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Belarus Election

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Belarus Election
Post by Arol   » Mon Aug 10, 2020 9:30 am

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Belarus’s; the last dictatorship in Europe, strongman President-for-life is claiming a new election win, and thereby validating a statement reputedly attributed to his idol Joe Stalin:
“The people who cast the votes decide nothing; the people who count the votes decide everything”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53707011
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Re: Belarus Election
Post by Michael Everett   » Mon Aug 10, 2020 4:43 pm

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...and suddenly, I am reminded of the backstory of the book "The Stainless Steel Rat Runs For President".
~~~~~~

I can't write anywhere near as well as Weber
But I try nonetheless, And even do my own artwork.

(Now on Twitter)and mentioned by RFC!
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Re: Belarus Election
Post by Annachie   » Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:37 pm

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Michael Everett wrote:...and suddenly, I am reminded of the backstory of the book "The Stainless Steel Rat Runs For President".

Where's the upvote button :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You are so going to die. :p ~~~~ runsforcelery
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still not dead. :)
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Re: Belarus Election
Post by Arol   » Tue Aug 11, 2020 6:05 am

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Michael Everett wrote:...and suddenly, I am reminded of the backstory of the book "The Stainless Steel Rat Runs For President".

Now that you mention it, that’s a real blast from the past!
…and coincidentally I’m currently reading volume two of Harry Harrison’s alternate Civil War trilogy history where a mildly deranged Queen Vic is one of the antagonists! :)
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Re: Belarus Election
Post by Daryl   » Tue Aug 11, 2020 6:08 am

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Read Joe Steel by Harry Turtledove.
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Re: Belarus Election
Post by Arol   » Tue Aug 11, 2020 7:46 am

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Daryl wrote:Read Joe Steel by Harry Turtledove.

Got it! Read it!
Nice twist, kind'a like the stand-in for Beria!
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Re: Belarus Election
Post by Arol   » Mon Aug 17, 2020 11:28 am

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Tin-pot dictators like Belorussia’s Lukashenko should remember the fate of others of the same ilk, who relied on the guns, and terror tactics of their goons to cow and terrorize their own populaces. Ceausescu and Ghaddafi to name but two!
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Re: Belarus Election
Post by isaac_newton   » Tue Aug 18, 2020 3:07 am

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Arol wrote:Tin-pot dictators like Belorussia’s Lukashenko should remember the fate of others of the same ilk, who relied on the guns, and terror tactics of their goons to cow and terrorize their own populaces. Ceausescu and Ghaddafi to name but two!


I suppose it depends a lot on what Putin thinks/does as to what happens.

Must be deeply uncomfortable for him, since this is a home grown uprising right on his doorstep.
does he go in mob handed and support Lukashenko and risk
- turning the people strongly against Russia
- forcing his friend Trump[so near to election] to actually do something serious

does he stay out and risk a democracy forming right on his doorstep, enheartening his own internal opposition
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Re: Belarus Election
Post by Arol   » Tue Aug 18, 2020 12:26 pm

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Like him or not, Putin has shown himself to be a skilled hard-handed pragmatic when it comes to what he considers “Russia’s Sphere of Interest”. The Ukraine and the failed putsch in Montenegro are clear evidence of that.
So the question might be whether the leaders of the opposition in Belarus are equally pragmatic? Will they; if they manage to send Lukashenko and his lackeys to the wall or into exile, try to turn to the West or the East? If they turn to the West, well the still ongoing mess in the Ukraine tells its own story.
Or will they be pragmatic enough to accept a clean-up of the corruption and the limited form of democratic rule that accepting the fact that they belong in the “Russian Sphere of Interest” entails?
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