The Waldorf Astoria brand has been growing very nicely in recent years, opening properties in all kinds of major cities. A couple of weeks ago, Waldorf Astoria opened its newest property, and it’s probably the most unusual one we’ve seen in some time. Clearly Hilton isn’t proud of this one, though, because there wasn’t even…
Continue reading: Waldorf Astoria Opens In Minsk, Belarus, But Hilton Doesn’t Want You To Know
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Nit a fan of the country’s policies and definitely not a fan ok Lukashenko, but is there a reason you referred to him as “leader” in double quotes? Am I missing something ? He is the leader of the country, regardless of his views or yours.
If we were to start double quoting unsavoury leaders, we’d run out of double quotes in no time.
@ Mike -- Because he has been in power since 1994 via what are generally considered to be sham elections. It's hard to give the guy too much credit.
The results of the last election in Belarus were heavily contested and protested. Said protests led to heavy crackdowns and a large amount of arrests by the government. Many people question the legitimacy of Lukashenko’s position, to put it mildly. But yes, he is the de facto (at least) leader of Belarus.
Interesting you did not put leader in quotes for the article about Venezuela. I don’t think Maduro’s elections were free or fair either. Oversight or statement?
Sham elections?
Is gerrymandering considered a sham too?
Or it's more like liberation vs. invasion.
Charles, I don't think Ben feels Maduro is (was) any more of a legitimate leader than Lukashenko but it's more natural to highlight his illegitimacy as another reason for Hilton to avoid promoting its new shiny hotel in the country. Not everything needs to incite a snappy reaction. If you have followed this blog for a while, you know Ben's general stance on these types of issues.
@ Charles S -- Exactly what @ JK said. Maybe I should've also put Maduro in quotes. I feel similarly about the two "leaders," and think they're both awful. I publish close to 10K words per day on this blog, on average, and sometimes there's a little bit of inconsistency that isn't deliberate. I'm not sure what you're suggesting my motive is here?
Thank you, Ben, for stating the facts, and to JK for also getting it. Doesn’t seem like Mike was coming at this in good faith.
What are those gears for on the top of the bar? Is that going to rotate so you get a view of the whole lobby?
Oh. it's a clock, that is only visible from hallways outside the rooms above a certain floor.