Article claims Tajikistan is shaped like nonsense when it's clearly a snorkeling mask.
I always considered it looked like a rabbit!
Notes on Tajikistan
331–340 of 412 posts
Re: Notes on Tajikistan
#332Great article, always happy to see my home country featured abroad.
Just to nitpick, however:
> Got independence from the USSR in 1991 and had some power struggles until a Soviet guy took over in 1994 and then won a brutal civil war against a coalition of Islamic extremists and has been running the country ever since
Calling it Islamic extremists is a bit reductive. The coalition (United Tajik Opposition) was with the Islamic Renaissance Party, a couple of pro-democracy parties which were supported by the majority of the intelligentsia, and also included a party for Pamiri Autonomy. The most common thing among them is they were all united against the Communists.
Source: I am Tajik and was born around the Soviet Union collapsed. Also studied the history of the civil war
Re: Notes on Tajikistan
#333Earlier quoted context omitted.
Soviet/Russian invasion of Poland, Finland, and Georgia, respectively. (gee, wonder why they all want to be in NATO) There's also '56, Hungary, and '68, Czechoslovakia.
>bunch of nonsense Ok lets see .. Finland invasion. >Finland was a co-belligerent with Nazi Germany during the early years of World War II ... >The Siege of Leningrad was a prolonged military siege undertaken by the Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) on the Eastern Front of World War II. Germany's Army Group North advanced from the south, while t…
Soviets demanded Finland cede substantial territory and when they said no, the Soviets invaded and annexed a substantial part of Finland to this day.
You’re quoting a 2009 article. Everyone that doesn’t mindlessly watch RT already confirmed that it was South Ossetian separatists that started shelling other Georgians and that Russia has no business also invading Georgia over that. Russia air attacked areas around Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.
Re: Notes on Tajikistan
#334Earlier 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…
I have a friend from Nigeria and he said you can avoid arrest with a $2 bribe. That shocked me.
Re: Notes on Tajikistan
#335Earlier quoted context omitted.
> many fond memories of it, but mostly when I think about it I'm filled with sadness, because the people there deserve so much better. They're constantly knee-deep in corruption, both street level and just the very blatant kleptocratic presidential family I spent 2 years driving the length of the Pan-American Highway, and 3 years driving right around the African continent. What you said can equally be applied to many…
> Incredibly friendly, warm, kind and happy people to a degree I did not know was possible on planet earth. Sadly they're held down by corruption, ineptitude and the West. The problems are significantly of their own doing. I live in one such country (Nigeria), and many people say the same thing about my people- warm, friendly, and whatever. But being warm and friendly doesn’t build a successful nation. Tribalism, hig…
While we can't blame colonialism for everything, "tribalism" throughout much of Africa is as much a product of colonial strategy (divide and conquer) as it is precolonial tension. British colonial administrators mastered this strategy.
Re: Notes on Tajikistan
#336Earlier quoted context omitted.
>bunch of nonsense Ok lets see .. Finland invasion. >Finland was a co-belligerent with Nazi Germany during the early years of World War II ... >The Siege of Leningrad was a prolonged military siege undertaken by the Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) on the Eastern Front of World War II. Germany's Army Group North advanced from the south, while t…
Soviets demanded Finland cede substantial territory and when they said no, the Soviets invaded and annexed a substantial part of Finland to this day. You’re quoting a 2009 article. Everyone that doesn’t mindlessly watch RT already confirmed that it was South Ossetian separatists that started shelling other Georgians and that Russia has no business also invading Georgia over that. Russia air attacked areas around Geor…
Who is this "everyone"? Was the cited EU report updated? I'm quoting a BBC article, which is hardly in a Russian corner. In any case, it has more credibility than a "trust me, bro" on HN.
I would love to watch RT but its censored in EU.
Re: Notes on Tajikistan
#337Earlier quoted context omitted.
Again, where do I interpret scripture? I am referring to the fact that others interpret islamic scripture in ways that fit their purposes. I have also cited several well-known islamic reformers who claim the same. Your football-comparison is irrelevant and off the mark since it does not matter how much faith people have, what matters is how they act. Faith is personal, actions based on faith can affect others. Violen…
You think there is a direct link between some words on paper and how people act. This assumes that you understand what these words say. That also assumes that people are simple robots with simple input and output. By the way, both scriptures and laws are just words on paper. I propose that you actually believe in the power of some sacred book too much, and that “Islamic this, Islamic that” are just fans of Islam in t…
Are you religious? If so do you take your religion seriously or do you wear it like an outfit, to be donned at the requisite moment and put away when not needed or inconvenient? To people who take their religion seriously scripture is more than 'just words on paper', especially when that scripture is seen by them as the literal word from their God where 'the sound of the reciter is created but the words of the Quran are not created':
https://islamweb.net/en/fatwa/87390/quran-is-word-of-allah
Qur'an is Word of Allah, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam); it is an attribute among the uncountable Attributes of Allah. Allah has Spoken these words by sound and letters. Qur'an does not say but it is Allah Who ‘Says’.
Therefore, it is not among the good decencies with Allah to Say: “Qur'an says, or Qur'an said: “Since it might be misunderstood that Qur'an has an independent or a separate existence”.
If one uses such an expression with the intention that the Qur'an is a creature then he is disbelieving in an Attribute of Allah (May Allah protect us from that). If he does not mean it, it is better to avoid such an expression since it may raise misunderstandings.
Allah knows best.
To those who take their religion seriously those comparisons to 'football fans' are just as silly as when someone were to compare you liking (e.g.) Taylor Swift to the way you love your daughter (should you have one).
Also don't fall for the trap of thinking that only those who can talk eruditely on some subject can be 'true believers'. Just because some young person has been convinced by a religious leader that his salvation lies in fighting and dying in the name of Allah does not mean he doesn't take those lessons seriously. Do you really think that those who don suicide vests to blow themselves up (or to be blown up by remote control) are 'just fans of islam in the same manner people are fans of a football team'?
Re: Notes on Tajikistan
#338Earlier quoted context omitted.
Please don't post in the flamewar style to HN. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
I don't see it as flamewar style, it was stating a fact, in response to the parent comment but ok maybe it would have been better if I have added broader explanation of the opinion along the fact. Or refrain from commenting on touchy subjects.
"Try to be a bit more self reflective" is definitely crossing into personal attack and not ok on HN. If you had stuck to facts and made your substantive point respectfully, that would have been fine.
Re: Notes on Tajikistan
#339Earlier quoted context omitted.
Please don't perpetuate flamewars like this on HN, and please don't cross into nationalistic attack on a fellow user, regardless of their (or your) nationality. Having replied as I did to the other user I feel I should add that you also are welcome here. The two of you are equally welcome, but we need you both to follow the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html . Edit: it looks like you've…
I just honestly don't understand what the issue is with NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and why Russians in particular are so butthurt about it. During some of the worst massacres in Yugoslavia, more people were murdered in the span of a few days than died during the entire aerial campaign. The campaign put a decisive end to wars, and the following decades have brought massive success. Former parts of Yugoslavia like Croa…
> why $nation in particular are so butthurt about it
With this you did again exactly what I just asked you to stop doing. That's not cool.
The historical details you're bringing up are irrelevant to whether you're breaking HN's rules or not—for moderation purposes none of that matters. What matters is that making provocative, pejorative, or scornful references to other countries or their people is nationalistic flamebait which leads to hellthreads, which we don't want on HN. I don't think this is at all hard to understand, so no more of this please.
In addition to the above: having just taken a look at your commenting history, it's clear that you've been using HN primarily for political and nationalistic battle. Just as I said to the other user, that's not allowed on HN and we ban accounts that do it, regardless of which side you're battling for or against. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for.
If you'd please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the rules from now on, we'd appreciate it.
Re: Notes on Tajikistan
#340Earlier quoted context omitted.
I just honestly don't understand what the issue is with NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and why Russians in particular are so butthurt about it. During some of the worst massacres in Yugoslavia, more people were murdered in the span of a few days than died during the entire aerial campaign. The campaign put a decisive end to wars, and the following decades have brought massive success. Former parts of Yugoslavia like Croa…
I think Dan's point is that there's never a need to introduce references to a commenter's nationality or other presumed essential traits. No matter how self-evidently full of excrement their droppings here may be.
> No matter how self-evidently full of excrement their droppings here may be.
With this you do exactly what we're asking commenters to avoid doing on HN. It's not as bad as if you were hurling the insult directly at someone, but it's not so different either—as the reply you got demonstrated.
The issue isn't that we shouldn't reference each other's nationality—it's that we should be open, curious and respectful with each other, most of all when it comes to divisive topics. When people start talking about other people's countries scornfully or aggressively or snarkily, that's when it becomes flamebait and a moderation issue.
In addition to the above: having just taken a look at your commenting history, it's clear that you've been using HN primarily for political and nationalistic battle. Just as I said to the other users, that's not allowed on HN and we ban accounts that do it, regardless of which side you're battling for or against. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for.
If you'd please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the rules from now on, we'd appreciate it.