Let me bring up some points:
* Why should apolitical people have their country divided?
* Ukraine isn't divided by language, practically everyone can use both to a different extent and there is no miscommunication. The language that you use most of the time doesn't have to match your politics and often doesn't.
* ~80% percent of the population identifies as simply as Ukrainian with majorities in both parts of the country.
* No part of the country is "mostly inhabited by Russians that gravitate towards Moscow". Even in the Crimea the self-identifying Russians don't have 50% of the population.
* The Yes vote in 1991 for Ukrainian independence from the USSR: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ukr_Referendum_1991.png
* 55% of ethnic Russians supported independence from Russia and they remember, are around 17% of the population.
* With the return of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians from other parts of the USSR and withdrawal of Soviet troops if there was a confirming referendum today if anything the percentage would be bigger.
* Otherwise the culture is pretty much common to all Ukrainians.
* Religion isn't that different - people actually self-identify as Christian or East Orthodox and the traditions are the same all over the country. Even the Greek-Catholics (10% of population) are really much more Orthodox than Catholic.
United States of Canada vs. Jesusland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesusland_map
> Ahem... http://www.federalreserve.gov/otherfrb.htm .
> Cash is managed through the regional branches of the Federal Reserve, and while there are some boundaries on that map that don't line up, it mostly seems to be governed by these particular administrative regions.
> As a New Yorker from Connecticut, the gigantic barrier between New York and New England would have to be nearly completely explained by the Fed.
As a New Yorker from Connecticut, the gigantic barrier between New York and New England would have to be nearly completely explained by the Fed.
Having also grown up in Connecticut, New Englanders aren't as likely to go to New York as one would expect from the proximity. Young folks, especially in Connecticut, tend to go back and forth, but people in the city only tend to visit New England in the fall, and people in New England only visit the city on special occasion. In fact, the line between New York and New England is the only place I have ever seen a road sign for "New England" and not an actual state name. It is a very culturally polarized region where city folk like the city, country folk the country. There's also very little in up-state New York (which is mostly park land) that would cause lots of travel there from Vermont... If you're from the area it isn't as weird as it looks on a map.
If the Federal Reserve regions were actually causing the currency movements, why do regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, and Louisiana not line up?
Previous previous discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5457329 (115 points, 304 days ago, 44 comments).
For #12, I think that the correct explanation is in the comment https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5459260 (by skwirl):
> I can do no more than guess, but I think you are right about the San Francisco district. It is a large district and the notes have to be physically carted back and forth to some distribution center, so it looks like they created three locations to do this - one in San Francisco, one in Seattle, and one in Salt Lake City.
My guess is that the other discrepancies are caused by strong economical and population integration of the areas and perhaps more subdistricts.
Yet you linked not to the original work but to a German site. I would also point out that assigning physical-proximity as a cultural marker due to the movement of currency is a terrible stand-in for actual cultural similarities. And cultural similarities are what we are concerned with here, if we're discussing the devolution of America based on cultural lines.
For instance, the map you provide has Colorado lumped in with Oklahoma, Kansas, and the rest of the Midwest. While these states are proximate physically, the culture between these states is completely different, which is why Colorado has legalized cannabis and OK has a monument on government property to the 10 Commandments. To lump Colorado in with the Midwest just shows how poor the methodology and modeling are.
How's that for some gray matter? Is it enough, or do I need more?
Don't be ridiculous, one links to the currently maintained version of a project.
While these states are proximate physically, the culture between these states is completely different
Citation needed. I lived in Colorado for a couple of years, and in my experience there is more similarity than difference between those places.
How's that for some gray matter? Is it enough, or do I need more?
It's better than commenting on a domain name, but there is no upper bound on insight.
Because the "red" and "blue" states are artifacts of winner take all election, most of the country (by states) is actually a pretty similar shade of "purple" (at a lower level, like counties, you've got intensely "red" areas in "blue" states, and vice versa), and also because the partisan leanings aren't all that consistent over time.
Was that the intended analogy for the situation in the Ukraine?
Sure, it sucked for the east part. West part was doing quite well and still is.