Russia 2018 World Cup

[Saracen]

I wonder how much public money was used preparing the bid?

If I remember correctly, £15 million was the figure quoted recently for the bid preparation. Quite what was included in that, though, I don't know. I didn't pay that much attention. And if the accusations made by Panorama are anything like accurate, I wholly glad we didn't get it.

[Jay]

what a joke... one of the main issues they had with the Russia bid was that they had no roads!

[Georgy291]

LOL British people are sooo bad losers. When you loose you HAVE to blame it on something extremely retarded. Bribery blah blah blah, is that the best you can do? honestly stereotyping much? Im for one happy russia gets to host the word cup. We hosted the eurovision and done a good job of it, whats wrong with us hosting the world cup?

lets see how badly Britain fails at Olympics first.

disclaimer: Im from Siberia

[SiM]

LOL British people are sooo bad losers. When you loose you HAVE to blame it on something extremely retarded. Bribery blah blah blah, is that the best you can do? honestly stereotyping much? Im for one happy russia gets to host the word cup. We hosted the eurovision and done a good job of it, whats wrong with us hosting the world cup?

lets see how badly Britain fails at Olympics first.

disclaimer: Im from Siberia

Well Russia runs on bribery and corruption, so I guess it makes sense for them to get in bed with FIFA.

Russia is a corrupt, autocratic kleptocracy centred on the leadership of Vladimir Putin, in which officials, oligarchs and organised crime are bound together to create a "virtual mafia state", according to leaked secret diplomatic cables that provide a damning American assessment of its erstwhile rival superpower.

Arms trafficking, money laundering, personal enrichment, protection for gangsters, extortion and kickbacks, suitcases full of money and secret offshore bank accounts in Cyprus: the cables paint a bleak picture of a political system in which bribery alone totals an estimated $300bn a year, and in which it is often hard to distinguish between the activities of the government and organised crime.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...ia-kleptocracy

disclaimer: Im from Siberia

You must be finding it quite warm here!

[Jay]

LOL British people are sooo bad losers. When you loose you HAVE to blame it on something extremely retarded. Bribery blah blah blah, is that the best you can do? honestly stereotyping much? Im for one happy russia gets to host the word cup. We hosted the eurovision and done a good job of it, whats wrong with us hosting the world cup?

lets see how badly Britain fails at Olympics first.

disclaimer: Im from Siberia

Will you be going back home and watching the worldcup?

ps Why are you at Uni here if Russia is so good?

[Georgy291]

Will you be going back home and watching the worldcup?

ps Why are you at Uni here if Russia is so good?

im not going to discuss the education system here as its off the point, but i moved here 10 years ago as dad got head hunted from the entire Europe for a job. But as much as i would like to go to uni in Russia, i cant. British A levels arent accepted anywhere else in the world other than Britain. So Russian unis wont accept me with A levels sadly.

And regarding cables and bribery, yes i fully admit we have bribery issues in the country, BUT so does every other country in the world. Your telling me British government arent doing the same? cough cough BAE systems cough cough

Well Russia runs on bribery and corruption

atleast our tuition fees arent £9000

You must be finding it quite warm here!

amusingly enough, i actually dont sadly in siberia we have proper clothing for that weather

[neonplanet40]

I think people need to just get over it. Moan all you want it won't change anything. England only got 2 votes. So if Russia hadn't of won it England still wouldn't have.

[nibbler]

Oh so bribery would suddenly be acceptable then?

[Messiah]

Quite a shame really, would have created a nice buzz around England with the Olympics and world cup coming here soon, rather than the doom and negativity of the recession and all.

[Georgy291]

just read this on a certain jokes site

Fifa committee - Love money

Russia - Massive oil reserves

Qatar - Massive gas reserves

England - Nectar points

D'oh!

[Saracen]

... But as much as i would like to go to uni in Russia, i cant. British A levels arent accepted anywhere else in the world other than Britain. So Russian unis wont accept me with A levels sadly.....

I'm sorry, but you're flat-out wrong there. I have no idea what Russian uni's will accept, but many international uni's will accept British A-levels, albeit maybe only as part of the academic requirements. For instance, there are a lot of US uni's that accept A-level results, including Ivy League ones.

For instance, applicants to Yale generally have to take two SAT II (subject) tests and the SZST 1 (reasoning) test, or the ACT Plus Writing test. International students can substitute two A-Level results for the two SAT subject tests, but would still have to do the SAT 1 test to ensure general language skills.

In fact, if I remember correctly, A-Levels are about the ONLY non-US qualification recognised by Yale as a SAT substitute, and other international students have to take the TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE instead.

But just as A-Levels are only part of the requirements in cases like that, so are the US subject-based SATs, to which the A-Levels are the comparative component.

The same also used to be true of some English uni's. In my day, if you wanted to get into, for instance, Cambridge, based on GCE results, A-Levels alone weren't enough. You were likely to need some S-Levels (which, as I understand it, no longer exist, but for the younger members, were the next step up above A-Levels and were typically aimed directly at Oxbridge entry), and a separate exam with the wonderful name of "Certificate of Proficiency in the Use of English". That particular exam really pretty much does what it says on the tin, and tests the candidate's command of the written language, that being partly spelling, but mainly grammar and comprehension, and it is effectively the equivalent of the SAT 1 test. I had the delightful (not) experience of sitting both that Certificate of Proficiency and S-Levels.

Anyway, back on point, A-Levels are widely recognised and accepted, though that's far from saying they're universally accepted, or even necessarily sufficient. And I don't know about today's entry requirements for Oxbridge, but they didn't used to be necessarily sufficient even in the UK.

All applicants for freshman admission should submit either the SAT Reasoning Test and two SAT Subject Tests, or the ACT Plus Writing.

....


You have two ways to complete Yale’s standardized testing requirement. We have no preference between these options. You may choose to take either:

* The SAT Reasoning Test and any combination of two SAT Subject Tests

OR

* The ACT Plus Writing

There are two exceptions:

.....


2. Students enrolled in A-level programs may use two completed A-level results as a substitute for the two SAT Subject Tests, provided official test results arrive at Yale by February. You must still take either the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT Plus Writing. Predicted A-level results may not be used in place of the SAT Subject Tests.

The bold emphasis is mine.

[TooNice]

Yeah, I know there are ex/Commonwealth countries (not sure if it's all) that'll recognise A-Levels as well. Obviously, if you are going to a country where the Universities are taught in another language, you would have to demonstrate your language skills, usually by taking some language proficiency examination. I doubt that you won't find good Universities in any countries that won't accept students with secondary qualifications from most developed countries (if only because there are expats from everywhere nowadays), though they won't put up a comprehensive list of what's accepted and what isn't. Even if there aren't any official route, if you are enthusiastic enough to contact institution, explain your situation, some will probably look into it and offer an alternative route (thinking more interviews to test your ability to fit at the Institutions, rather than bribes). I'd be surprised if it wasn't the case in Russia too.

[Georgy291]

see you still need to take other tests Saracen, also note that the results have to be there by feb, and when do british results come out?

[pollaxe]

Maybe the committee was just scared they'd get Polonium-210 in their tea if they didn't?

[this_is_gav]

I think people need to just get over it. Moan all you want it won't change anything. England only got 2 votes. So if Russia hadn't of won it England still wouldn't have.

Here's a quote from a Dutch poster on another forum:

The corruption scandal 'revealed' by the BBC has certainly played a big role. England was out in the first voting round, with two votes, Holland/Belgium had four. In the second round, Holland/Belgium had only two votes left, while there was one country less. They willfully kicked England out first.

Which rather shows how horribly corrupt political the system is.

[merdat]

You could well be correct Pollaxe, , but Georgy's right , the British are 'bad losers' and love to be thought of as 'pure as the driven snow' and it's just not the case .