Very strange disconnect somewhere. I continue to be amazed at the extent of cognitive dissonance that the human mind is able to bear.
Festinger's theory may look convincing in that ancient boring example with smokers' behaviour but hardly looks so attractive when one tries to apply it to much more complicated multi-dimensional political situation.
You mean, someone with a clue about the political situation in modern Russia would not look around in Moscow but visit you in St. Petersburg? Strange city rivalry... *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
It's one thing when you attack people (including those who just lost a friend) or address individuals only via crude national typologies; ratings and critical or mocking comments take care for that. (Though it would be nicer if instead you'd write diaries about the St. Petersburg metro, or the WWII siege of the city, or your bad experiences when you lived in the UK, or you just focused your ire on me.) It's another thing when you troll-rate neither inflammatory, nor content-less, nor too personal comments apparently just in spite, and without a preceding warning -- that calls for some frontpager intervention, e.g. undoing your ratings.
But since you have done this repeatedly, pursuant to our policy, in the name of the front-pager team (who will express approval of this comment via ratings), I must warn you to stop abusing the ratings system.
For emphasis, your ratings are undone and you won't be able to rate for one week. If you can give a good explanation, or say this last troll-rating was by mistake, the last could be undone. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
gradinski posted at 01.36.12 PM
my post appeared at 03.57.50 PM
afew's at 04.13.25 PM
And can't you guess what happened next? And what happens often or maybe every time when two or more responses appear at almost the same time? Afew's post appeared after mine, not gradinski's so I guessed it was directed at my post in a stupid trollish way. Otherwise i wouldn't waste my time on him. First fix that time bug on here and then blame people.
Moreover, being one of the ET goblins (or gnomes? can't remember) afew was definitely well aware of this bug and probably wouldn't have posted anything (why wait for 3 hrs to reply to gradinski's post especially if you're working as a goblin/gnome and have to be on here for many hours?) if it wasn't for my post - I've yet to see any brit who'd missed an opportunity to wind somebody up if they could've got away with it.
I so rarely use the right to rate anybody on here so can't feel myself offended, sorry for disappointing you and t'other goblins/gnomes.
First, as to the comment "bug," I think what you're referring to is some comments moving above others. This is a software feature that moves higher rated comments closer to the top. If afew had wanted to reply to you, he would've attached his comment to yours.
Whether you commented first doesn't matter in any case -- troll-ratings are not to be used merely for disagreement or because you're irritated.
Also, just to clear up any false impressions -- the front-pagers on this site do not "have" to be here for hours. There are no set times. We're all just people who have outside lives and write here when we can.
I can only speak for myself, but the reason I'm here is to communicate with other people -- to hear their views and maybe be able to communicate some of mine. From what I can tell, you have a viewpoint that's different from anyone else's on this board. It's a view I'd very much like to hear and I think it would be interesting to discuss things with you and get your take on issues.
Unfortunately, your anger and hostility get in the way of anything you're saying. Statements like this: "I've yet to see any brit who'd missed an opportunity to wind somebody up if they could've got away with it." don't serve any purpose other than to hurt.
This is exactly the kind of thing the ratings were made to deal with and I was tempted to downrate you for this. Instead, I'm making this attempt to talk with you. Are you here to communicate, perhaps even inform? or simply to insult people and be disruptive? Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
This appears to be a personal vendetta for some bad stuff experienced when she lived in the UK, projected against all British people. Some diaries about the actual violators might be interesting, but innuendo seems to get in the way.
Are you here to communicate, perhaps even inform? or simply to insult people and be disruptive?
She believes she wants to confront us with our hypocrisy, I think she said once. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
There are the sites where Russian people go and communicate with others. The further the sites are from discussing politics (the professional sites dedicated to gardening, photography or even such interesting issues as long-lasting potentiation of synaptic transmission in the dentate area of the anaesthetised rabbit following stimulation of the performant path), the more probable you will find the Russian communicating with others and expressing their views.
If a site is more opened for general public, even if discussing such innocent things as travelling abroad, any Russian will inevitably face lots of sarcastic at the best but usually totally ignorant and nasty remarks re Russian imperial past (which is surprise, surprise! doesn't look so awful for us) or drinking/eating habits or the way the poorest of our elderly look (endless stories about Russian teethless babushkas) or the poorest of our young behave (numerous stories with Russian prostitutes) and so on. The majority of this mockery is poured on the Internet sites by native English speakers, usually British. Ask them why, probably because they are got used to expressing their views on any matter, not thinking in the slightest about any knowledge, just for the sake of showing up and following long (at least since mid-19th century) hostility towards Russian Empire/USSR/Russian Federation etc.
Besides, almost all the articles/bits of news about Russia you read in your press show only one, very negative side. Same here, on this site. Russia is a huge country in the rather painful transformational period situated in many of the worst climatic regions in the world so, of course, statistically speaking, every day something bad just has to happen here. Every day this bad piece of news (gas explosion in mine, hospital caught fire etc) or this negative article from usually British newspaper/BBC service is thoroughly reported on here, by Fran or somebody else. If you think that a Russsian reading all this negative crap on here will feel inclined to communicate in a civilised manner with you lot, you'd better perish the thought.
Another point about the Brits. Russian people since Soviet times have had very favorable pro-British opinion, probably because Soviet propaganda was centred mostly on the USA. Even now many still quite like Thatcher or Blair (Bush is seen as idiot in our country too, but Blair is rather a good guy, not just Bush's poodle). Unfortunately, those numerous examples of mocking anecdotes of binge drinking Russian prostitutes, apalling Russian past, corrupted Russian present and much feared Russian future, told by mostly British media and repeated by British people have forced many of us to come to the same conclusion about British, to which many of the Europeans came ages ago, in pre-EU time. I mean the title of the book written by a French author G.J.Renier in 1931 The English; Are They Human? (mentioned in Kate Fox's popular book Watching the English).
As for you, rate me as you are tempted. This won't stop filling this site with offensive crappy ingnorant distortive information about my country, don't worry.
What languages other than English and Russian do you speak? And do you assume that if the majority of the mockers are from one nation, then the majority, or even all (as evidenced by your attacks one some persons here) members of that nation are mockers? (And yes I don't deny that the mockers exist, even on this site, and that regular occurence of such mockery is nauseating and infuriating, even in small doses; you could write a diary on this.)
long (at least since mid-19th century) hostility towards Russian Empire/USSR/Russian Federation etc
Hm, indeed there was the Crimean War and the Royal Navy intervention in the last big Russo-Turkish War, but after the latter, there was an alliance until the Bolshevik Revolution, another alliance during WWII, and residual pro-Soviet sympathies in a not insignificant part of the population thereafter.
Besides, almost all the articles/bits of news about Russia you read in your press show only one, very negative side.
Almost all articles of news from non-neighbouring countries you read in the press (especially tabloid press, especially British tabloid press) show very negative sides. This is true for the Russian press, too. Not that this wouldn't be a bad practice, but you shouldn't only notice when it hits your country.
horoughly reported on here, by Fran or somebody else
Erm, I estimate most Russia-related stories in the Salon now come from blackhawk. Including disaster stories. (BTW, you attacked me when I responded to one by naming the possibility of arson attacks by far-righters -- I note that the article I responded to was (1) Russian (RIA Novosti) (2) the article itself made the implicit suggestion that there is a pattern.)
If you think that a Russsian reading all this negative crap on here will feel inclined to communicate in a civilised manner with you lot, you'd better perish the thought.
Well, there are four Russian regulars on ET, three of them manage to communicate in a civilised manner, though all four are sensitive to and complain of anti-Russian biases and mockery.
Another point about the Brits. Russian people since Soviet times have had very favorable pro-British opinion, probably because Soviet propaganda was centred mostly on the USA. Even now many still quite like Thatcher or Blair
That alone could be a good diary subject.
conclusion about British, to which many of the Europeans came ages ago, in pre-EU time I mean the title of the book written by a French author G.J.Renier in 1931 The English; Are They Human?
So you think the British (whom you equate with the English...) are inmutable, like Matt Taibbi thinks the Russian peasant is? Or like many Americans think the French still stink like after WWII and wear moustaches, or many Brits and Americans think Germans speak & walk in Prussian militarist style?
filling this site with offensive crappy ingnorant distortive information about my country
If only you filled this site with information on your country! But usually you fill it with offensive crappy ingnorant distortive insults unrelated to any information OR your country. But when you occasionally do the first, the 4 ratings you then receive should have been an indication that it is welcomed. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Yet your replies to others show clearly that it is working inside you. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Then, translators worldwide translate from a foreign language ro their own and not the other way around. That means that wealthy democratic western world just can't afford as much professional translators from Russian as we here in authoritarian hopelessly undemocratic can from other languages? Or it would be hard to swallow some good news about Russia?
Could you quote a few of these good news about Baltic countries? *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
If not, change that and you can reduce your opportunities for paranoia (a British-born Frenchman's comment about the French far-right directed at your comment?... people waiting for you to comment, as if ET consisted only of those threads?... now do you feel like Akakii Akakievich or the VIP?), if yes, you had no reason to assume a comment is not a reply to its parent. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Le Pen, btw, called for abstention in the second round of the election.
Wikipedia has this (and much more) to say on the origins of May Day:
May Day is May 1, and refers to any of several holidays celebrated on this day. May 1 was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures, and many elements of these holidays are still celebrated on May 1 today, such as the Maypole. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer: hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was "midsummer."
May Day also refers to various socialist and labor movement celebrations conducted on May 1, unrelated to the traditional celebrations, to commemorate the Haymarket martyrs of 1886 and the international socialist movement generally. The latter event is an important holiday in Communist and Socialist countries.
