Crimea Euphoria Fades for Some Russians
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on July 6th, 2014 11:08 pm by HL
Crimea Euphoria Fades for Some Russians
Patriotism spurred by President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea still runs deep in Russia, but the cold reality of paying for the Black Sea region is setting in and threatens to test an economy brought low by Western sanctions. Asked to give up a day’s pay to help Crimea, Russian hospital therapist Tatyana could not hide her anger. “The bosses … asked us to fill out a form for the donation. People started complaining — why should they donate to Crimea? In our department, not one of us made the donation and our boss understood because she was of the same opinion.”
Trucks Spew Smoke as Conservative Protest
Some conservative gearheads are modifying their trucks to spew black smoke to protest liberal environmentalists and President Barack Obama. Dave Weigel reports, “For as little as $500, anyone with a diesel truck and a dream can install a smoke stack and the equipment that lets a driver ‘trick the engine’ into needing more fuel. The result is a burst of black smoke that doubles as a political or cultural statement — a protest against the EPA, a ritual shaming of hybrid ‘rice burners,’ and a stellar source of truck memes. The ‘Prius repellent’ decal is easy to find on truck fan sites, as are memes of single or double stack trucks humiliating the drivers of smaller cars.”
