- I�m going to mirror this report before it gets 404'd.
- If true (and I don�t doubt it is) this is truly sad and shocking
- information for the average American to digest. There is no doubt
- we live in a fascist police state now days where the corporate media
- lies over and over in a pathetic attempt trying to make us feel safe.
- I Tasted FREEDOM ... in Russia?
- http://www.dailypaul.com/326324/i-tasted-freedomin-russia
- Submitted by hadabazinka on Wed, 09/17/2014 - 11:10
- I would just like to share a few of my observations from my recent trip to
- Russia (Moscow and vicinity). These are simply my observations and thoughts
- and by no means is this an in-depth report/comparison of the US/Russian
- political systems or societies. We all know that any country has its own
- unique problems.
- That being said, it was eye-opening and even scary to view firsthand the
- differences between our nations at this point in time. What I saw was in stark
- contrast to the way Russia is depicted in our media. This being my first trip
- to Russia, I did not know what to expect.
- Arrival (SVO Airport)
- 1. Entered immigration, NO armed officers, just the average immigration workers.
- I walked up to a friendly and smiling lady, she stamped my passport and waved me on.
- 2. Wow, that was easy, I thought, surely customs would be more like the US. I
- approached the customs section, had nothing to declare, I started to take my
- backpack off to show to the official, but she didn't seem to think I required
- extra scrutiny and waved me through.
- 3. That was it, in 10 minutes I was let loose in the "Evil Russian" empire.
- 4. I walked through the airport, searching for armed police/paramilitary, but I
- couldn't find any! I saw maybe 1 armed police officer in the airport. Very strange.
- 5. Maybe it was halftime in the war on terror in Russia. There were no stupid
- "threat level" announcements or battalions of TSA workers...just a chill airport
- like you might have seen here in the 60s.
- During my stay:
- 1. I can't stress enough how CLEAN and ornate Moscow is, I was blown away. It was
- expensive though.
- 2. I did not see much police presence, actually it was rare to see a police officer.
- My small town police force here in FL is 10 times larger than what I saw in Moscow...
- and here in the U.S. the police are more like Military.
- 3. Even at the Kremlin and nearby attractions, it was very low-key and stress-free.
- 4. I did not see 1 homeless person during my entire trip.
- 5. I did not see 1 overweight person during my entire trip... granted this is most
- likely circumstantial and a generalization, but it was strange.
- 6. The local population, in general, was very well dressed, clean, extremely friendly,
- and chill (not uptight/apprehensive like most people in the U.S.)
- 7. The metro system is AWESOME.
- 8. The architecture / condition of buildings / infrastructure was beyond compare. I
- was truly impressed.
- 9. The local population was welcoming and calm, not like our stressed out society
- where we are conditioned to be afraid of our own shadows.
- 10. As for the LGBT community, I saw openly affectionate gay couples here and there,
- and they were not being oppressed by the state like our media likes to report.
- Departing Moscow:
- 1. Passport control: The unarmed official looked at the photo, looked at me,
- stamped it, done.
- 2. Security: I put my bag on the conveyor belt, walked through metal detector, done!
- 3. WTF???? No weird separating liquids, taking out computers, etc. etc.
- Arrival in NYC:
- 1. Football field of lines waiting to get through immigration. Armed police/TSA
- EVERYWHERE. Looks like a war zone. Welcome to America.
- 2. Luckily it is somewhat quicker for US citizens now with the kiosks. But it does
- take your picture and who knows what else, and you still go through a final checkpoint
- with armed officers staring you down.
- 3. Customs: Armed officers EVERYWHERE. Scrutinize everything.
- 4. Security: I had to go through security again for my connecting flight. Wow, I don't
- think I have to go into much detail in this regard, we all fly and know what the TSA is
- like. I had to go through the backscatter machine due to time (I normally opt out), and
- then I was patted down / heavily frisked even after going through it!!!! FREEDOM!!!!!!
- Not really :(
- 5. Culture shock! Compared to Moscow and vicinity, we look barbaric. This was the most
- striking difference, we seem barbaric and savage compared to the general feel of Moscow,
- which is very civilized.
- Final Thoughts
- 1. In Russia, I felt safe. In general and overall, the people seem hopeful, CONFIDENT,
- and positive.
- 2. In America, I don't feel safe. As I leave to drive my kids to school I see 3 patrol
- cars, I know that even a routine traffic stop can be deadly for us.
- There is so much more to say that it would take me forever to go into detail.
- My Recommendations:
- 1. Go to Russia and experience it for yourself. Airfare is still reasonable. (but hurry
- before the dollar collapses)
- 2. You must apply for your visa before you go, I would say at least a month in advance.
- The process is a little involved, but we didn't have any problems and they came quickly.
- 3. Learn as much Russian as you can, and learn how to read Cyrillic!!!! It doesn't take
- long to learn the alphabet, you can do it in a week, but it is VERY helpful for signage,
- especially the metro. And with the metro, you can go anywhere very cheaply.
- 4. Spread the word, from my experience Russia has more everyday freedom than we do. And
- I felt completely safe the entire trip.
- 5. Our media is a JOKE!!!
- -------------------------
- Another sad fact: The Canadian government has actually issued a WARNING to their
- citizens about potential abuse by the US government and US �law enforcement!� They
- warned Canadian citizens not to carry too much cash while traveling in the states
- because cops are stealing Americans� assets and money along highway checkpoints and
- road blocks! When you have this going on, you know you�re country stinks of tyranny.
- It�s no joke, check it out ...
- http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/american-shakedown-police-won-t-charge-you-but-they-ll-grab-your-money-1.2760736
Copyright © 2007-2011, n3t-t3z Team
Posted by I Tasted FREEDOM on September Wed 17th 7:56 PM - Never Expires
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