Great work here Garrett! We like to think we have made leaps and bounds in understanding AIDS and its victims. However, your screenshot shows that we still associate AIDS as a “gay disease”. Additionally, you made great use of the Current Digest to trace the public’s opinion about AIDS. Great post!
Author: scmaclay
Comment on The Elephant(s foot) In The Room by scmaclay
I looked more into that “elephant’s foot” that was really cool but very scary. Bryan also talked about Chernobyl, you should check his post! I think it is important that you mentioned the precedent of Three Mile Island. Public opinion was skewed against nuclear power and that continues to this day. I wonder what role Three Mile Island and the Chernobyl disaster played in the Japanese government’s response to the Fukushima meltdown. Great post!
Comment on Chernobyl: Disaster at the worst of Times by scmaclay
I am glad that you included that quote from Gorbachev. Despite nuclear weapons multiplying in destructive capability since World War 2, both sides seemed keen on continuing the threat of nuclear war. Chernobyl showed the devastating potential of nuclear power and brought the Soviet Union to the table once again. Good post!
Comment on We Have No Sex Here by scmaclay
I second the questions Dalton is asking. There are a myriad of reasons that women choose to go into prostitution but I am interested to know if it is different for the Soviet Union. I like your point that their use of the word “sex” in “we have no sex here” shows how removed people were from understanding the topic at hand. Great post!
Comment on The lads of Liubertsy by scmaclay
I still crack up over the Liubers loving Sylvester Stallone but hating things that they see as anti-Soviet. You did a great job outlining the dual motivations for the Liubers. As you and many people in the comments have pointed out, the Liubers were walking contradictions. Great post!
Comment on Explosion? What explosion? by scmaclay
It is unbelievable that they would deny the extent of a catastrophe that would later kill 100,000 people. I think the cover-up is best shown in the documentary we are watching where one of the babushkas talks about the government promising the evacuees would only be gone for three days. In your research, did you read anything about how the Chernobyl meltdown affects the region today?
Comment on The Godfather: Russian Edition by scmaclay
Really cool post! Was the Russian Mafia an extension of the black market or was it something entirely different? Has Putin’s crackdown on organized crime in Russia affected the oligarchs in any way, or have they been co-opted under Putin?
Comment on All the Lies We Cannot See: Operation Infektion and HIV/AIDS in the Soviet Union by scmaclay
What a fantastic post! You did a great job covering such a variety of topics. We certainly see a trend in this disinformation campaign and similar campaigns run by the Russians today. What research did you do last semester and what did you find most interesting?
Comment on Blog 6 – Russian for the Summer Olympics by scmaclay
I like to contrast this to the past Olympics where North and South Korea marched under the same flag. That Olympics was politicized to bring nations together and not express disapproval or condemnation. I also find it funny that the Soviets used the rhetoric that the Olympics are a time of peace and later held their own counter-protest of the Olympics. Great post!
Comment on Hand Moscow a Box of Tissues and Give it a Warm Hug by scmaclay
Really interesting post! I really liked your concluding statement that the revolution gave women another ball to juggle. Revolution was meant to be liberating but instead added another layer of expectations on top of “traditional” gender roles women were expected to fulfill. Great analysis of the movie.
