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    vercingetorixTom Scocca
    2/22/14 9:33am

    Not even the simplest provision of actual information, just tendentious Rorschach test-photographs so people can project onto them the Manichean narrative of the same mainstream media which they have been led to absorb. It really is like a playbook, how this mediatic process unfolds.

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      Freddie DeBoervercingetorix
      2/22/14 9:37am

      But it's so much more fun to make sweeping moral pronouncements about complex and shifting international affairs that feature many competing interests, temporary alliances, and diverse actors who are all invested in portraying a particular narrative to credulous western audiences.

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      fukyocouchFreddie DeBoer
      2/22/14 9:46am

      Why don't you two get a room so you can jerk each other off while telling yourselves how very smart you are.

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    TraceTom Scocca
    2/22/14 9:38am

    Is it bad I immediately thought "oh I hope they take care of the animals". Whatever you think about the government, the animals kept in the palace had nothing to do with that. :x

    That said, the picture of the guys in front is pretty striking. Have news sources started to make any guesses as to what comes next now that this has happened?

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      apeshapedmanTrace
      2/22/14 10:02am

      They shall beat their trebuchets into roasting spits.

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      eomfdTrace
      2/22/14 11:09am

      That's exactly what I thought, 'Sure hope someone decides to take care of those animals, no sense hurting them.'

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    MuscatoTom Scocca
    2/22/14 9:37am

    Wow - he appears to have had an almost Saddamian lack of taste. Is there some kind of central "Tyrants-R-Us" resource for these people? All over the world, and for decades and decades, they go in for almost exactly the same thing, in almost always exactly the same execrable sorts of way. I imagine a team of evil-genius decorators, hopscotching from Bucharest to Baghdad to Kyiv, leaving this kind of gold-leaf-and-pirate-ship devastation in their wake...

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      ShmataHariMuscato
      2/22/14 9:51am

      Style guide available here. And on sale. Sadly, his taste does not even appear to be the worst.

      Dictator Style: Lifestyles of the World's Most Colorful Despots Dictator Style: Lifestyles of the World's Most Colorful Despots Dictator Style: Lifestyles of the World's Most…

      Amazon.com

      Buy now 19 readers bought this

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    SUSPECT__IS__HATLESSTom Scocca
    2/22/14 9:38am

    So he owns a galleon. Who doesn't?

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      DoctorNineSUSPECT__IS__HATLESS
      2/22/14 9:45am

      When you have the kind of money you can get by being President-for-Life, you buy your boats by the galleon.

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      HellephantSUSPECT__IS__HATLESS
      2/22/14 9:47am

      The price per galleon has gone up so much lately not everyone can afford one.

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    iamtrollTom Scocca
    2/22/14 9:10am

    Lets just hope their not all right wing ne0-nazi fascists.

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      Putinintheeffortiamtroll
      2/22/14 9:22am

      It'd be a nice change to the left wing totalitarianism though.

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      vercingetorixiamtroll
      2/22/14 9:23am

      They certainly look like backward thugs, standing there oafishly with their pillaged shields, like some lawless barbarians from a Mad Max world—I can't help suspect that's what they are (racists and homophobes to boot).

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    XyloTom Scocca
    2/22/14 9:23am

    Now he's saying he will not quit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-eur… Meanwhile, I guess he's off to be coddled in Russia. Jeeezus, the garage pic. A car in every colour, depending on your mood. Other people would use nail polish for that effect.

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      XyloXylo
      2/22/14 9:29am

      It's getting hard to keep up. The Guardian says the protesters are about to free Timoshenko: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb…

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      JimEmeryXylo
      2/22/14 3:13pm

      Don't be too impressed by the cars. It's really just a collection of mediocre Soviet-era sedans and limousines, it appears to be a museum-style display of old cars that are not being driven.

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    iamtrollTom Scocca
    2/22/14 9:09am

    those are ugly fucking columns

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      Tennoiamtroll
      2/22/14 9:11am

      Ribbed fer yer displeasure

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      PetyrBaelishiamtroll
      2/22/14 9:26am

      I kind of like them, but they're something you'd find in a resort like Atlantis not a presidential residence.

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    KumquatRodeoTom Scocca
    2/22/14 10:12am

    This seems weirdly easy to me. There hasn't been a widespread civil war, or massive military retaliation. There have been skirmishes but nothing that would seem like it would cause the collapse of the government. Am I missing something, or is everyone waiting for the other shoe to drop?

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      TRUMP DELENDUS EST (fka Chatham Harrison)KumquatRodeo
      2/22/14 10:26am

      I think they're benefiting from the parliament's greater willingness to accede to the demands of the protesters. As they continue to act to promote a peaceful ending to this crisis, things may keep from spiraling out of control.

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    goldgoldergoldestTom Scocca
    2/22/14 10:53am

    I've always wanted a mega yacht. After seeing this, I must acquire a big ass viking boat for my domicile.

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      Tibbersgoldgoldergoldest
      2/22/14 4:00pm

      after today what's the point? You'll already be late for Ragnarok. ;)

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    MidtownATLguyTom Scocca
    2/22/14 11:43am

    Dear Vladimir Putin,

    You must have forgotten whom you're playing against. We're really, really good at this shit and we play for keeps. We've been toppling governments that we don't like for a long, long time—you fuckers are clumsy pikers in comparison. Don't you love the "good cop-bad cop" routine that we've perfected? And don't you also love the timing, that this "revolution" we helped to orchestrate against your buddies in Ukraine is climaxing right at the culmination of your precious, precious Olympics? Hahahahaha. Coincidence? Maybe. Anyway, your move, bitch.

    Love and hugs,

    USA and EU

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      TibbersMidtownATLguy
      2/22/14 4:02pm

      we're good at this? well, i suppose the knocking them over part, yes.

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      MidtownATLguyTibbers
      2/22/14 6:18pm

      We're really good at fucking around in other countries' internal politics, at organizing coups and assassinations, at manipulating the popular media, at fostering and funding popular uprisings, etc. Yes we are. That doesn't mean the results are always a pretty picture or that we control the eventual outcomes.

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