The Russians Are Coming
Dec. 4th, 2007 10:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphiloI grew up during the Cold War. I remember playing a game called "Russian spies" which involved talking in a silly voice and brandishing crayoned drawings of space rockets. My friend and I never could figure out what Russian spies actually did. It was fun drawing the space rockets but the rest of it palled very quickly.
So I've got this conditioning. Russia is the "Evil Empire"- all that Reaganite crap.
But
When I was a little older I discovered the Russians had written the best books in the world. Later I found out they'd also made some of the best films.
AND they defeated Hitler. Yes they did. We helped out at bit, but they were the ones who fought the biggest battles and took the biggest losses.
So LJ is now owned by the Russians.
Yes I know the President of Russia is a scary bloke. (So is the President of the USA if you hadn't noticed.)
But he's less likely to want to kill us- right- now we're his customers.
We live in a global economy. And in a global economy this is what happens. Russians also own Chelsea football club and much of London.
The shop's new owner has a funny accent. Get over it.
A capitalist is a capitalist is a capitalist. Are you trying to tell me Russian capitalists are intrinsically more evil than American capitalists? (Or British capitalists, or Australian capitalists). That's silly. Go read some history.
So I've got this conditioning. Russia is the "Evil Empire"- all that Reaganite crap.
But
When I was a little older I discovered the Russians had written the best books in the world. Later I found out they'd also made some of the best films.
AND they defeated Hitler. Yes they did. We helped out at bit, but they were the ones who fought the biggest battles and took the biggest losses.
So LJ is now owned by the Russians.
Yes I know the President of Russia is a scary bloke. (So is the President of the USA if you hadn't noticed.)
But he's less likely to want to kill us- right- now we're his customers.
We live in a global economy. And in a global economy this is what happens. Russians also own Chelsea football club and much of London.
The shop's new owner has a funny accent. Get over it.
A capitalist is a capitalist is a capitalist. Are you trying to tell me Russian capitalists are intrinsically more evil than American capitalists? (Or British capitalists, or Australian capitalists). That's silly. Go read some history.
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memory of the russian dead
Date: 2007-12-04 01:51 pm (UTC)of livejournal in the least. Bur really Tony do
you seriously believe that political life is as
free and open in Russia as it is in the United
States? I wonder if you are aware of the millions
dead during the Communist regieme and of the
camps...I mean I suppose you are aware but you
allow yourself to summarize that whole period as
'they defeated Hitler'... and that this horror
was 'Reaganite crap' if I follow what you are
saying.
I wonder if that is all the memory that will remain
of what the Russian people have endured is some
comparison to political leaders whom one didnt
vote for?
they deserve better than that possibly.
this is irate in tone and risks to be an expression
of it being early in the morning but I imagine that
yours is the sort of exercise in hyperbole which
come to think of it is parallel, mutatis mutandis,
to the tabloid papers I buy for their outrageous
headlines and sports sections (yes we have them too
as I know you do) in preference to the boring
papers. In this case mine is an over reaction indeed
but... but here it is with respect yours
+Seraphim Sigrist
on the livejournal aspect
Date: 2007-12-04 02:15 pm (UTC)and my concern, our investment in livejournal.
I am not concerned really. what would one
be afraid of? mismanagement and movement to
yet another owner? could happen but is off
topic here...
I think one question about this is what sort
of russian investment this is and whether it is
not of the sort of the buying of the football
team in chlsea--that is a prudent movement of
some part of holdings overseas by one of the
oligarchs (and you speak of capitalists but
remember that the money was all elements of
the monies of the communist time establishment
it is not produced from zero as it were).
however one concern, not for you and I, might
be this that livejournal as the reports say
is pretty much the Eussain blogosphere and
there is no doubt that control and intimidation
of the blogosphere could be part of the objective
of a centralized power which has silenced all
opposition media. their law does allow much
broader intercept of email and phone than does
ours. I cannot say if this move has any
ramifications ,at least psychologically, for
Russians but again I would think it depends on
what sort of group is providing the seed money
referred to etc.
But beyond mismanaging I do not see how they could
harm you or I. A determined intelligence service
would certainly already be able to read our
livejournals since for one thing yours and mine
are public etc as to playing some kind of dirty
tricks if we were of interest to this or that
intelligence service of another country well I
would think they might think of worse things
than painting a moustache on some mona lisa
we drew...
in short people who worry about this on livejournal
are ,as far as I can imagine, concerned without
reason. which is to agree with you, which you
deserve after my rather short tempered previous response
and now I must away in shakespearian dictum ,and
bungee jump into real space time yrs
+S
Re: on the livejournal aspect
Date: 2007-12-04 03:04 pm (UTC)By their fruits shall ye know them.
amen
Date: 2007-12-04 03:06 pm (UTC)Re: memory of the russian dead
Date: 2007-12-04 02:59 pm (UTC)My aim was not to deny or make light of the sufferings of the Russian people under Communism but to say one or two things to try and deflate the hysteria I felt was building up over the purchase of LJ by those ghastly commissars....
seraphim as twit
Date: 2007-12-04 03:05 pm (UTC)I send 'letter to the Times' like that
on lj and no doubt with some reason... :)
Now on lj one question I would have which
does not concern you and I is this
given a local administration of lj
in another country. suppose a journal
is deleted which is critical of that
country's administration... who here
would know or care? and who could do
anything about it?
but it is not directly a concern for us
and I hope not for anyone in this case.
Re: seraphim as twit
Date: 2007-12-04 03:15 pm (UTC)You raise a good question. If a Russian LJer is censored or deleted for political reasons what responsibility do we westerners have towards that person?
How are things in the Russian blogosphere? Are they free to be rude about their government or do they have to tread carefully? I've no idea how things stand; do you?
seraphim and poliphilo in dialogue
Date: 2007-12-04 04:49 pm (UTC)in expression of J Stewart
Date: 2007-12-04 05:05 pm (UTC)well you know you have both a
Republican and a Labor Party admirer
in turn, speaking for Tony who respect
each other too so lets have
a virtual I dont know, sun not over
yardarm yet, hot chocolate on it
prosit!
Re: in expression of J Stewart
Date: 2007-12-04 05:08 pm (UTC)The "Night Cafe" icon is so appropriate here.
Hmmmm. Now I'm wanting some *real* hot cocoa.
Re: in expression of J Stewart
Date: 2007-12-04 06:13 pm (UTC)But there's a bottle of wine open in the kitchen....
Now there's an idea.
Sante!
wine
Date: 2007-12-04 06:16 pm (UTC)I usually don't do cocoa either, but I might be tired of coffee today... yet I am hankering for a hot drink. I guess it could be tea.
Re: seraphim and poliphilo in dialogue
Date: 2007-12-04 06:12 pm (UTC)Just because we disagree about things it doesn't mean we can't have respect for one another.
Courtesy. That's the name of the game.