Exiled

July 15, 2008 7:52 AM

The Exile is back. Iconoclastic Moscow-based web-rag The Exile, having recently been shut down by the Russian authorities for its often less-than-complimentary views on all things to do with the motherland, is back, having relocated to Panama. A victory for the spirit of Gonzo.
posted by muggsy1079 (18 comments total)

I had no idea they were shut down! Scary! I was never crazy about the paper, but yeesh.
posted by grobstein at 8:04 AM on July 15, 2008

Don't take my War Nerd!
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 8:07 AM on July 15, 2008

I wonder if they'll start writing about Panama as well. That might be interesting. But hey, War Nerd is going twice-monthly, so there's a silver lining.
posted by Happy Dave at 8:20 AM on July 15, 2008

eXile greatest hits:

Michael Wines Eats Horse Sperm Surprise
John Dolan vs. James Frey
posted by nasreddin at 9:07 AM on July 15, 2008

Needs "irony" tag.
posted by ardgedee at 9:12 AM on July 15, 2008

The War Nerd just released a book... nothing groundbreaking if you read his columns, but pretty cool, having it all in one place and on paper 'n' stuff.
posted by ph00dz at 9:15 AM on July 15, 2008

My great-grandfather died in Panama at age 23 of yellow fever. I think it may be cursed.
posted by jonmc at 9:20 AM on July 15, 2008

I was amazed they lasted as long as they did. I chipped in $5 without knowing quite why... now I see.

Highly recommend The Exile: Sex, Drugs and Libel in the New Russia. Really great book that opened my eyes to a lot of things and made me laugh quite a bit. You may need to take a shower after reading it though.
posted by jcruelty at 10:01 AM on July 15, 2008

John McCain was born in Panama.

More proof he's a KGB FSB agent.
posted by delmoi at 11:01 AM on July 15, 2008

John McCain was born in Panama.

Really? Wouldn't that, technically, rule him out as president? (the story about my greatgrandpa is true, actually)
posted by jonmc at 11:22 AM on July 15, 2008

*checks wikipedia*

(oh, the Canal Zone, which is still technically the US.)
posted by jonmc at 11:23 AM on July 15, 2008

...and that's not the end of my Panamanian connection. When I lived in Miami, I spent a year working in a computer store. My boss, Rocky*, was from Panama, from a fairly aristocratic family from what I gathered. Panama is a Rosetta Stone, mark my words.

* Rocky's real first and middle names was 'Pedro Pablo,' and his wifes name was 'Maria.' Oy.
posted by jonmc at 11:36 AM on July 15, 2008

Wouldn't that, technically, rule him out as president?

He was born on a military base. I believe that's considered "US soil" for this kind of thing.
posted by lullaby at 11:49 AM on July 15, 2008

Thanks for the heads up. Now I can get my war nerd on.
posted by homunculus at 12:00 PM on July 15, 2008

Highly recommend The Exile: Sex, Drugs and Libel in the New Russia.

Seconded. These guys are heroes, and if you find their style offputting, you're one of Putin's pals. Great quote from Ames:

"Putin is an oppressor--except when he oppresses something that the American mainstream media doesn't approve of either. Americans have proven that it's not oppression or censorship they oppose--it's opposition to America that they oppose. We've angered most of the Western press corps for eleven straight years by constantly calling them on their hypocrisy and idiocy, so the last thing they want to do is give us an honorable send-off, despite all their pieties about 'supporting free speech that you disagree with.' It's censorship by silence, the most lethal of all, and it really sickens all of us to see it."

Thanks for the post!
posted by languagehat at 1:06 PM on July 15, 2008

War Nerd is so very excellent. The other day someone posted my favorite article someplace on mefi (maybe metatalk?), but I'll do it again anyway:

Saddam Died Beautiful: And what a way to go! Damn, did you see that cellphone video of his death? A bunch of Shia monkeys in ski masks woofing at him -- safe behind their masks, with Saddam handcuffed and under guard -- woofing like cockapoos at a pit bull heading for the Pound's death cell. And Saddam laughed at them, especially when they chanted the name of their pissant Imam, Moqtada al-Sadr. You can hear him on that jerky cellphone video sneering, "Moqtada?" And Saddam earned the right to laugh; he killed Sadr Sr. and kept Junior so terrified he didn't dare show his fat face until Saddam was gone and only the wimp occupiers were in charge.

Heheh.
posted by synaesthetichaze at 1:41 PM on July 15, 2008

I always feel slightly dirty after reading a War Nerd column, but it's one of my favorite guilty pleasures online.
posted by sonic meat machine at 7:41 PM on July 15, 2008

The exile has fallen off a little bit in recent years, but it's still a great read. Denis Salnikov is easily the greatest club reviewer in history, and Jon Dolan, who probably also writes the War Nerd, has great book reviews.
posted by afu at 1:34 AM on July 16, 2008