Quote from: suchmoon on August 21, 2018, 05:11:50 PM

Quote from: byteball on August 21, 2018, 01:28:40 PM

I didn't mean the person whom you call "a murderous dictator" is paying me money.
I meant that life in Russia (where I am) is much safer than in London, where I lived for 5 years. If I lived in Moscow, probably it would be the same story,
but with less comfort obviously due to overcrowding.
And I meant that life here has a future. So rather than "business" I should have written "vital interests".
Biden was sitting in Ukraine's president seat after they have overthrown elected president.
I mean that literally, that he physically sat as a ritual of accepting a new colony to establish external government.
So you better still think that I'm brainwashed/frightened. And I am, a bit, see below.
I hope one day the Trump (pun and definite article intentional) will wake you up.
Only your exceptionalism prevents you from realizing that in another country, another culture people have the right to think differently.

I don't have exceptionalism. I'm a big fan of certain basic freedoms, such as freedom of movement and freedom of speech. I can understand why someone would want to forfeit those freedoms in exchange of some real or perceived safety, even though it seems weird to me. I had a similar mindset until I left my Podunk shithole and had a chance to live in a few different countries. It's interesting that you have a nearly opposite view after having spent time abroad.

Quote from: byteball on August 21, 2018, 01:28:40 PM

frightened into thinking how can one be frightened into thinking, if he is not living some 1984 nightmare? We aren't

This is contradicted by how the Russian government portrays its involvement in Syria and Ukraine and the fact that the population seems to buy it.

My question was how one can be frightened into thinking in a certain way.
We were really frightened by US and allies' actions. Why shouldn't we?
But how can you frighten someone to think falsely? (i.e. contrary to your way of thinking).

I didn't live in a Mukhosransk, rather a small cozy shtetl. I returned there.
I was in Finland, France, Netherland (twice), Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and (after leaving UK) twice in Israel and twice in Thailand.
I also read a lot of books. Made a lot of observations. A lot of thinking.
If this led me to "support a murderous dictator", then maybe there is something in it.
Time will tell.