Symbols of America

[peacetraveler22]

For the past few weeks, Ilya Varlamov has published posts incorporating photos from Moscow in the late 1980's - early 90's. I love these! Amazing to see how the country looked right before the collapse of the USSR. In today's post, I saw this photo from 1990. A massive queue to enter the first McDonald's in Moscow! I can't imagine such a scene, or how this fast food chain symbolized so much to people at that time. In 1990, I was 17. A senior in high school, getting ready to graduate and enter university, and closely following events overseas.

What other places, items and things did Soviet citizens associate with America before the collapse? My aunt visited Russia in the early 1980's, and she told me stories about locals asking her for bubble gum and wanting to buy her Levi's, straight off her body. This is no joke.

This is what makes Russia so fascinating to me - very rich and diverse history, constantly shifting and changing. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Not sure how most Russians feel about the current direction in which Russia is moving...I hope you feel for the better, because it's depressing and sad to live in a place where you feel absolutely no hope or prospect for the future. I have never once felt this way about my life in America...

Comments

All the Sovier children liked Freddy!

[xpo-xpo-xpo.livejournal.com]

"Nightmare on Elm St" was the movie every Russian schoolboy watched those times :)

Re: All the Sovier children liked Freddy!

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Scary! :)) And what did the Soviet girls watch?

At those times I wasn't interested in girls too much.

[xpo-xpo-xpo.livejournal.com]

Many years since that I played university soccer team. My fifth year in the university was the year when I missed a game for a first time having some tea with a girl. So I know that modern girls watch Avatar in 3D but at those times... The only thing I remember, they played porn-cards with boys (no later than 7th year in school: I left that school after 7th year).

Re: At those times I wasn't interested in girls too much.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Porn cards? What's that? Sounds scandalous! :)))

Free education and safety stay.

[xpo-xpo-xpo.livejournal.com]

Free healthcare is quite problematic in many complicated cases.

Just playing cards.

[xpo-xpo-xpo.livejournal.com]

As usual, four suits, 9 cards per suit (most Russian games employ only 9 or even 8 cards per suit), porn pictures on the face side.

[qi-tronic.livejournal.com]

"
However, most reputable organizations give paid time off.
"
I wonder how you are ready to rely on good will of capitalists. :)

This all means that you always need to have a good job: to have a good health insurance, to have paid days off, etc.
I believe that such basic things should not rely on your job.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is my mentality. :) Then you should like Obama, because many programs he has implemented have been called "socialist." Obama Care, extended unemployment benefits...

[qi-tronic.livejournal.com]

Yes, I like what he tries to do.
But about unemployed ... I have my own position.
I think that traditionally "left" and "right' measures should be combined to increase human potential of the nation.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I only like his immigration policies. Not much else.

[qi-tronic.livejournal.com]

Proof that this economic system is not normal :))

www. express. co. uk/news/weird/544409/Grumpy-Cat-worth-more-than-Hollywood-stars

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Of course, you do not seem crazy to me. :) And, I am always interested in hearing different viewpoints. I'm not sure what you're talking about when you say the FBI "regularly kills people for questioning"?? About why the U.S. prison population is so high, there are several reasons. First, we have a lot of laws and they are actually enforced. I know, it's a strange concept for Russians. :) Because in your country, there are laws, but they are not enforced as often and, even if caught, it is easy to bribe your way out of offences with payment or other forms of corruption. Also, at the height of the drug epidemic in the late 80's and early 90's in the U.S., Federal prison punishment guidelines for drug crimes were extreme. However, this isn't the case now, and Obama recently enacted a new Federal program to let people convicted of drug crimes during this era out of jail. You can google "Clemency Project" and read about this program, if interested. In general, this is a good article on the topic - http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/08/economist-explains-8.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Haha! :) Recently, I have had the same facial expression as that grumpy cat.

[krasnogorr.livejournal.com]

Последний случай - это убийство Тодашева (Ibragim Todashev). Воспользуйтесь гуглом. Этот случай обсуждался в российской прессе и, в том числе, поднимался вопрос о типичности таких убийств. Оказывается в США убивать на допросах - это такая же норма, как и просто на улице, вроде последних случаев в Кливленде или Фергюсоне. К сожалению я не могу дать вам ссылку на англоязычный ресурс, так как вообще не ориентируюсь в англоязычном интернете.

Количество заключённых в США всё равно слишком велико, для того, что бы американец мог критиковать СССР за Гулаг. А наличие пыточных и тюрем типа Гуантанамо и вовсе переводит эту критику в юмор. Кроме того - ГУЛаг - это Главное Управление Лагерей. Типа агентства. Многие лагеря - это такие посёлки, из которых нельзя уехать и крайне проблематично убежать, не более того. А ГУЛаг просто ими всеми управляет.

Ну а коррупция это иногда хорошо. Как никак взятка - это как штраф. Мой друг недавно купил мотоцикл за 65000 рублей и тут же был пойман без прав (лицензии) полицией. Он дал взятку 70000 рублей, что бы не сидеть под арестом 15 суток. Это плохо с позиции закона, но хорошо по-человечески. Да и взятка суммарно выше стоимости мотоцикла.

Зато в Америке я могу попасть в тюрьму за мелкую кражу. А если додумаюсь играть с детским пистолетом, то и вовсе пристрелят на месте без лишних вопросов и всё.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Tell me please, what forms of "torture" you're speaking about? Water boarding? Because some consider blaring and flashing lights for long periods of time, playing very loud music, and sleep deprivation to be forms of "torture." I don't agree. About the toy gun, how was the officer supposed to know the kid was pointing a toy (and not real) gun at him? In the U.S., toy guns have a special clip, so police officers can tell they are not dangerous and toys. It's very colorful, yet this kid had ripped it off the toy gun. So, the police officer is just supposed to take his chances and risk getting shot to death? I don't think so.

About Ferguson, I will write later. Because I will visit this town in a few weeks. In the end, it's all very simple. Obey the law, do not resist arrest and behave as an asshole, and you will not encounter these problems. Trust me, I'm 41 years old, have been pulled over by police many, many times and never once had any problems. And, also, there are plenty of cases where black police officers have shot white men in pursuit. But I bet Russian news doesn't show this, does it? :)

[krasnogorr.livejournal.com]

У меня трудности с переводом. То, что вы перечислили - это, по вашему, не пытки? Вы считаете нормой применение этих способов, в том числе и к себе тоже, если вас в очередной раз арестуют?

По поводу убийства подростка. Вам нужно присесть и крепко держаться, что бы не упасть, когда будете читать моё мнение. Полицейский должен убедиться в реальности оружия в том числе ценой собственной жизни и здоровья. Иначе он просто убивает подростка с игрушечным пистолетом и риск перекладывается на мальчика. Смерть полицейского на службе - это плохо, но ожидаемо. А смерть подростка с игрушечным пистолетом - это ужасно.

Удивительное рядом. Если с соблюдением закона я полностью согласен, то сопротивление аресту - вещь спорная. Люди не машины - они могут быть пьяны, могут быть эмоциональны и что угодно ещё, но это не значит, что в них надо сразу стрелять.

Мне 28, но меня в России ещё ни разу не арестовывали.

И я не понял, почему вы упомянули цвет кожи? Я вроде нигде не писал о расовой принадлежности? Может вы спутали наш разговор с каким то другим?

Тем не менее российские новости никогда не акцентируются на расовой принадлежности - для нас дико слышать о самом факте убийства полицейским гражданина. Даже если российский полицейский просто слишком грубо кого то ударит - это будет повод для скандала. А если американский или европейский полицейский кого то убьёт или покалечит - это покажут независимо от пола, расы, религии и прочего. Если, конечно же, скандал будет достаточно громким.

По вопросам работы нашей полиции, если вам это интересно, рекомендую http://molonlabe.livejournal.com/ .

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Waterboarding - yes, I believe this is torture.

Sleep deprivation, use of vicious dogs, bright lights, loud music - not torture.

Such methods will never be used on me, even if I was arrested. They are CIA methods, used to gather intelligence from known or suspected terrorists or militants. Such methods are not used by ordinary police officers on civilians. I read that blogger molonlabe - he is very, very interesting.

Have a nice day! :)

[krasnogorr.livejournal.com]

Спасибо за беседу. Было интересно и необычно.

И вам удачного дня. А мы уже спать скоро будем. =)

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

:)

Re: Have you ever had such poisoning?

[g-kar.livejournal.com]

Nope, I based my comment not on personal experience, but on expert opinion: one of my friends worked in Rospotrebnadzor; another - in consumer/food-related TV program.

Myself, I prefer Teremok, but it's on the expensive end of fast-food segment.

I keep reading:)

[klava-17.livejournal.com]

" I receive so many insults and rude comments. I can't really understand why"
That's so true about me as well. I see those in my journal all the time. I can't understand why they're so rude either. It looks like this is a part of a Russian culture nowadays.

[klava-17.livejournal.com]

There are LGBT clubs at every school in the US. Is it really necessary? Isn't it a common sense to think that kids can't really identify themselves as L or G or B or T:) so early...

[klava-17.livejournal.com]

Regarding clinics for the poor... There are not so many clinics like that, especially in the South. I called a few clinics once, just to find out how it works... I found out that I wouldn't be able to get in, even if I was really in need of such a free service. Besides, they were not free, actually. They still wanted money. Would you like to find out more about this "free stuff" yourself? I challenge you:)

[klava-17.livejournal.com]

Почитайте историю США,особенно про период Великой депрессии, какие там были трудовые лагеря и сколько им платили...

[mi5ter-fi5ter.livejournal.com]

I adored American way of life since my school bench. But after barbaric bombings of Christian Serbian towns. ... All was over. I understood.

When Christian Serbs were killing Christian Chroats you didn't mind? Americans stopped that.