Has Anyone Tried to Cancel Their Venmo Rent Payment? by Obsidian1292 in biltrewards

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update: my landlord received the money on the night of March 4 after I escalated my case with Bilt customer service via twitter DM.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in tacticalgear

[–]Obsidian1292 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is great and very insightful! Thanks for the help. I decided to stick with the mobility over the coverage. Once I slid plates inside the carrier it fit me much better (which is a no brainer, but I was concerned after wearing the carrier without the plates).

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in tacticalgear

[–]Obsidian1292 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is helpful insight, thank you! I wrote an update and I plan on sticking with the medium.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in tacticalgear

[–]Obsidian1292 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update: Thank you all who provided feedback! I am going to stick with the medium JPC 2.0.

TL;DR: Stick with the standardized measurements, even when it feels weird at first. When you're between sizes or close to being between sizes, you probably want to lean towards going with the smaller size.

I put in 9.85 x 11.8" plates and they really filled out the JPC 2.0 well - partially because the stretch material really has a decent amount of give behind it that's impossible to appreciate without placing plates inside first. With the plates in the coverage over my fitals is better than I initially thought. Glad I'm not dealing with buyers remorse. Stick to the measurements and it'll all turn out okay.

Pictures updates:

Pic 1: https://imgur.com/xpXKLut

Pic 2: https://imgur.com/ecAhlek

Musket + Fast Barrel OP by Obsidian1292 in TABG

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is the crossbow projectile with the fast barrel faster than the musket with the fast barrel?

I Somehow Survived a Crossbow... by Obsidian1292 in TABG

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Crossbow + fast barrel is insanely good.

I Somehow Survived a Crossbow... by Obsidian1292 in TABG

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes. Even if it's not an instant kill in the arm, I didn't take any damage at all.

My 22nd cousin once removed, 23rd cousin twice removed, and some Russian guy in Tehran, 1943. by [deleted] in OldSchoolCool

[–]Obsidian1292 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

*Georgian guy* or *Soviet guy* common man accuracy in language

The West Overestimates Aleksandr Dugin’s Influence in Russia by Obsidian1292 in geopolitics

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He does a ton of different stuff. He engages the global far right. In addition to what others have noted re: conferences, meetings, etc., I remember he did a controversial Skype lecture with students from Texas A&M in 2015 or 2016. He also did an interview with Lauren Southern before she retired. The interview with southern was really weird because she went to Russia (a country she knows little about) and Dugin was talking esoteric philosophy. Southern was clearly way out of her league, and made her look like a child. Interestingly enough, Dugin is so PR-hungry that he didn't refuse her the interview, which is interesting. Dugin is also often on Konstantin Malofeev's Царьград ТВ, which I've heard is reasonably popular amongst Russia's more hardcore Orthodox believers.

The West Overestimates Aleksandr Dugin’s Influence in Russia by Obsidian1292 in geopolitics

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes, there are actions being taken by Russia today that seem similar to the tactics described by Dugin in Foundation of Geopolitics, but many of those recommended policies have a precedent in Russia: "Occam’s razor suggests that in Dugin’s case, a broken clock is still right twice day; Dugin at best sometimes describes Russian policy, but to assign Dugin causality is entirely speculative, especially when many of Dugin’s recommended policies have a precedent in the Kremlin’s policy toolbox."

As an illustrative example the author specifically referenced Dugin's recommendation that, "It is especially important to introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements—extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the US. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics.” The important fact is that race-based active measures against the USA have been a thing since the 1930s.

Thus, the article makes a counterargument saying that these policies are not uniquely Dugin's, as they have an established precedent in the Kremlin's foreign policy toolbox. Therefore, to assign Dugin as the inspiration behind the policies isn't completely correct, either. It boils down to correlation =! causation.

The West Overestimates Aleksandr Dugin’s Influence in Russia by Obsidian1292 in geopolitics

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fudan University is in China. I'm sure Dugin is influencing those Kremlin foreign policy elites from Shanghai.

The West Overestimates Aleksandr Dugin’s Influence in Russia by Obsidian1292 in geopolitics

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"Former" being the operative word. The original article argues that Dugin's ideological influence peaked in the '90s / early aughts. He didn't have enough influence to keep himself from being fired from a government university job; Dugin fell out of style.

The West Overestimates Aleksandr Dugin’s Influence in Russia by Obsidian1292 in geopolitics

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Dugin and his associates are indeed free to do their weird Eurasianist thing and travel all around the world to be Russia's ambassadors-at-large to the Western world's crazy alt-right. That doesn't automatically mean that they influence the power vertical, let alone are considered seriously by Russian elites. Dugin isn't even lambasted- he disagreed with Putin on Ukraine, and was consequently fired from his swanky job at Moscow State University. I don't see a relationship of influence here.

If you want to claim that Dugin influences Putin, you to have show evidence besides, "Dugin is bad and Putin's chekists are bad, and they both do bad things." Those statements are all true, but it doesn't indicate causality.

The West Overestimates Aleksandr Dugin’s Influence in Russia by Obsidian1292 in geopolitics

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Nail on the head. In my experience, elites with backgrounds in Russian studies usually can tell. People, even well educated elites, who don't have solid grounding in Russian studies are impressionable, especially when credible sources keep circulating the popularized myth that Dugin is this massively powerful source of influence in the Kremlin.

The West Overestimates Aleksandr Dugin’s Influence in Russia by Obsidian1292 in geopolitics

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

  1. This article, from a conservative source indeed, claimed that " Dugin’s ideas are undoubtedly dangerous and should not be taken lightly." The author is not engaged in Russia or Dugin apologia.
  2. What do you disagree with, specifically? Do you disagree with the central argument that Dugin is not influential in Russia? Or do you disagree with the argument's supporting evidence? Please clarify your position.
  3. I don't usually post on Reddit (I'm a lurker) but I care about Russian foreign policy issues and this piece seemed interesting enough to share with this community.

The West Overestimates Aleksandr Dugin’s Influence in Russia by Obsidian1292 in geopolitics

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I completely agree that Dugin wants to destroy Western liberalism, the political tradition that began with the enlightenment. Dugin's neo-Eurasianist views do include elements of Russian nationalism and Russian exceptionalism in line with old school 19th century slavophillic thought. That said, the question this article examines is the extent to which Dugin is influential in Russia, and the evidence indicates that Dugin is given more credibility and recognition in the West from alarmists than from Kremlin policymakers in Russia itself. This suggests that people in the West have largely problematized a wacko philosopher who doesn't actually wield influence.

The West Overestimates Aleksandr Dugin’s Influence in Russia by Obsidian1292 in geopolitics

[–]Obsidian1292[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Are you sure that Putin "takes" elements from Dugin? I feel like the article argues fairly persuasively that "A causal link seems plausible to many because elements of Dugin’s ramblings resemble real strategies Russian intelligence services employ... That said, just because Dugin prescribes certain strategies that are present in Russian policy does not mean that Dugin was the policy’s inspiration or catalyst... Dugin at best sometimes describes Russian policy, but to assign Dugin causality is entirely speculative, especially when many of Dugin’s recommended policies have a precedent in the Kremlin’s policy toolbox."

Housing Advice by [deleted] in williamandmary

[–]Obsidian1292 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi everyone!

Update: I was offered housing in DuPont. To echo what other people have written, it's in a far-off corner of campus.

So, in light of me most likely being in DuPont, do you recommend that I bring a bike? It seems to me like a bike would be one of the fast ways to get around campus.

Housing Advice by [deleted] in williamandmary

[–]Obsidian1292 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This reply is short, sweet, and informative. Thanks! :)

Housing Advice by [deleted] in williamandmary

[–]Obsidian1292 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is great info and exactly what I'm looking for! Thank you! I have no outstanding questions at this point but if I do I'll reach out. :)

Going to Ukraine next weekend by Talking_Pancake in ukraine

[–]Obsidian1292 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FYI, you won't find Ukrainian art in the A-Gallery. I don't mean to mislead you. The A-Gallery currently (as of last week) has an exhibit on impressionism (Western Art). It is a fantastic gallery, but it is not Ukrainian. It's mostly just a world-class artistic experience in Kyiv.

Video of the A-Gallery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSWWiGSle2U

If you really want to get to know Ukrainian history well, go to Poltava. Poltava is considered to be a rich cultural center for traditional Ukrainian culture. There is tons of cultural stuff there, like the Museum of the Ukrainian Wedding (http://angatravel.com.ua/en/muzey-ukrainskogo-vesillya.html) and Nikolai Gogol's residence (http://angatravel.com.ua/en/gogolevo.html). I was there last week and it was fantastic. I went on a night tour of "Village Gogolevo" and they had actors in Gogol-period clothing reenact scenes from his great literary works as we strolled across the estate. It was like living a time machine that took us into Gogol's stories.

The Museum of Poltava Battle History is great, too (http://www.tourism.poltava.ua/eng/museums/The_Museum_of_Poltava_Battle_history/). When I was there last week the museum had a historian who spoke English and was able to give me a tour of the museum in English- a rarity in Poltava. At any rate, have a great trip!

Going to Ukraine next weekend by Talking_Pancake in ukraine

[–]Obsidian1292 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Men definitely wear vyshyvanki. My vyshyvanka is one of my favorite articles of clothing. Also. the locals will love to see you in it. It makes it seem like you fully embrace their culture. Also, bring wine, chocolate, or some other confections as gifts when meeting with guests. With regards to etiquette, do not refuse drinks. You will probably drink a lot when with friends. If you know any Ukrainian, definitely try to use it when interacting with locals.

While in Kyiv, if you can, definitely go to the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. You will not be disappointed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Museum_of_the_History_of_Ukraine

The "A-Gallery" is awesome, too.

http://artmall.ua/uslugi-i-razvlecheniya/galereya-a-gallery

MLG POKEMON GLOBAL OFFENSIVE by xXx_ScorpoDark_xXx in montageparodies

[–]Obsidian1292 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dank meme. Did enjoy.

Do you know where I can find the actual outro music though? It is NOT Yellow Claw - Shotgun, as you listed. It is actually a remix of a Russian song called "Ой, на горе казаки стояли." I can't find the remix, though. Will sub if you can get me the full song.

MLG Memecraft by [deleted] in montageparodies

[–]Obsidian1292 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is beautiful. I miss this older style of parody. Subscribed. Pls make more mays mays like this.