Another Awkward Moment: Russia's Medvedev Mocked Over Remarks To Struggling Teachers
Source: RFE/RL
Medvedev's most recent gaffe came on August 3 at a public forum in the North Caucasus republic of Daghestan, one of Russia's poorest regions.
Asked why young teachers there earn about five times less than police, Medvedev essentially told educators to boost their incomes by moonlighting -- or get out of the profession altogether. "I am often asked this question about schoolteachers and professors. [Teaching] is a calling. And if you want to earn money, there are lots of lovely ways to do this faster and more efficiently -- like business, for example. But you didn’t go into business, now did you?" Medvedev told the crowd.
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The social media storm came fast and furious following the more impolitic -- if perhaps more realistic -- new remarks. Internet users had a field day mocking Medvedev's less than sympathetic advice. On Twitter, an account mocking the Russian president with the handle @KermlinRussia posted a photo of Walter White, the drug-cooking, chemistry-teacher character from the U.S. series Breaking Bad, surrounded by stacks of dollars in a warehouse. "Dmitry Medvedev recommended teachers pick more financially rewarding professions. … Medvedev said an energetic teacher can find a way to make money," it reads.
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One woman confronted him face-to-face, demanding to know when pensions would be raised. "There's just no money right now," Medvedev said, before beating a hasty retreat as he fired off a string of comments that few could have found reassuring: "You hang in there. Best wishes! Cheers! Take care!"
Read more: http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-medvedev-remarks-mocked-pensions-teachers/27900513.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
It's amazing what passes for LATE BREAKING NEWS these days. 
Hey, if you are digging deep to find stories from our state sponsored "news" outlet, Radio Free Europe, why not post one with actual LATE BREAKING NEWS significance, like this one:
Ukrainian Official Resigns, Citing 'Attacks On Journalists'
Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Information Policy Tetyana Popova has announced her resignation, citing what she described as attacks on journalists and freedom of speech.
"I am resigning. I don't agree with attacks on journalists and attacks on freedom of speech by political organizations and individual political officials. I can't tolerate the absence of a proper reaction to that kind of attacks," she wrote in a Facebook posting on August 3.
"As a protest, I am leaving the government, but will continue fighting for the Maidan ideas, for freedom and democracy as a citizen and a volunteer. I'll continue fighting for everything our patriots are fighting for at the front line," she said.
In a later interview with RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, Popova linked her resignation to the massive disclosure of journalists' personal data -- including her own -- by a website called Myrotvorets (Peacekeeper) in May.
The website's creators claimed the 4,500 targeted journalists had collaborated with Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.
The website went down a few days after publishing the disclosure, but was back online a few weeks later.
The publishing of the journalists' personal details, including phone numbers and e-mail addresses, was widely criticized in Ukraine and abroad, with the G7 saying it "contravenes the spirit and the letter of Ukrainian law."
Many of the listed journalists said they have received threatening letters and phone calls.
In her interview with RFE/RL, Popova said she grew disillusioned with what she felt was a failure by authorities to take action against Myrotvorets.
http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-deputy-minister-popova-resigns-media-freedom/27898439.html
So, not ONLY is Radio Free Europe selective about which stories it carries, you apparently pick and choose from their offerings? Apparently so.
Hmmm. Posts minor story with an anti-Russian spin but skips a story about a Ukraine official resigning over her governments failures in protecting journalists. Wow. Just wow.
Explains a lot. 
cheers
