You mean, like in Kosovo? Wasn't the West's main excuse to steal Kosovo from Serbia that most of the population was of Albanian origin? I fail to see how the West, having set such a precedent, can justify that Crimea is such an integral part of Ukraine, when most of its inhabitants are Russian.

But this is not about justice, fairness or anything. This is just hardcore geopolitics. Done in the same childish and short-sighted way as always. Putting fanatics in power in a Russia-satellite country to piss off the Russians... when have you last heard of such a move? Let me give you a hint, it usually blows right back in your face.

I agree.

I commuted into Washington DC for a year and it was hell. The noise, and just walking on the sidewalk was stressful, with the traffic and congestion and all the drivers in a horrible mood because of it. And when using the metro (subway), I would have to deal with sleet and snow and rain and walking long distances from the metro stop to my destination, avoiding cars and buses and horrible weather, usually with the stress of being on the verge of being late because commuting took such a large chunk of my day.

Today I have a really nice house on a lake in a suburb. I could not have a home like this in a city - it would cost tens of millions of dollars. I can walk to the store if I choose (or kayak there), as well as kayak on the lake for exercise (which I do several times a week), and bicycle on a nearby path with no cars and lots of quiet and beautiful scenery. And nowadays I have a very pleasant 20 minute commute to my job in a suburban office - on the ground floor with windows and my car parked right outside instead of me tucked away up in some high rise prison.

Why anyone would want to live or work in a city mystifies me.

I just played Geneforge 1 again, this time with a guardian, though only on tricky diff - 3/4. :(
I play "mini games" from a guy named Simon Tatham.
He just reprogrammed older games he didn't invent.

I don't play MMPORGS or whatever.
I have installed Civ4 but didn't play it for a few months.
I also got Braid and Witcher from Steam.

I am not playing as much since I am programming as well.

Don't worry, if the good people are being fired or leaving, it's just a matter of time until the whole shithouse comes crumbling down.

Of course, the psychopath who caused the problem will not be blamed he will just be promoted or transferred to another cushy job.

Start looking for another job, as soon as possible.

That's the lamest excuse of them all. If they're not good at communication, maybe they're in the wrong job, aren't they? There's plenty of techies that can write intelligible sentences out there.

What you wrote doesn't make any sense, it's just uninformed speculation and wishful thinking. The Castro brothers are precisely the ones leading the reforms in Cuba.

As to Russia and China, I fail to see the correlation between Internet access and change of government. The Russian government is in a Medieval conservative rampage, with little opposition. And the Chinese regime enjoys widespread support among the population.

That doesn't give you the right to bully other countries and private companies that want to do business with Cuba.

Before the Internet, it was something else. The Cuban regime has been "on the brink of collapse" since I can remember.

It has survived the fall of the Soviet Union, why do you think it won't survive the Internet?

So, now the incentives are to blame? You are seeing it upside down. If people that will never be able to rise above Walmart level could make a living wage, those subsidies would not be needed.