Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Posted on August 30, 2010 - by Venik
Global Moron Alert
Here’s my scientific study* on the density of morons in various almost randomly-selected countries. We deal with morons on a daily basis. Some of us would swear we are surrounded by morons. But how many morons are there? I decided to try to answer this question and arrived at some unexpected results. Wikipedia defines “moron” [...]
Posted on August 25, 2010 - by Venik
Microsoft for Soviet Macedonia
I don’t know why, but today I stopped by Microsoft’s Bing search engine. I was greeted by a photo of Lake Debar located in western Macedonia near the border with Albania. When I hovered the mouse over little black squares on the photo, I was given a quick lesson in Macedonia’s history. My knowledge of [...]
Posted on July 27, 2010 - by Venik
The Biggest Secret
While the US Army is revving up its investigation of Bradley Manning, those of us with a gift for diagonal reading are sure to be very busy for the next couple of weeks. However, I think it is safe to say that the Afghan war’s two biggest “secrets” have been sufficiently exposed. And they are [...]
Posted on July 20, 2010 - by Venik
The Water Boys
The best way to keep a secret is not to concede its existence. Indeed, it would be difficult for your neighbor to poison your dog, if he doesn’t know you have one. Should, nevertheless, the facts escape, your next best defense is wordiness. You shall contribute to the spectacle at every opportunity in the hope [...]
Posted on May 30, 2010 - by Venik
Deepwater Sombrero
According to the latest news reports every attempt to plug the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico has failed. At some point last week it became obvious that BP has been copying the failed attempts to stop the 1979 Ixtoc spill. It is interesting to note, that the two drilling rigs – the Ixtoc [...]
Posted on May 29, 2010 - by Venik
Yak-130 Crashes in Russia
A Yak-130 advanced trainer jet crashed earlier today at the Lipetsk combat flight training center of the Russian AF. Both pilots ejected and were treated for minor injuries. There was no damage on the ground. The aircraft went out of control on takeoff during a routine training mission. This is first crash of an in-service [...]
Posted on April 20, 2010 - by Venik
Why Russia and Poland Will Never be Friends
You probably heard the story by now: a plane full of Polish russophobes flew into a tree in Russia. Too bad Dante is dead: a lot of good material for a Commedia sequel. There is a veritable flurry of news reports and editorials predicting an epic thaw in relations between Russia and Poland. A brief [...]
Posted on April 20, 2010 - by Venik
Journalists Killed in Iraq
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists published a report claiming there were 88 unsolved murders of journalists in Iraq between 2000 and 2009. Incidentally, nearly all of the 88 murders occurred in 2003-2009 when the country was under American occupation and some of these eighty eight journalists died at the hands of the US [...]
Posted on March 6, 2010 - by Venik
Saakashvili to submit to a drug test?
The president of Georgia decided to go along with the proposal by an opposition parliament member Dmitri Lordkipanidze to test all government employees for illegal drugs. Saakashvili said that the test will require a single hair and that he will offer his shortly. In other news, Saakashvili shaved his head bald… Lordkipanidze’s suggestion of drug-testing [...]
Posted on February 22, 2010 - by Venik
Timoshenko’s Battleplan
Not a week ago Ukraine’s Prime Minister seemed determined to argue her case in court. She outlined a comprehensive legal strategy that seemed certain to tie down her archnemesis in court for months, bankrupt the government, and push the country closer to anarchy. But yesterday Timoshenko withdrew her complaint from the Supreme Administrative Court and [...]
Posted on February 18, 2010 - by Venik
Mistral for Russia
France’s decision to sell four Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia was met with heavy criticism in the US, Georgia and the Baltic States. Interestingly enough, Russia’s decision to buy the four vessels for more than $2 billion was met with a lot of criticism within Russia as well. This is really the first time in [...]
Posted on February 17, 2010 - by Venik
Safety of Luge
The tragic death of Nodar Kumaritashvili on the luge track in Vancouver is the cause of online discussion about safety of this sport. Many criticize track designers and organizers of the Games for the track’s perceived lax safety standards. Others wonder if safety is even possible in a sport where one rides a tiny sled [...]
Posted on February 16, 2010 - by Venik
Olympic Bones
As I am sitting here watching the Olympics, I am reminded of a CNN (I think it was CNN) special a few years ago. Some angry-looking activists were discussing the alarming popularity of online videos depicting street fights, schoolyard brawls and such. The gist of the discussion was that most of us share the responsibility [...]
Posted on February 16, 2010 - by Venik
Ukrainian Elections
“Liberast” is the term coined in Russia in the 1990s that is finding its way into the English language. As you might have already guessed, this term combines the words “liberal” and “pederast”. I don’t think you will have any trouble figuring out the intended meaning of this portmanteau. Western liberasts often use Ukraine as [...]