4 ms·

Lest we forget, things are somewhat less normal and friendly in places where Russia currently drops bombs and shells on people's heads.

by jwr 3y ago

midasuni 3y ago
Have you been into Ukraine recently? It’s perfectly normal and friendly, at least was last year when Kyiv was being hit far harder than now
- aziaziazi 3y ago
  Yeah definitely recommend Kherson and its 2023 spring flooding. Commuting to work by boat Venice’s style and big free surprise washing of entire neighborhoods. What a normal and friendly place!
  - vGPU 3y ago
    To be honest, Ukraine wasn’t ever exactly “normal and friendly”. I’ve been there multiple times. The last time I was in Kiev I witnessed a drunk man urinating in public - at noon - on a center street. Everyone treated this like it was a perfectly normal occurrence. It wasn’t a bad place to spend a few weeks but you would definitely get the occasional reminder that hey, this isn’t Europe anymore, Dorothy.
    - filoleg 3y ago
      > The last time I was in Kiev I witnessed a drunk man urinating in public - at noon - on a center street. Everyone treated this like it was a perfectly normal occurrence. If this shocks you, you might want to avoid visiting San Francisco. I hate pulling out this tired trope, but it felt actually appropriate here.
      - vGPU 3y ago
        As illustrated by your comment, SF isn’t “normal and friendly” either.
    - lr1970 3y ago
      If you want to see people urinating through their pants you are welcome to visit New York City subway.
    - midasuni 3y ago
      If that’s your “normal and friendly” Threshold I dread to think what you believe about Washington DC! Haven’t been to Kyiv for a few months but immigration was fine, shops restaurants were open, people were normal. Sure you might get an air raid, but then in the US you might get shot
    - lisasays 3y ago
      The last time I was in [a certain part of] Kiev Welcome to (certain parts of) Berlin, SF, NYC and scores of other places. Where sometimes even less pleasant things are to be seen. The fact that nobody does anything doesn't mean they find it to be "perfectly normal". Rather they are horrified, or simply inured -- and don't dare get involved for obvious reasons. If anything such occurrences are far less common in Kyiv than in the above 3 places.
    - CatWChainsaw 3y ago
      If you're going to spell it "Kiev", why not just go all the way and refer to the country as "the Ukraine"?
- ramchip 3y ago
  Any recommendations for a good B&B in Bakhmut?
Guthur 3y ago
[flagged]
- VK538FY 3y ago
  You could add Turkey to the list. In the end, only one country is in Syria at the invitation of the internationally recognized government of Syria, while the other is not.
  - qwytw 3y ago
    > internationally recognized government of Syria It is in no way universally recognized as the sole legitimate government of Syria.
    - VK538FY 3y ago
      Sure, like some preferred to think of Guaidó as the president of Venezuela for a while. But the Syrian government is recognised by the UN, the Arab league, Syria's trading partners and allies etc. Not worth beating a dead horse... or empty white helmet.
      - qwytw 3y ago
        > the Arab league, Syria's trading partners Not until quite recently and several years after the US et al. significantly toned down their involvement in Syria. I'm not sure if you remember but Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Jordan also participated in the intervention. Saudi Arabia for instance only restored diplomatic relations with Assad's government last month after Syria was readmitted back into the Arab league (from which it was suspended until MAY 2023). Prior to last month the Arab League still officially considered the 'Syrian National Coalition' to be the legitimate government of Syria. So really what you're saying was far from accurate for the last 10 years. List of countries which recognized the 'Syrian National Coalition' as the sole legitimate government of Syria between 2012 and the last year or two (or technically still do): Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, France, Turkey, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, United States, Australia, Malta, and also the European Union and the Arab League...
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

Lest we forget, things are somewhat less normal and friendly in places where Russia currently drops bombs and shells on people's heads.

by jwr 3y ago

Lest we forget, things are somewhat less normal and friendly in places where Russia currently drops bombs and shells on people's heads.

midasuni 3y ago

Have you been into Ukraine recently? It’s perfectly normal and friendly, at least was last year when Kyiv was being hit far harder than now

aziaziazi 3y ago
Yeah definitely recommend Kherson and its 2023 spring flooding. Commuting to work by boat Venice’s style and big free surprise washing of entire neighborhoods. What a normal and friendly place!
- vGPU 3y ago
  To be honest, Ukraine wasn’t ever exactly “normal and friendly”. I’ve been there multiple times. The last time I was in Kiev I witnessed a drunk man urinating in public - at noon - on a center street. Everyone treated this like it was a perfectly normal occurrence. It wasn’t a bad place to spend a few weeks but you would definitely get the occasional reminder that hey, this isn’t Europe anymore, Dorothy.
  - filoleg 3y ago
    > The last time I was in Kiev I witnessed a drunk man urinating in public - at noon - on a center street. Everyone treated this like it was a perfectly normal occurrence. If this shocks you, you might want to avoid visiting San Francisco. I hate pulling out this tired trope, but it felt actually appropriate here.
    - vGPU 3y ago
      As illustrated by your comment, SF isn’t “normal and friendly” either.
  - lr1970 3y ago
    If you want to see people urinating through their pants you are welcome to visit New York City subway.
  - midasuni 3y ago
    If that’s your “normal and friendly” Threshold I dread to think what you believe about Washington DC! Haven’t been to Kyiv for a few months but immigration was fine, shops restaurants were open, people were normal. Sure you might get an air raid, but then in the US you might get shot
  - lisasays 3y ago
    The last time I was in [a certain part of] Kiev Welcome to (certain parts of) Berlin, SF, NYC and scores of other places. Where sometimes even less pleasant things are to be seen. The fact that nobody does anything doesn't mean they find it to be "perfectly normal". Rather they are horrified, or simply inured -- and don't dare get involved for obvious reasons. If anything such occurrences are far less common in Kyiv than in the above 3 places.
  - CatWChainsaw 3y ago
    If you're going to spell it "Kiev", why not just go all the way and refer to the country as "the Ukraine"?
ramchip 3y ago
Any recommendations for a good B&B in Bakhmut?

Guthur 3y ago

[flagged]

VK538FY 3y ago
You could add Turkey to the list. In the end, only one country is in Syria at the invitation of the internationally recognized government of Syria, while the other is not.
- qwytw 3y ago
  > internationally recognized government of Syria It is in no way universally recognized as the sole legitimate government of Syria.
  - VK538FY 3y ago
    Sure, like some preferred to think of Guaidó as the president of Venezuela for a while. But the Syrian government is recognised by the UN, the Arab league, Syria's trading partners and allies etc. Not worth beating a dead horse... or empty white helmet.
    - qwytw 3y ago
      > the Arab league, Syria's trading partners Not until quite recently and several years after the US et al. significantly toned down their involvement in Syria. I'm not sure if you remember but Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Jordan also participated in the intervention. Saudi Arabia for instance only restored diplomatic relations with Assad's government last month after Syria was readmitted back into the Arab league (from which it was suspended until MAY 2023). Prior to last month the Arab League still officially considered the 'Syrian National Coalition' to be the legitimate government of Syria. So really what you're saying was far from accurate for the last 10 years. List of countries which recognized the 'Syrian National Coalition' as the sole legitimate government of Syria between 2012 and the last year or two (or technically still do): Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, France, Turkey, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, United States, Australia, Malta, and also the European Union and the Arab League...

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]