| Windows to Russia |
| Simply a Blog About Russia by an American and His Russian Wife… |
Just some vacation pictures that did not get lost.
1. Tanks
2. The forest floor near the Border at Belgorod.
3. Little Church
4. me
5. A Casino made to look like the Bronx.
Kyle & Svet
comments always welcome.
Hello,
This happens all the time in America it is not something that Elderly People anywhere in the world should have to deal with.
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Moscow pensioner loses life savings in investment scam!
30/04/2008 12:49 MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – An 86-year-old Moscow woman was swindled out of $20,000 by two women who promised to invest the money in high interest government-bonds, a police source said Wednesday.
The two swindlers, who pretended to be social workers, visited the elderly woman’s apartment Monday and persuaded the pensioner to hand over her life savings. With prices continuing to rise in Russia many pensioners struggle to afford basic goods on the average monthly pension of $150.
The elderly often fall victim to scams in the guise of social programs, including offers of cheap household appliances and other goods or the exchange of old bank notes for new ones, allegedly introduced as a result of some ‘fictitious’ money reform or re denomination.
In December 2007, a large pharmaceutical scam was exposed in Russia. Conmen persuaded Russian pensioners to buy a highly-effective anti-arthritis drug for ‘a mere’ 22,000 rubles ($930). The tablets turned out to be nothing more than vitamin pills.
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My wife had an article about her Uncle and someone trying to swindle his money.
Link: http://kylekeeton.com/2008/02/svet-sunday-how-they-tried-to-con-my.html
Kyle & Svet
comments always welcome.
Hello,
If you are British and a Soccer Fan you got it made. You still need a visa but it has become easy to get. The excerpt from the article: British fans require visas for Moscow Champions League final!
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However, fans holding valid tickets will not be required to go through the standard process of obtaining a visa invitation.
“Visas will be issued by the Russian Embassy in London on the production of a valid passport, completed application form and a copy of the match ticket,” the ministry said.
Mayor Yury Luzhkov said on Tuesday that fans would only need their passports and tickets to pass Russian border control.
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The reports in Moscow make it clear that this is one big event & all Hotels are reserved. One good thing about Moscow, people rent flat rooms all the time. Looks like a good time for Muscovites to make a little extra money.
Kyle & Svet
comments always welcome.
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Media Freedom Around the World
–Findings of a 20 Nation Poll–
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
8:30-9:00am: A light breakfast will be served
9:00-10:30am: Presentation and panel discussion
National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge (top floor)
529 Fourteenth Street, NW, Washington DC (map)
In advance of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2008 this event will release and discuss a new poll of 20 countries on media freedom.
The WorldPublicOpinion.org poll measured public attitudes and values on media freedom in the United States, China, India, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, France, Britain, Mexico, Azerbaijan, Argentina, Great Britain, Jordan, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, the Palestinian territories, Peru, Poland, South Korea, and Ukraine. Topics explored include:
• Internet censorship
• Support for the principle of press freedom
• Government control of information that could be politically destabilizing
• Access to publications from hostile countries
• Public assessments of media freedom in their country
• Prevalence of desire for more media freedom
The panel discussion will explore the implications of the poll’s findings with special emphasis on media freedom issues in China and the Arab world.
Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org will present the findings.
Marvin Kalb, Edward R. Murrow Professor at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University, will moderate the panel discussing the implications of the findings.
Panel participants include:
Nadia Bilbassy-Charters, Senior Diplomatic Correspondent, Al Arabiya TV
Cheng Li, Senior Fellow, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution
Frank Smyth, Washington Representative, the Committee to Protect Journalists
RSVP required. Please email: info@pipa.org or call: 202-232-7500.
WorldPublicOpinion.org is a collaborative research project involving research centers from around the world and managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland.
Hello,
While drinking my morning cup of coffee, I found this fantastic article on traveling to other countries. So I thought I would link it & let you have a read. The article has lots of good points & issues that need to be listened to.
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Embrace the American, Leave the Ugly at Home
When preparing for a vacation abroad, travelers will hear all kinds of contrasting advice about how to carry themselves in a foreign country.
On the one hand – When in Rome, do as the Romans do. On the other hand – Don’t forget where you came from.
On the one hand – Be yourself. On the other hand – Blend in with the locals.
It’s all pretty confusing; add to that the stigma of being the “typical tourist,” and it only gets worse.
Culture Jamming
Some of the tourist stereotypes border on offensive – this type of tourist travels in large groups and takes lots of pictures and video. That type of tourist sits on buses and peers out the window waiting for the next buffet. This other type of tourist puts peanut butter on the scones. Another can’t pronounce anything they see written down except brand names.
Americans traveling abroad have a particularly bad rap. They’re loud, poorly dressed, and worst of all – obvious. The Ugly American.
There are reasons for the ubiquity of this stereotype. First off, there are a lot of us. And our extreme affluence relative to the bulk of the world’s population means there are a lot of us traveling, a very expensive hobby without question.
And our Gap/Old Navy/catalog clothing culture tends to dictate that we dress alike, and sometimes colorfully; you don’t find too much basic black at Old Navy.
So the French and the rest would rather we downplay our American-ness. But can anyone tell me why Mickey Mouse, Jerry Lewis, and Cher have done so well as exports? Certainly it’s not their cross-cultural sensitivity, or their understated taste. It’s their American-ness.
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To read complete article follow the link below….
Independent Traveler.com
I will say that one of the most important things to remember is: “Use eyes and ears before engaging mouth.
Staying alert and attuned to everything going on around you is not only better style, but is much safer to boot. To paraphrase a very useful truism, better to be thought American than open your mouth and remove all doubt…”
Trips to the local markets are always an interesting & fun time. When they discover that you are American, the word goes like wild fire through the Market. (This is good & or bad!) We have refused to buy from many vendors because they raise the price, but in the same token we have gotten fantastic deals because they want to be the one to have sold to the American.
I am always one to remember prices & look for the best deal. Russia has a brand of socks that are made out of dog hair. These socks are the best socks that I have ever worn. My wife and I buy these socks from a local Babushka that sells them for 30 Rubles a pair. She makes good money and is very happy with the sales.
We went to a local market that sold clothing and found these same socks. The gentleman who wanted to sell us the socks (after he heard me speak English) presented us with a price tag (for the very same brand and style) of a 100 Rubles. Even with a 50 Ruble tag attached to the display socks. He was heart broken but lowered the price all the way to 60 Rubles. As we were walking away we heard 50 Rubles. We knew at this point we could have reached that 30 Ruble price, but we kept walking, for you see the Babushka will keep our sock business.
It is another fantastic day in Moscow….
Kyle & Svet
comments always welcome.
