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Putin Government Moves To Take Control of Russia's largest space company Energia
schwit1 writes Vitaly Lopota, the president of Russia's largest space company Energia, was suspended Friday by the company's board of directors. From the article: "The move appears to be part of an effort by Russia's government to obtain majority control over Energia, of which it owns a 38-percent share. The directors elected Igor Komarov as its new chairman of the board. Komarov is chief of the Russian United Rocket and Space Corporation (URSC), the government-owned company tasked with consolidating Russia's sprawling space sector." The government is also conducting a criminal investigation of Lopota, which might be justified but appears to be a power play designed to both eliminate him from the game as well as make sure everyone else tows the line so that URSC can take complete control.
Anyone else here miss the 1980s USSR? Looks like Putin does ...
Maybe we'll finally stop relying on Russia for access to space...
This sort of thing is why shares of russian companies trade at a huge discount compared to shares of western and asian companies.
... really... you "toe the line" not "tow the line" as the submitter writes.
Anybody still seriously doubt that Russia is a neo-Fascist country?
I like the "to take control" euphemism for steal.
Putin is stealing private property, that's the actual headline here. There can be no real economic development if private property rights are not protected, specifically not protected from government theft. This wouldn't be the first time Putin stole something, by the way, even before Crimea I mean. Of-course he basically stole democratic elections in Russia, I guess nothing can beat that.
You can't handle the truth.
Administrative takeover of corporations by autoritative central state, with intimidation through abuse of executive power, is textbook fascism. Mussolini would be proud.
Maybe we deserve this world ?
... really... you "toe the line" not "tow the line" as the submitter writes.
Just so long as you remember to toad the sprocket, but only when it's wet.
Russhia bad, Ameriika good.
Got it, thank you.
This is a direct response to the US sanctions on Russia and to the US threatening to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. It is basically Putin's way of saying: "Look, I am in control of how to get to space.", meaning, you can put the rockets 300 miles from Moscow, I'll just take them to space. It is a typical power play. US simply does not understand the Russians. Sanctions cannot possibly work against them. They always one up whatever move you do and the only way to end the cold war was when the US stopped the race and started de-escalating the conflict and offer a treaty after a treaty, until finally Russia felt safe enough to let go. But now they feel betrayed and I don't think there will ever be a de-escalation of the conflict possible. This time it is gonna be played to the utter economic destruction of one of the two nuclear super powers or an all out nuclear war.
It looked like such a smart move by the US state department to take over the Ukrainian government, too bad they didn't understand that the move would inevitably start a war. Now we will all pay the price.
If programs would be read like poetry, most programmers would be Vogons.
Don't be so impatient, buckwheat, your turn will come
But Romney and Palin are wrong! Uncle Putin isn't any threat. He's a cuddly teddy bear riding a pony! Russia is our friend!
This is spam! Someone delete this spam please! Thank you.
Fascist movements shared certain common features, including the veneration of the state, a devotion to a strong leader, and an emphasis on ultranationalism and militarism
According to many scholars, fascism â" especially once in power â" has historically attacked communism, conservatism and parliamentary liberalism, attracting support primarily from the far right
Are you guys sure that Russia under Putin is a fascist state ?
Or are you using slashdot as your soapbox to degrade Russia - just like you Obama fanbois like to do ?
Putin is not firmly rooted in the far right movement
To be a fascist one has to have support from the far right militancy to be able to exert control over the nation
We can all own our own Eastern-Bloc knockoff PDP minicomputers! :)
I mean what could be better than that?
"Putin Government" ... instead of just "Government"?
Because it happens right now, yes. 100 years ago it would gave been "Tsar's representatives".
It's exactly why "Obamacare" is mentioned as such, and not simply as "care".
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
Sure, the way Russians go about nationalizing companies is not very nice or even subtle. But I wish my government did the same. Services that people need in order to live - energy, water, medical - shouldn't be on the free market. All that stuff should be publicly owned and the goal shouldn't to be to make money but to provide critical services to the people for the cheapest amount possible.
In Soviet Russia, line tows you!
"To be a fascist one has to have support from the far right militancy to be able to exert control over the nation"
In reality the militancys ideology doesn't matter, as long as they help in exerting control. Fascism could be based on far left ideologies as wel las far right. And I guarantee Putin is far right instead of far left himself. I don't see him giving the power to the people any time soon.
"That's wet sprocket to you!", said Mr. Toad.
Think about this the next time you want to spout off about America being fascist, this is the difference between ownership and regulation.
I see. So if you were privileged or able to work your way into a company supplied med insurance program. You win the lottery and all is well. However, if you were unprivileged or had to work your life away in low, menial jobs to support your poor family and never had a chance to work your way into a company supplied insurance program, then you lost the lottery of life; you should just accept that you will die early. Then there is the lottery of your company shipping your job overseas to some low wage country when you are in your 40's or 50's. You then have little chance of further employment and your insurance is gone with your job. And you might have been allowed to get an medicaid, if you have lost enough of your wealth...except that was made harder by some governors rejecting the wider coverage. So, better hope you stay healthy and employed and aren't steamrolled by corporate America.
Most modern countries have healthcare for their citizens. How is it the U.S. cannot figure this out?
Work hard in school, you can get a scholarship. With your scholarship you can get a meaningful degree. With a meaningful degree you can get a good job. It's done everyday in the US. There's no luck, lottery involved. It does require hard work.
Nah - you drag the line
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
The US has a healthcare system for its citizens as well. Has had it for years and in many ways, though not all ways, it's quite a good system. All sorts of amazing treatments have come out of it in fact. Wait times also tend to be remarkably short with an abundance of treatment options. It is unfortunately rather expensive.
Oh, wait, you mean there's one aspect of the US system that you don't like so you disregard its existence entirely? You know that sort of thing just makes you sound like an idiot, right?
You describe this as a foolproof plan. So all those struggling to support their families are either lazy or millionaires on the wait?
You're crying foul like Putin is taking from this Lopota guy his family's company. Which is surely not the case here. The company was most likely government owned a couple of decades ago and was given away by Yeltsin & co for kopecks.
Most scholarships I have come across have involved certain race/sex/religious requirements and an essay. Academic records where usually secondary documentation, and frequently not required.
Life lesson to the young ones: Looking and acting the part is far more important than results. You get hired, accepted, etc... based on how much people feel they like you. Results are something they may or may not prioritize later on. And, hard work is cheap and plentiful in case slavery and the like was not enough of a clue for you.
You are better off working smart over hard when your own performance is necessary. And in general, if who does it is not important, you are better off learning how to get others to do the grunt work for you. Schooling is a bit of an oddity in that your own performance is being tested.
Any sufficiently advanced influence is indistinguishable from control.
Russian government has a 38% percent share in the company, which could very well be the controlling stake. So as the board of directors seek to replace the current head to improve earnings for the shareholders, you call them fascist? Did you mean to say "capitalist", instead?
no, you walk the line
What the hell are you talking about?
I am Romanian and we have healthcare for all our citizens. Not stellar but it's there.
I merely pointed out that a certain action with big impact is usually named after the high profile person who initiated, oversaw or approved it. It's a fact.
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
Because URSC is so near to UAC, it's spooky.
Because Bush left us with a strong and well funded space program??
no, you snort the line.
Maybe they graduated from The Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
I know what could be better than that: Hypocrisy. Alexey Pajitnov developed Tetris on such an Eastern PDP clone, yet he goes around and sues anyone who clones his own stuff.
Which includes re-integrating most of the former USSR countries.
But in order to keep their representation in the United Nations, the members of the New USSR would have to remain sovereign states in a confederation analogous to the European Union, not join into one sovereign state like the USA or the old USSR.
I leave you with this vaguely relevant and addicting song.....Energia!!!
http://youtu.be/BVWfqOSdzs4
... the subject of criticism?
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
People are jumping to pull out the false dichotomies.
Are Russia and the US the same? No.
Are Russia and the US completely different? No.
Russia is worse. But sadly not by a lot.
Everyone who thinks this is a step towards fascism has it wrong. It's a step even further backwards: Towards monarchy.
Putin wants to be a monarch, he wants to be a king. In the russian tradion that is an Emporer, called the Tsar. Putin wants the russian empire back, with an emperor on its head, not because he is a monarchist but because it simply is the position with the most power for himself. What plays into his hands is the fact that Russia never really pluralised, but maintained a few important centres, while the rest of the giant realm stayed mostly undeveloped and unconnected in regard to governmental power.
Tsar -> A bit chaos -> Stalin -> A powerful party -> A bit Chaos -> Putin.
Weren't the plans to scrap the shuttle program created back during the Bush Administration? And didn't the Bush Administrations replacement, Constellation, fail miserably with massive cost overruns & constant delays? Not that the Obama Administrations replacement (Space Launch System), is fairing any better. It should also be noted that Congress is doing their best to sabotage the one NASA launch system program that is actually staying fairly on time and under budget (CCDev2) despite working with half the budget they've been requesting.
Without any rules to play within
It's also woefully inefficient with its spending. Its treatments are comparable to many other countries, and in those other countries it's available to everyone without a bill needing to be settled afterwards. A medical system practically doesn't exist if you can't afford to use it.
You might think it is funny, but this really is sort of the plan of Putin ... It might not be communism he wants. What he wants a is strong Russia, a country other countries respect (maybe this can be explained as: fear).
In other words he wants to re-establish the Russian empire. Which is really what the USSR was. Whether the empire is run by a czar, premier or president hardly matters.
remember the day the EBT card failed, and who wasn't at the grocery store?
Well maybe Putin's going around cutting everyone's hawsers. That would leave them towing the line.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
> So all those struggling to support their families are either lazy or millionaires on the wait?
Possibly. One thing is for sure. The vast majority started poor and chose to start families. If you're poor and choose to have a family you're an irresponsible shit, not two ways around it. Kids cost money.
In Russia, government controls corporations. In USA, it is the other way around.
What's the tow vehicle in this case and where is what being towed?
This way we will avoid our planes hit by one of their satellite launchers.
-- 29A the number of the Beast