Kazakh president’s home ablaze as protests escalate
apnews.com
apnews.com
I was surprised by information vacuum caused by lack of Internet. I don't have TV antenna or radio, so I even considered going to meetings despite being a peaceful citizen. I just did not have anything to do.
I got Internet at 0:00. Hopefully it was not a mistake. I definitely would protest out of boredom if they'll continue to cut an Internet.
Wouldn't you want people to be able to keep using stuff like Netflix so their placated?
Instead, this appears to have made things much worse, since you have a lot of bored, angry people with nothing better to do. Something strange is going on, why wouldn't you gradually transition people to higher gas prices. I strongly suspect if you saw gas tripling price overnight in America, people wouldn't be so happy here.
In these old muslin Soviet republics there are always religious nutheads waiting for a chance to make a move. Kazakhstan is probably the most secular of them but they could very well create a lot of trouble.
Good writeup here: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/31/690363402/how-the-cia-overthr...
Elections where candidates are extensively vetoed by the clergy before being allowed (or not) to run. Even if the population wanted to reduce the role of religion in politics, it isn't allowed to elect people whom the clergy deems too secular.
And I didn't say the protests have anything to do with religion. I said extremists in those countries will take any chance to make a move. Remember the Arab spring? It started as a protests against governments and it didn't end well for some countries.
Now demographics has changed and the role of Islam risen, but it is still very far from being a concern, compared to other Central Asia republics:
"As did its predecessor, the 1995 constitution stipulates that Kazakhstan is a secular state; thus, Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian state whose constitution does not assign a special status to Islam." [2]
Of course, some extremist do exist in Kazakhstan (what country they don't?), but their influence is very minor - this is indeed very secular country and not only in constitution, - and I do not think anything close to Arab spring is possible. My biggest concern is Russian intervention, frankly.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Kazakhstan
I don't think anything like the Arab spring is possible there either, but the islamic groups that wander around can do a lot of damage anyway. That was my only thought, I hope they don't manage to do anything.
The point was that, price of simple bread was government-regulated, so producing and selling it lost money to bakers and they either didn't do that at all when they could get away with it, or only did in minimum quantities that got quickly sold out. Prices of brioche, as a higher grade product, were not regulated, and brioche was always available.
So really, that comment was more of pun illustrating how lame government price control policies were, rather than an indication of lack of touch with ordinary people's lives.
And ultimately, that common reading is what is being referred to in the comment that spurred this thread. Regardless of the historical minutiae regarding the quote, it's making reference to the anger of a country's people when the cost of living rises and is perceived to be met with indifference.
Also she was 10 years old at the time, which actually makes it even more likely for her to blurt out something like this. Children are quite naive as I think we all know.
I've read other articles on the topic and emerged unconvinced from them as well because the crux of their "evidence" was basically "a wide consensus". Hrm. "A wide consensus" amongst a small group of scientists where deviating from the accepted opinions of the majority bears an existential threat to one's entire life work and career is... shall we say, not convincing.
She wasn't 10 years old at the time. Born in 1755, Marie Antoinette would have been ~34 in 1789. Or are you talking about someone else?
The government (cabinet) resigned, though the president has asked them to remain on the job until replacements are found. Armed police have fled from armed protestors. There are reports of police having been killed.
So the protestors seem to have both weapons and more determination than the police. It remains to be seen whether they have more staying power than the police, whether the army is going to fight the protestors, and whether Russia is going to take a hand.
Tokayev made a second televised speech in the space of a few hours as the Central Asian republic faces the worst unrest in more than a decade, initially triggered by a fuel price rise.
He said he had appealed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan."
https://finance.yahoo.com/finance/news/kazakh-president-appe...
Good for them.
Also Finland and Norway would like to have few words with you.
And who was getting really friendly with KZ lately? Yes, yes!
https://knoema.com/infographics/aiykgj/30-years-of-reforms-i...
I read news for facts, not for opinions. I don't give a shit what someone thinks going on, I want to figure it out for myself, make my own conclusions, or at least talk it out w/ avg people on here or reddit, rather than some celebrity like Hannity or Cuomo.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43763/russian-led-peac...