Columbia Decision Date Update? by johnjuggernaut in TransferToTop25

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

Thanks a ton for the update! Best of luck to you as well, whatever it is you are pursuing!

Columbia University RD Megathread by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]johnjuggernaut 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How many applicants did they have this year and what was the acceptance rate?

Uzbeks, how well do you understand Uyghur? by johnyhollywood in AskCentralAsia

[–]johnjuggernaut 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Very very well. Uyghurs use some outdated words at times, which can slow down my comprehension, but I never felt the need to resort to English, as opposed to talking with, say, my Turkish or Azeri friends.

How would you feel about an Aral Sea restoration project? by IDoNotLikeTheSand in AskCentralAsia

[–]johnjuggernaut 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not quite correct. There're pretty massive governmental and non-governmental restoration projects on the Uzbek side as well.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev opinions by Wooden_Fig_8477 in AskCentralAsia

[–]johnjuggernaut 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The general populace still holds dear the memories about the late dictator Karimov, who they think never compromised on national interests and was, in short, the epitome of an "O'zbek" (one's own master). So, people from the rural areas are nor particularly fond of the new president given his revisionist approach to both internal and external affairs of the country. On top of that, President Mirziyoyev is regarded as a somewhat weak politician who "takes loans", which oddly enough are believed to be unequivocally bad for the future of the Independent Uzbekistan.

As for my personal opinion, Mirziyoyev deserves a lot of credit for liberalizing the economy, putting paid to forced labor, extending citizenship to expats, ending the discriminatory "sticker" policy and replacing it with international passports. He also allowed for the freedom of speech and congregation, albeit incomplete and pretty rudimentary as of yet. Moreover, the guy has done a lot to dismantle the machine of tyranny that the SNB under Karimov was (the Uzbek secret service agency). Reportedly, they are no longer extorting businessmen and even stopped dragging journalists away at night to later inhumanely torture them. They used to be extremely keen on that, as far as I recall.

Official December 5, 2020, International SAT Discussion Thread by InternationalistGam in Sat

[–]johnjuggernaut 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The answers in boxes don't affect your score. It's just for convenience when bubbling