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> Sadly, now that human-mammoth relationship has continued as ivory hunters have looted the site beyond further study. Radio free europe had a really good phot

> Sadly, now that human-mammoth relationship has continued as ivory hunters have looted the site beyond further study. Radio free europe had a really good photo essay on these new mammoth pirates: https://www.rferl.org/a/the-mammoth-pirates/27939865.html https://www.rferl.org/a/the-mammoth-pirates/27939865.html

shmageggy 2y ago
That was exellently presented. Clear, informative, compelling. I especially appreciated getting to the end without being bombarded with any ads, popups, or begging for email signups. Curious how I could support such media, I found https://pressroom.rferl.org/about-rfe-rl/ https://pressroom.rferl.org/about-rfe-rl/ which says, > RFE/RL, Inc. is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation funded by the U.S. Congress through a grant from the United States Agency for Global Media... Yay taxes!
- the_af 2y ago
  > Yay taxes! Well, the RFERL was funded through a CIA front organization, it was mostly an anti-communist propaganda operation. It definitely is/was a "state effort". So yes, taxes.
  - _visgean 2y ago
    you say propaganda, I say truth. > According to certain European politicians such as Petr Nečas, RFE played a significant role in the collapse of communism and the development of democracy in Eastern Europe.[40][41][42] Unlike government-censored programs, RFE publicized anti-Soviet protests and nationalist movements. Its audience increased substantially following the failed Berlin riots of 1953 and the highly publicized defection of Józef Światło.[43] Arch Puddington argues that its Hungarian service's coverage of Poland's Poznań riots in 1956 served as an inspiration for the Hungarian revolution that year.[44] > For the first two days following the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986, the official Eastern Bloc media did not report any news about the disaster, nor any full account for another four months. According to the Hoover Institute, the people of the Soviet Union "became frustrated with inconsistent and contradictory reports", and 36% of them turned to Western radio to provide accurate and pertinent information.[58] Listenership at RFE/RL "shot up dramatically" as a "great many hours" of broadcast time were devoted to the dissemination of life-saving news and information following the disaster.[59] Broadcast topics included "precautions for exposure to radioactive fallout" and reporting on the plight of the Estonians who were tasked with providing the clean-up operations in Ukraine.[59]
danoni 2y ago
> Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is an American government-funded international media organization The purpose of RFERL is to produce news items that are covertly critical of the enemy. It adds up with other resources to paint a negative image of the enemy.
- yladiz 2y ago
  Which enemy?
  - KeplerBoy 2y ago
    Russia? The west is in a war-like situation with Russia. Portraying them as stupid, drunk rednecks who ravage trough the environment certainly fits the narrative. Doesn't mean it's not true though.
    - danoni 2y ago
      There is no direct confrontation because that would be WWIII. Only proxy wars like the one happening now. RFERL is US-government funded, and the audience is mainly eastern Europe. Even PBS in the US is not funded by the US government. Why exclusively fund RFERL for a foreign audience if you do not fund your national public broadcaster?
      - _visgean 2y ago
        > Why exclusively fund RFERL for a foreign audience if you do not fund your national public broadcaster? Because the US media market is quite saturated and developed (or at least was when any of this was made into law) compared to countries where media is actively supressed.
        danoni 2y ago
        I don't see that. Quality news reporting is lacking. Investigative journalism is almost dead. The mainstream media is on a war footing. There have been 0 interviews with J Mearsheimer on mainstream US media.
ljf 2y ago
Was too stunning and interesting not to be a post in its own right: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40643610 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40643610
araes 2y ago
Funding for RFE/RL aside, neat article, and whoever that was almost got a Half-Life death out in the woods with a crowbar. > Boozy camaraderie is quickly exhausted and the atmosphere turns ugly. One tusker picks up a metal bar and slams it onto a woodpile before turning on me. He pauses for a moment before swiping it above my head. As I back out of the camp, he collapses onto a bench, calling, “Where’s the dog?!” Also, that "Mosquitoes are a near constant plague." image is one of the most disgusting things I think I've seen recently. Pass out drunk and wake up to feet covered with bugs in the morning.
- surfingdino 2y ago
  Some things in life are just impossible to survive without a crate of vodka, it seems.

shmageggy 2y ago

That was exellently presented. Clear, informative, compelling. I especially appreciated getting to the end without being bombarded with any ads, popups, or begging for email signups. Curious how I could support such media, I found https://pressroom.rferl.org/about-rfe-rl/ https://pressroom.rferl.org/about-rfe-rl/ which says, > RFE/RL, Inc. is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation funded by the U.S. Congress through a grant from the United States Agency for Global Media... Yay taxes!

the_af 2y ago
> Yay taxes! Well, the RFERL was funded through a CIA front organization, it was mostly an anti-communist propaganda operation. It definitely is/was a "state effort". So yes, taxes.
- _visgean 2y ago
  you say propaganda, I say truth. > According to certain European politicians such as Petr Nečas, RFE played a significant role in the collapse of communism and the development of democracy in Eastern Europe.[40][41][42] Unlike government-censored programs, RFE publicized anti-Soviet protests and nationalist movements. Its audience increased substantially following the failed Berlin riots of 1953 and the highly publicized defection of Józef Światło.[43] Arch Puddington argues that its Hungarian service's coverage of Poland's Poznań riots in 1956 served as an inspiration for the Hungarian revolution that year.[44] > For the first two days following the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986, the official Eastern Bloc media did not report any news about the disaster, nor any full account for another four months. According to the Hoover Institute, the people of the Soviet Union "became frustrated with inconsistent and contradictory reports", and 36% of them turned to Western radio to provide accurate and pertinent information.[58] Listenership at RFE/RL "shot up dramatically" as a "great many hours" of broadcast time were devoted to the dissemination of life-saving news and information following the disaster.[59] Broadcast topics included "precautions for exposure to radioactive fallout" and reporting on the plight of the Estonians who were tasked with providing the clean-up operations in Ukraine.[59]

danoni 2y ago

> Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is an American government-funded international media organization The purpose of RFERL is to produce news items that are covertly critical of the enemy. It adds up with other resources to paint a negative image of the enemy.

yladiz 2y ago
Which enemy?
- KeplerBoy 2y ago
  Russia? The west is in a war-like situation with Russia. Portraying them as stupid, drunk rednecks who ravage trough the environment certainly fits the narrative. Doesn't mean it's not true though.
  - danoni 2y ago
    There is no direct confrontation because that would be WWIII. Only proxy wars like the one happening now. RFERL is US-government funded, and the audience is mainly eastern Europe. Even PBS in the US is not funded by the US government. Why exclusively fund RFERL for a foreign audience if you do not fund your national public broadcaster?
    - _visgean 2y ago
      > Why exclusively fund RFERL for a foreign audience if you do not fund your national public broadcaster? Because the US media market is quite saturated and developed (or at least was when any of this was made into law) compared to countries where media is actively supressed.
      - danoni 2y ago
        I don't see that. Quality news reporting is lacking. Investigative journalism is almost dead. The mainstream media is on a war footing. There have been 0 interviews with J Mearsheimer on mainstream US media.

ljf 2y ago

Was too stunning and interesting not to be a post in its own right: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40643610 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40643610

araes 2y ago

Funding for RFE/RL aside, neat article, and whoever that was almost got a Half-Life death out in the woods with a crowbar. > Boozy camaraderie is quickly exhausted and the atmosphere turns ugly. One tusker picks up a metal bar and slams it onto a woodpile before turning on me. He pauses for a moment before swiping it above my head. As I back out of the camp, he collapses onto a bench, calling, “Where’s the dog?!” Also, that "Mosquitoes are a near constant plague." image is one of the most disgusting things I think I've seen recently. Pass out drunk and wake up to feet covered with bugs in the morning.

surfingdino 2y ago
Some things in life are just impossible to survive without a crate of vodka, it seems.