S03.E13: The Primaries

[Athena]

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Segments: Ongoing Venezuelan protests, Elbowgate, Democratic and Republican presidential primaries and the primary process, Ramzan Kadyrov

 

[DeLurker]

I'm going to have to get an instagram account just so I can tell Kadyrov I haven't seen his cat. 

[attica]

I would, but I worry that Kady would see my avatar and accuse me of stealing the cat and removing his hair as a disguise.

[Victor the Crab]

I'd do that to Kadyrov just to tell him "Found your cat. Tastes like chicken. XD"

[cattykit]

2 minutes ago, Victor the Crab said:

I'd do that to Kadyrov just to tell him "Found your cat. Tastes like chicken. XD"

Boo!  Poor cat.  And when he's found, he has to go back to that guy.

That was the tamest representation of the disaster of the 1968 Democratic convention that I've ever seen.  And then there's the 1972 convention, which lacked rioting but was top-heavy with political correctness, quotas, and carefully writing the blueprint for their own destruction.  And I say that as probably the only McGovern supporter in my town at that time.

[Hanahope]

Not bad, but frankly, I thought Samantha Bee did a better job explaining how the current Democratic primary procedure came to be (and in another episode, how the Republican party ended up in its current form).  

Kadyrov and the cat was a much better bit.

[dcalley]

Squirrel fact check: That wasn't a photo of a groundhog; that was a prairie dog.

[DeLurker]

^^^ John needs to know that now!

[OneWhoLurks]

Kadyrov responds: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFwpvHMiRqM/

[Quickbeam]

Wow, you could not make that up. 

[dusang]

Having not yet seen the episode (and specifically having not seen the Kadyrov piece) there are no words for how inexplicable that is.

[buttercupia]

On 5/24/2016 at 2:56 AM, OneWhoLurks said:

Kadyrov responds: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFwpvHMiRqM/

yiiiikes.

I wouldn't follow r post to him just out of cowardice,

[Delwyn]

I was at an office wine and cheese thing earlier today and one of my bosses made a comment about not understanding the US delegate/primary process (we're Canadian) and as everyone around the table were nodding their heads in agreement, I piped up: "Well..." Shortly after I amazed them with an explanation, it came up that someone's American cousin has never had a passport because he would rather not travel internationally than bother with the trouble of getting one (baffling!) and when I told them about plenty of Americans not having any ID at all and the voter ID laws, I think I blew their minds. Thanks to John Oliver for making me look incredibly knowledgeable today, even if it's just from dedicated consumption of late night political comedy. (My mom was also there and her reaction was "I wish you knew this much about Canadian politics." My reply was "I don't find our PM formally apologizing for an accidental elbow over and over again in our goofy accent nearly as compelling as this current American s***show." It seems so fascinatingly gory and unfailingly impolite.)

Also, after decades in finance, all our advisors are in agreement that Trump is going to win and Hillary will be indicted for something before she can be elected. We washed that bitter pill down with a good laugh about how the seed money of the Trump fortune came from his draft dodging grandfather selling roadkill to prospectors during the Yukon gold rush. The original "Trump Steaks" to be sure. 

[OneWhoLurks]

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Sorry to disappoint John Oliver, but the problem isn’t the drop in oil prices; it’s the Venezuelan government.

[...]

The government has printed so much money that it has caused rampant inflation. The country is so broke it can no longer afford to print it’s own money.

The Venezuelan government fails to protect private property rights, allowing literally thousands of squatters to occupy other people’s property.

The government of Venezuela has and continues to interfere in the marketplace. One of their favorite backward activities is implementing price controls, which has led to rampant shortages of basic necessities from toilet paper to flour.

[...]

Venezuela is a classic case of government failure. Bad ideas have led to bad policies. Bad policies have led to bad outcomes. We should feel for the people of Venezuela. I’d argue that we should feel just anger at their current situation, as it is wholly unnecessary. When we discuss where to place the blame, however, it’s important to get our facts right. The monster in Venezuela isn’t the liquid under the soil; it’s the government.

 

Venezuela’s Problem Isn’t Oil—It’s Government

ETA:

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As a broadcast journalist in the United States, I struggle to get stories from the crisis in my country, Venezuela, on the air. People are usually only interested if tear gas and dead bodies are involved. I did manage to file a story on the 2014 protests for ABC’s World News Tonight. This same story was erroneously passed off as a current news story on last Sunday’s episode of “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver. Not only that, he’s previously joked that Venezuela is a country that you think about so little, you don’t even know where to locate it on a map.

This goes to show that there is insufficient public information on the current situation in Venezuela. It also reveals a general lack of awareness of how intertwined the situation in Venezuela is with what’s going on in Colombia and Cuba. Yet, the interrelationship between these countries has far reaching implications for Latin America, the United States, and the broader international community.

 

Sustainable Peace in Colombia and True Democracy in Cuba Requires Peace in Venezuela

Edited May 27, 2016 by OneWhoLurks

[Delwyn]

On May 23, 2016 at 0:19 PM, dcalley said:

Squirrel fact check: That wasn't a photo of a groundhog; that was a prairie dog.

This illustrates my only objection to LWT. The show is a comedy, obviously, and is in no way required to have any journalistic integrity or be responsible for education. He can pick and choose data as he pleases to build the jokes. However, I feel that if he wants to claim extensive research as the starting block for the punchline, mistakes like not googling "ground hog" undermine the momentum of the segment because it calls all his other factual premises into question. 

Unless he was doing a subtle gag about how we think so little of groundhogs that we don't notice that it's not actually a groundhog and left out the part where he fakes us out three times with capybaras, guinea pigs and prairie dogs. If that was his intention, then kudos and I withdrawal the complaint. 

[sum]

To be fair to his team, the photo is sold as a groundhog picture on one of the biggest stock photo store. Every result of reverse google image search says it's a groundhog. Either you knew the difference off the top of your head or have to consult an expert to confirm it. And I can understand why they didn't feel the need to go that far. For me, it's not that big a deal and doesn't undermine the show's credibility, as it was used only for comedic effect, not related to the main story itself.

Edited May 29, 2016 by sum

[OneWhoLurks]

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In Chechnya, the continuous stream of charming, callous and menacing posts by Mr. Kadyrov and his supporters serves as a tool of political control, a warning to those who would stray from the party line and an example of how social media can be as much a tool of repression as of liberation.

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The 39-year-old Chechen leader boasts a social-media operation that employs people who provide support for Mr. Kadyrov and attacks on his detractors, people familiar with the matter said. The work is headed by Magomed Daudov, the Chechen president’s right-hand man, these people said. Mr. Daudov couldn’t be reached for comment.

The intended effect is spontaneity, said a person familiar with the operation. Mr. Kadyrov’s Instagram account looks personal but is assembled with the assistance of cameramen, photographers and writers who help define the president’s online image, including Mr. Kadyrov’s publicity stunts, such as photos with Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona and a birthday bash with actress Hilary Swank, who later said she regretted taking part.

 

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With a prolonged economic crisis triggered by a collapse in oil prices and reduced cash flow from Moscow, Mr. Kadyrov has become especially sensitive to signs of dissent, according to a former state official. Mr. Kadyrov, worried about betrayal, wields the threat of online humiliation, the official said.

Mr. Kadyrov’s Instagram feed provides a real-time tally of who is in favor and who isn’t. “If you’re a state or regional agency or a ministry and Kadyrov unfollows you, you know heads are about to roll,” said a former state press service director.

 

The Strongman of Instagram

[OneWhoLurks]

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A producer of a new reality TV show looking to find a new assistant for Chechen strongman — and Instagram sensation — Ramzan Kadyrov, has been "flooded with applications" by would-be contestants. The show, which premieres Wednesday on Russian state-run channel Rossiya 1, will see contenders compete in various tasks — including participating in a traditional Chechen wedding — with the winner named Kadyrov's new assistant.

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Kadyrov also told his 1.8 million Instagram followers that he will star in a full-length action movie titled Kto ne ponyal, tot poymet (Those Who Didn't Understand, Will Understand), named after Kadyrov's favorite saying. Kadyrov published a short clip from the film, featuring him running across a desert landscape with a machine gun, followed by several sport utility vehicles. Further details of the movie were not announced and remain unknown.

Kadyrov also is known for his fondness of foreign actors who have shown loyalty to the Kremlin. Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme have been his frequent guests in Chechnya, and Gerard Depardieu was given a luxurious apartment in a skyscraper in the republic's capital Grozny.

 

Reality TV Contestants Line Up to Be Assistant to Chechen Strongman Ramzan Kadyrov