone at the Coop last night was freaking out about the likelihood of Trump being elected. One of them, who is on Green Party message boards, saw how people no longer even talk about Bernie anymore, but how they seriously are considering voting for the Green Party candidate, which would guarantee Trump victory.

Just enough to fuel my own trump freakout.

Also, Nader-regret recollections, and Brexit comparisons.

What’s interesting is how little consideration is given to Russia’s input in all of this and how Trump election would be a perfect scenario for them in weakening the US and making the world more dangerous place. I actually wonder where Green Party contributions are coming from now. Especially considering how he might pick Flynn for VP.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/cover_story/2016/07/vladimir_putin_has_a_plan_for_destroying_the_west_and_it_looks_a_lot_like.html

If you have friends sending you mail from Russia, make sure they know how to spell your foreign address in Cyrillic. New rule, courtesy of the Russian Postal Service. Apparently, it wasn’t even the case in the Soviet times.

I contributed to a book publishing project on planeta.ru (it’s like a Russian Indiegogo), and when the time came to deliver it, it turns out, even they didn’t know about it.

From: Marina Litvinova <>
Date: 2015-10-30 11:56 GMT-04:00
Subject: Уточнение адреса доставки на кириллице_Убиты в Катыни
To:

Дорогие друзья,
Коллеги, занимающиеся отправкой купленных Вами в рамках участия в акции “Убиты в Катыни” лотов, столкнулись с небольшой проблемой. Оказывается “Почта России” требует писать адрес доставки кириллицей. Могу я Вас попросить продублировать мне точный адрес доставки на русском языке?
Переводя их самостоятельно, мы боимся ошибиться.
Спасибо

A reminder of how Ukraine is getting to be on par with Russia, if not even worse, with how it treats its freedoms of expression and any differences in thinking:

The fact that this does not nearly get the same attention here as the recent, similarly odious, "undesirable organizations" law in Russia (that they talked about extensively on NPR, and that I mentioned here) only plays into the hands of Russian paranoia.

What’s happened in Russia would be like Fox News taking over the airwaves in the U.S., booting MSNBC from cable TV, and reducing liberals to broadcasting online from a small private apartment in Brooklyn

Ilya Klishin, the chief editor of the last remaining independent TV channel in Russia, in a really good Atlantic article on what’s going on with Russian media. It is good to keep in mind that RT.com is essentially a Russian analog of Fox News, just a bit more to the right.

The way American Fox News watchers mirror those who watch a lot of Russian TV is staggering.

With Russian parliament having just passed legislation on “undesirable” organizations (that they say is meant to achieve “symmetry” with ostensibly analogous legislation in Western countries), I wonder how different this would be if the Republicans completely take over in this country.

Classy jingoistic loveliness that I saw on my ride to work today.

This says, in Russian, “Destination: Berlin”, that used to be common on WWII era Soviet tanks, along with a picture of a T-34 next to it.
To complete the look, a St Petersburg logo below, a Russian imperial eagle in the front, and a VIP AUTO vanity plate.

Of course, in a twist of irony, for someone who still lives 70 years ago, and itches to attack Berlin again, he (it has to be a he) drives an Axis-power-made SUV.

I heard these are common in Russia these days, but interesting to see here. It is pretty much equivalent to someone driving a Ford F150 around Moscow with stars-and-stripes and a “these colors don’t run” sticker. Classy.

Nationalism transcends states, and individuals everywhere carry its seeds. We’re all tribal; we all have loyalties and biases; we all harbor an unexamined and indefensible sense of belonging to the chosen group. There’s a little Putin in everyone, forever picking at old scabs, whipping up team spirit, settling scores—us against them, a hateful sort of love. Acknowledging these things is the only antidote to being governed by them.

George Packer on the first convention of the International Russian Conservative Forum.
(via newyorker)

Current Russian regime is conservative’s dream come true.
And the damage Bush did to this country, and to liberalism, will be very long lasting.

It all sucks, but it’s nice to see someone describing this idea so eloquently.