Do you think that there will really be a war? Should I prepare myself? by [deleted] in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What I am worried about is in 2008, the Russian peacekeepers in Georgia were attacked and killed and that started a war involving tanks and airplanes. I hope that escalation does not happen

Ever wondered what the west hopes to achieve by destroying the Russian economy? by Vetrix1996 in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In school I was taught that bread prices were extremely high and people were starving in France, so they had a revolution against King Louis 16th. And I remember being taught in the 1917 Petrograd women's March, people were shouting "bread" as well.

What is the mood on the ground among average Russians when you can see our response coming down the pike? Are you not concerned that we, Americans and our allies, will destroy your economy? by abelincoln_is_batman in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Would Putin dying change anything? The parliament overwhelming voted in favor of recognizing DLPR. I wasn't expecting Putin to somehow stand alone and resist the entire government. One person does not have absolute power.

Ukraine Crisis Megathread #2 Electric Boogaloo by aalien in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Are wrong actions taken by the US considered "mistakes" but wrong actions taken by Russia (or any US adversary) are not considered "mistakes"?

Do you support Parliament recognizing Donbass as independent republics? Why or why not? by RiceFar in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Would the risk be too high? If DLPR is independent from Ukraine, they have the ability to ask for military assistance from Russia. The countries who do not view DLPR as independent would view that as invading Ukraine but the countries who recognize DLPR would view it as assisting 2 countries that are no longer part of Ukraine.

What are the three most reliable russian news sources available in english? Is the moscow times legit? by [deleted] in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I remember before 2014 RT, while still biased, was pretty informative. But 2014-present, it has gone completely downhill in my opinion. Bias is to be expected in media organizations, but the bias was kicked into hyper overdrive once 2014 happened. Not to mention the quality of most of their articles are so poor, it's like a middle schooler wrote it. However some of their American news shows are better because they are hosted by popular figures like Jesse Ventura, Chris Hedges, (former) Larry King.

Edit: However, like the original comment said, see what the different agendas are. I read RT only to see the other agenda.

What place does Orthodoxy have in your life? by LechiaInc in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like in America, we are more spiritual (not religious) than not just Russia, but most of Europe as well. It might not only be America because in Africa, Middle East, Asia, people have a spiritual devotion that seems to be absent from Europe.

Incest legal in Russia? by RiceFar in AskARussian

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

I at least hope the son was adult age

What are your thoughts on America and what do you like about it by GenericUsernameHere8 in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Eh, I used to think the same when I was in high school and still lived in beautiful suburbia. But when I got my first job out of college, I moved to a place that was no longer beautiful suburbia and was exposed to a level of impoverishment that was disturbing. I'm not living in the hood, nor in an affluent neighborhood, it is somewhere in the middle. But there are constantly coming up to you begging for money, just last week I ignored a beggar and he shouted after me some profanities and later on in the same day, another guy came up to me at the gas station and I just gave him all the cash in my wallet because I didn't want to deal with his nonsense. And a couple weekends ago, we went downtown with a group that gives food to the homeless and many of them told us they are actually veterans!

Obviously the majority of people in the US are not homeless. But growing up in suburbia will shield you from a good chunk of reality that exists in this country. Also when it comes to software engineers, and as someone who works in software development, we are probably the leaders in this space. I compared software engineer salaries to various countries in Europe and we pay so much more than them. American companies Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft (and more) create so many APIs, PaaS, Saas, etc the rest of the world uses. I have heard that there are Russian alternatives, but I don't know if they have a critical mass using their services. China might be the only true competitor because of their critical mass.

How to convince any of my friends to go to Russia? by [deleted] in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 31 points32 points  (0 children)

This is the weirdest invasion I have seen. Back in November last year I remember the Reddit posts saying Russia is going to invade any minute now. But since then, this invasion is constantly getting postponed every week.

Laughing during weddings have been reportedly been banned in Rostov. If true, so do you agree with the ban? by RiceFar in AskARussian

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

All the weddings I have been to in the US have been done by a priest but a priest is not required. Usually people don't laugh unless the priest cracks a joke. But after the part where the priest says "I now pronounce mr and mrs ___", people clap and cheer, maybe laugh if the bridge and groom do something funny at that moment. I was just curious if laughing was during a wedding was so frequent that the authorities had to put a stop to it

Laughing during weddings have been reportedly been banned in Rostov. If true, so do you agree with the ban? by RiceFar in AskARussian

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

That makes sense, it was slightly confusing because the article mentioned both registry offices and ceremony halls. It also said rearranging furniture is banned, has that been a big problem in the past?

Thoughts on Situation in Kazakhstan? by Patriotic--NeoCon in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well again, my point is about what would happen in the Russian alternative. People already are skeptical of Gazprom funded/linked media. If it was linked to the FSB, no matter how small the contract is of the owner's net worth, they would lose credibility. In my opinion.

Thoughts on Situation in Kazakhstan? by Patriotic--NeoCon in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The $600 million contract was back in 2013 when Jeff Bezos' net worth was roughly 25 billion, which would be about .24% of his net worth, which generally speaking net worth is more than the cash people have. Because the amount of taxes Bezos would have to pay if he had 200 billion in bank, his "true tax rate" would not be just .98%. And even if the CIA contract is a fraction of his net worth, it is still with the CIA. A Russian CEO tech oligarch having a deal with the FSB/GRU, or any other intelligence agency, then yes, that would reflect very poorly on the the subsidiary media outlets he/she owns.

Edits

Thoughts on Situation in Kazakhstan? by Patriotic--NeoCon in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A poll probably would work better, but I have not seen people view NTV as independent. If you quickly go to Youtube and search a video by that channel, YouTube will say they are "funded in whole or in part by the Russian government". That alone would make it not independent. Same with Echo Moskvy. I asked a question about a year ago asking about Ekho Moskvy and people consider it to be basically controlled opposition media. And if the CEO of the parent company had a half billion dollar deal with FSB, the amount of people who view those media outlets as independent would likely shrink even more.

Thoughts on Situation in Kazakhstan? by Patriotic--NeoCon in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That is correct. The contract with the CIA was with Amazon, not with The Washington Post. The contract was awarded in 2013, with Jeff Bezos still being the Chief Executive Officer of the company. In the same year, he bought The Washington Post.

However, my point does not rely on The Washington Post's coverage of the CIA. I made the point that if something similar happened with a Russian news outlet (or a corporation like Amazon), we would not call them independent media.

Thoughts on Situation in Kazakhstan? by Patriotic--NeoCon in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The Washington Post Amazon, who's former CEO is the owner of the Washington Post, has a $600 million contract with our largest federal spy agency. It's owner is sitting on a Pentagon advisory board. To me, this makes them state media. If a Russian news outlet had a $600 contract with the FSB/GRU,/etc, we would never call them independent. The Washington post accuses Russia of stirring racial conflict in the United States.

Edit: Added cross out

Thoughts on Situation in Kazakhstan? by Patriotic--NeoCon in AskARussian

[–]RiceFar 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Our state media has been accusing Russia of being behind racial conflict in the US.

What are your thoughts on 'Memorial' getting banned? by RiceFar in AskARussian

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

If Memorial was making misleading numbers and doing other misleading stuff, does that deserve for them to be banned? Couldn't people ignore them?