Posts Tagged ‘russia’
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
How would you like to spend a couple of weeks on and around the Black Sea with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, and former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev?
Well, you’re in luck, ’cause San Francisco-based World Leaders Travel on 500 Third Street is asking just $23,990 per person (double occupancy) to attend Global Challenges in a Post-Perestroika World: A World Leaders Symposium in Russia and the Black Sea this summer, August 30 through September 15th 2010.
No, Silly Billy, you won’t sail on the Chevron Condoleezza Rice - they renamed that vessel years ago.
You’ll be on the Silver Wind, whatever that is.
(America, what a country. In your country you have movie I Know What You Did Last Summer. In Soviet Union, KGB knows what you did last summer! In America, you sail boat. In Soviet Union, boat sail you!)
They’re calling it “educational travel” so maybe it’s deductible or something…
Bon voyage!
All the deets, after the jump
(more…)
Tags: 2010, Alumnae Association of Smith College, American Museum of Natural History Expeditions, astrophysicist, azerbaijan, Black Sea, Chautauqua Institution, chevron, Condoleezza, Condoleezza Rice, EastWest Institute, Foreign Affairs magazine, former, georgia, Global Challenges, Global Challenges in a Post-Perestroika World, google, Gorbachev, Harvard Alumni Association Travels, instanbul, James Billington, John Mroz, Librarian of Congress, Marvin Kalb, Michael Shara, Mikhail, Mikhail Gorbachev, moscow, Post-Perestroika World, president, Princeton Journeys, rice, russia, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, Silver Wind, Smithsonian Journeys, Soviet, turkey, ukraine, Vinton G. Cerf, William Perry, World Leaders Symposium, World Leaders Travel, Yale Educational Travel
Posted in travel | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
I’ll tell you, the reason why the home county of the exchange student who was recently sexually asaulted in San Franciscois resting easy these days is that the media of said home country isn’t aware of the attack. And why’s that? Apparently, it’s the policy of San Francisco to not give out that kind of information. Per the SF Appeal:
“Police are not releasing information about the country the alleged victim is from in order to protect her identity, Tomioka said.”
I’m wondering how small a country has to be such that saying its name discloses the identity of any particular tourist in San Francisco.
Like if there’s a famous exchange program in Monaco (population 30k) and they send ten students a year to the States? That would seem to fit the bill, fair enough.
But what if the exchange student is from one of the following Big Ten tourist-producing countries (countries avec concomitant robust, aggresive media, of course)?
Germany
United Kingdom
France
China
Italy
Japan
Canada
Russia
South Korea
Mexico
If the student is from one of these countries, I’d be hard-pressed to see how saying the name of the country would identify any particular person from that country. Maybe there’s a written policy, or maybe there’s an unwritten rule, the way the MSM won’t report routine cases of Golden Gate Bridge jumpings?
That is all.
Tags: 1, 1993, 2009, 21, 29, 30, Alex, Alex Owen, Alex T Owen, Alex Thomas Owen, ashbury, assault, august, blackout, britain, british, canada, canadian, car, China, chinese, country, crime, department, dept., england, english, exchange, female, france, german, Germany, heights, id, identify, industry, italian, italy, japan, Japanese, korea, korean, lincoln, Lyn, media, mexican, mexico, msm, offender, Owen, police, probation, rape, registered, russia, russian, San Francisco, school, september, sergeant, sex, sexual, SFPD, Sgt., south, spokesperson, state, student, suicide, survivor, thomas, Tomioka, tourism, tourist, town car, treasure island, twin peaks, UK, United Kingdom, university, victim, visitor, Washington, wOMAN
Posted in crime | Comments Off
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
That’s the only reasonable conclusion one can reach after seeing these new red and white BOAC stickers all over the Haights near San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park Panhandle. BOAC, after being saddled with some clunker aircraft, became British Airways in the 1970’s but people still seem to love the brand.
Why? Well, the stewardess uniforms, for example. They had “fab” designs, complete with “cute hats.” And people still collect cool BOAC souvenirs like currency converters, matchbook covers, and related ephemera.
Or maybe it’s the opening track of the Beatles’ White Album that some folks are thinking about. Back then, people had to worry about the Russians annexing neighbouring countries and stuff.
Thank goodness that’s all in the past.
Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC
Didn’t get to bed last night
Oh, the way the paper bag was on my knee
Man, I had a dreadful flight
I’m back in the USSR
You don’t know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the USSR, yeah
Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out
They leave the west behind
And Moscow girls make me sing and shout
And that Georgia’s always on my my my my my my my my my mind
Godspeed, little Georgia.
[Could BOAC be a Hip Hop artist? Signs point to Yes.]
Tags: beatles, boac, British Overseas Airways Corporation, flight attendants, georgia, golden gate park, pandhandle, russia, San Francisco, stewardess, stickers, uniforms
Posted in airlines | Comments Off
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
No, not that Russia House, written by John le Carré and starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer. And not that one either.
It’s this one, the restaurant at 2011 Bayshore Blvd. in freeway-close Visi Valley. Would you be brave enough to check it out after reading what the Yelpers have to say and seeing that even our municipal government won’t venture foot in there?
Comes now bold Michael Procopio who brought a brace of his “girls” down there to check things out for Bay Area Bites.
Read all about it.
Neon, fur, and vodka – who could ask for anything more?
It seems like Russia House is great place to go, if only to watch a party from another culture. (In Russia, Party watch you!)
Check it out, if you want.
Tags: 2011 bayshore, blvd., boulevard, dancing, fur, in russia, Naumovich, neon, Pokhis, restaurant, russia, russia house, San Francisco, Smirnoff, Valley, Visitacion, vodka, Yakov, Наумович, Похис, Яков
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
