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Notes on Tajikistan

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Re: Notes on Tajikistan

#281

Post by sandworm101 »

sunaookami wrote: post #243
anal_reactor wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No because in a rich country you need to adhere to laws and regulations while in a poor country you can just pay bribes and do what you want

That still holds true in rich countries...

It really doesn't. Rich countries have base rules that all must follow. Justin Timberlake was just arrested for drunk driving. He might get off because he can afford the best lawyers, but he was arrested. That is a thing that happened. It would not have happened in somewhere like Tajikistan where a roadside bribe would nullify the entire situation. For the equivalent of a few hundred bucks they would have given him a ride home and nobody would be the wiser.

Re: Notes on Tajikistan

#282

Post by hobs »

sandworm101 wrote: post #281
sunaookami wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That still holds true in rich countries...

It really doesn't. Rich countries have base rules that all must follow. Justin Timberlake was just arrested for drunk driving. He might get off because he can afford the best lawyers, but he was arrested. That is a thing that happened. It would not have happened in somewhere like Tajikistan where a roadside bribe would nullify the entire situation. For the equivalent of a few hundred bucks they would have given him a…

Just make sure to be a cop and then you'll be fine.

Re: Notes on Tajikistan

#283

Post by konart »

furyg3 wrote: post #276

I'm regularly going to Tajikistan for hiking trips to help map out the Pamir Trail, a 1200km long hiking trail across the mountains of Tajikistan. https://www.pamirtrail.org It's a beautiful country if you love hiking or mountaineering, though certainly has a lot of practical challenges. The article did a very good job of explaining the local situation in Tajikistan and giving you a bit of a feeling of what it's like…

Kind of saddens me that while I was born there - I never had a chance to see any of this.

Re: Notes on Tajikistan

#284

Post by theanonymousone »

sumedh wrote: post #262
theanonymousone wrote: post #189

Not so new fact that many here may already know: The (in?)famous -stan suffix, coming originally from Persian, is an etymological cousin of State, Street, Statistics, Strategy and Stadt. In Iran, provinces are called Ostan and some Ostans' names end with -stan (e.g. Ostan of Kurdistan). By the way, since it's not clear from their names, it may be worth noting that Tajiki and Persian are two dialects of the same langu…

> (in?)famous -stan suffix, coming originally from Persian Does it come from Persian or some common Indo European language, Sanskrit has something similar as well.

I always thought it's Persian, but it may be older, and it does certainly have cognates in Sanskrit too.

Wiktionary is amazing for such information.

Re: Notes on Tajikistan

#285

Post by petre »

inglor_cz wrote: post #53
mkoubaa wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saying "Islam being kept in check" in this way sounds an implication that religion (or perhaps just this one) ought to be suppressed. This sort of attitude and policy coming from it is like gasoline for religious extremism, and the fact that Tajikistan exports extremists should be enough evidence for that

It is not just a religion, but a legal and societal system. A very medieval one. Few people care if you believe that Muhammad rode to heaven on a magic horse (Buraq). But quite a lot of people care if you want to introduce hand amputations for theft, as demanded by Sharia Law, or different inheritance rules for sons and daughters where being female = being less valuable. The medieval-practical parts of Islam must def…

> But quite a lot of people care if you want to introduce hand amputations for theft, as demanded by Sharia Law

Probably why Salafism is outright banned in Tajikistan.

Re: Notes on Tajikistan

#286

Post by lykahb »

cpursley wrote: post #253
lykahb wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most Russians hold racist views. It doesn't change if they are expats. As a result of the colonial conquests, Russia is a multiethnic state. But the minorities have never been fully accepted. The govt balances between suppressing the far right and managing it for its own purposes. This wiki article has plenty of references, with many pointing to the racist actions by the senior officials https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki…

> Most Russians hold racist views I understand that people are unhappy with Russia right now, but what a truly gross thing to say (and absolutely not true).

I am aware that this is a bold claim and that it may be hard to believe. I also wish this weren't true. That's why I put a reference to support it. Check out the section on Public sentiments and politics. In particular, that 60% of population support the statement "Russia is for Russians" and what that phrase implies. If you are curious to learn more, check out studies and polls by any organization that you support - Amnesty International, Russian NGO's, universities, etc.

Re: Notes on Tajikistan

#287

Post by petre »

rvense wrote: post #16
kylehotchkiss wrote: post #8

I wanted to go once but heard that either the taliban or al queda were in the area, which is unideal as an American citizen. Is that not the case anymore?

There has been, as far as I know, one single case of tourists being attacked (and killed) by militant Islamists, which happened a few years ago. So statistically it's probably safer than a lot of places. There is significant resistance to the regime under the surface, but everything is still held together by an aging, kleptocratic authoritarian. So in some sense it's a volatile place, and the situation could obviousl…

You are thinking about this incident:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Tajikistan_tourist_atta...

Re: Notes on Tajikistan

#288

Post by ginko »

coldtea wrote: post #239
blackhawkC17 wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No, but kicking out the greedy WASPs and their lackeys and post-colonial infuence schemes does though - though seldom realized This is the same mentality that contributes to these countries remaining poor. Just kick out the “WASPs”…so that the local kleptocrats take over. The problem is corruption and lack of rule of law, not WASPs or whatever acronym can be used to blame foreigners instead of taking responsibility…

> This is the same mentality that contributes to these countries remaining poor. Just kick out the “WASPs”…so that the local kleptocrats take over. The "local kleptocrats" are usually just lackeys of those WASPs, put in place, supported financially and diplomatically, with arms and so on (and by pressuring their opponents) to ensure the stealing continues. On their own, they're small time crooks, the real bulk of the…

Why WASPs in particular? Not even Anglo or Protestant, just wondering.

Re: Notes on Tajikistan

#290

Post by quotz »

lykahb wrote: post #286
cpursley wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most Russians hold racist views I understand that people are unhappy with Russia right now, but what a truly gross thing to say (and absolutely not true).

I am aware that this is a bold claim and that it may be hard to believe. I also wish this weren't true. That's why I put a reference to support it. Check out the section on Public sentiments and politics. In particular, that 60% of population support the statement "Russia is for Russians" and what that phrase implies. If you are curious to learn more, check out studies and polls by any organization that you support -…

I am pretty sure in most european countries people would vote for the same answer
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