Please Attach A Copy Of The Law Firm'S Letterhead And A Copy Of The: Fill & Download for Free

I am not a lawyer, but the law firm we use includes this in all email communications. Since they are lawyers, I'm guessing it has some force of law.The pros, i.e. what these are supposed to protect against:Confidentiality. An email might contain confidential information. This could be forwarded to others or your confidentiality might be breached. Therefore your liability is limited if someone else breaches your intended confidentiality, and any receiver of the email knows they should keep your email confidential.Contracts. A person may enter into a contract into an email. You could protect against accidentally entering into a contract this way.Viruses. You limit your or your organization's liability in case a virus attached to your message happens to damage a recipient's property.Negligence. You limit your liability in case you give an unduly negligent professional opinion.Employer liability. You limit the liability of the employer in the event an employee does something stupid over company email.The cons, i.e. why these are ridiculous:Well, let's deconstruct your sample given above."This e-mail may contain privileged and confidential information..."It also may not."If you are not the intended recipient, you are not authorized..."By whom? How does one receive authorization?"...please notify the sender and delete all copies of this message."This is a request, not a binding contract."XYZ does not accept any liability for virus infected mails."I wouldn't accept liability for this, either. But not accepting liability is not the same as not being liable for damages. A hacker could send out viruses and send the same disclaimer along with it. Think he's not liable?All in all, I personally think such things are unnecessary. For a law firm, I think it makes sense to do so and isn't likely to upset anyone; we expect these things from lawyers. But from anyone else, it sends a message of extreme distrust to your recipients. If someone's going to violate your trade secrets sent out by email, you should A) not send out trade secrets over email and B) realize this person would probably violate your trade secrets whether an email disclaimer was appended or not.There's a good article in Slate on this topic that's worth reading: http://www.slate.com/id/2101561.

He was horrid.Both girls spent their lives in-and-out of his favor, trying to dance to his tune and keep his approval and not be punished by banishment.Princess Mary, his first daughter had a golden early childhood in which she was the cherished "pearl" of her father's kingdom, Mary's life was thrown into misery when Anne Boleyn entered the picture and her father sought an annulment from her mother. Mary refused to accept her father's position on the divorce, or as head of the church. She believed denying the authority of the pope was tantamount to denying Catholicism as a whole, and accepting that her parents had never been married was a lie that would damn her soul. Mary was exiled from court, separated from her beloved mother and refused permission to see her, even as Katharine lay dying.In 1533, after Princess Elizabeth was born, Henry decided to break Princess Mary's stubborn pride by forcing Mary to serve the infant sister who had supplanted her. Mary's previous guardian, Countess Margaret Pole, was dismissed, and Lady Shelton appointed in her place. Sir John Shelton was placed in charge of Princess Elizabeth's household.Katharine was convinced this change in guardianship meant she and Mary would soon be martyred. She wrote to Mary, one of the last letters Mary ever received from her mother, and essentially told her to prepare for death.Daughter,I heard such tidings today that I do perceive if it be true, the time is come that Almighty God will prove you; and I am very glad of it, for I trust He doth handle you with a good love. I beseech you agree of His pleasure with a merry heart; and be sure that, without fail, He will not suffer you to perish if you beware to offend Him. I pray you, good daughter, to offer yourself to Him. If any pangs come to you, shrive yourself; first make you clean; take heed of His commandments, and keep them as near as He will give you grace to do, for then you are sure armed. And if this lady [Anne Shelton] do come to you as it is spoken, if she do bring you a letter from the King, I am sure in the self same letter you shall be commanded what you shall do. Answer with few words, obeying the King, your father, in everything, save only that you will not offend God and lose your own soul; and go no further with learning and disputation in the matter. And wheresoever, and in whatsoever company you shall come, observe the King’s commandments. Speak you few words and meddle nothing.[...]And now you shall begin, and by likelihood I shall follow. I set not a rush by it; for when they have done the uttermost they can, than I am sure of the amendment. I pray you, recommend me unto my good lady of Salisbury, and pray her to have a good heart, for we never come to the kingdom of Heaven but by troubles.Daughter, whatsoever you come, take no pain to send unto me, for if I may, I will send to you.Your loving mother,Katharine the Queen.Lady Shelton was instructed to treat Mary harshly to try to induce the girl to capitulate and admit her parents' marriage was invalid and she was a bastard. Some historians claim it was Anne urging this cruelty, but considering it only increased after her death, it doesn't seem the blame can be laid at her feet. Henry was the final authority, and Henry was not a weak-willed man henpecked into mistreating his daughter as some writers suggest.It was a duty Lady Shelton performed with great reluctance, but she enforced the rules that had been laid down for Lady Mary. Mary's health was always precarious and she was prone to stress-induced illness. It wasn't long after the new regime began that she fell ill again.Mary would not eat in the dining hall because her plate was placed with the maids, and Elizabeth was given the seat of honor as princess. Mary took her meals in her rooms until Lady Shelton was instructed to put a stop to it and force Mary eat in the hall at her assigned place. Mary wouldn't concede. She might be forced to sit there, but she refused to eat.As ridiculous to us as it seems that a girl would literally starve herself rather than eat from a plate that was placed in an unacceptable spot at the table, to Mary, this was a deadly-serious battle for her political future, and her immortal soul.To accept a lower seat at the table was loaded with very real implications. If she accepted it, she was admitting Elizabeth had superior status to Mary, which meant her parents' marriage was invalid, Mary was illegitimate, and her father was - indeed - head of the church instead of the pope. To Mary, it was endorsing a lie, denying her faith and putting her in a state of mortal sin.Mary survived on scraps her few faithful servants smuggled to her after the meal. Surrounded by hostile persons, unable to eat regularly, and under enormous stress, Mary succumbed to illness. Part of it may have been malingering, because while she was in her bed, Mary did not have to capitulate to any slights on her status, but Mary did have legitimate medical issues. She suffered from migraines, indigestion - likely from the rich, fatty, heavily sugared diet of Tudor nobles - insomnia, fevers, depression, and menstrual woes.Lady Shelton summoned an apothecary, and Doctor Butts, Henry's personal physician was sent to examine the girl.Katharine wrote to Eustace Chapuys and begged him to ask the king if she could take care of her daughter, certain she knew what it would take it make Mary well again. In truth, she was probably right. With some loving care, Mary probably would have been much better, but the king was unsympathetic.Chapuys reported the encounter to the emperor:He then said there was no great occasion to put the Princess again in the Queen's hands, for it was she who had put it into her head to show such obstinacy and disobedience, as all the world knew; and although sons and daughters were bound to some obedience towards their mothers, their chief duty was to their fathers, and since the Princess could not have much help of the Queen, and it was clear the whole matter proceeded from the latter, she must submit to his pleasure. I did not wish to dispute with him on the subject, but asked that he would at least put the Princess under the care of her old gouvernante, the countess of Salisbury, whom she regarded as her second mother. He replied that the Countess was a fool, of no experience, and that if his daughter had been under her care during this illness she would have died, for she would not have known what to do, whereas her present governess [Lady Shelton] is an expert lady even in such female complaints.Chapuys took it upon himself to warn Lady Shelton what would happen if Mary was poisoned:Long ago I warned her by a third hand of the mischief which might arise to her if anything happened to the said Princess, and I also took care to get the King's physician to tell her that of late there was a common report in London that she had poisoned the said Princess; which put her in terrible fear, so that she can do nothing but weep when the sees the Princess so ill.Whatever Chapuys had Doctor Butts say to her, it must have been very dire to leave the woman in a state of constant weeping. Poor Lady Shelton was afraid to administer any of the apothecary's medicines to Mary, lest the girl die and she be blamed for it.And all the while, Lady Shelton was being urged to treat Mary more harshly to force the girl to capitulate, knowing the harsh treatment was part of what caused Mary's illnesses.Chapuys claims the household servants - who would have been assigned to serve Princess Elizabeth and loyal to Anne Boleyn - were cruel to Mary.Your Majesty may consider what solace and pastime she can have with those about her, hearing them desire her death, by which, they say, the world would be at peace, and they discharged of the pain and trouble they have had about her.The only joy Mary had was the time she spent with the baby. It should have been the perfect recipe for resentment - this baby could have been blamed for all ofher misery, but Mary adored Princess Elizabeth and spent hours playing with her, singing to her, and sewing little dresses for her.Several months later, there was still discussion of Mary's health, and Chapuys reported that Henry decided to go to Mary's residence to check on the issue himself.[Mary] was very ill on the 14th of this month of her usual illness, and the physicians for that day and the two following were in great doubt. On the second day I sent to request Cromwell that he would send someone to see her, and intercede with the King to do the same, assuring him it would be the best medicine she could receive. He did not fail to inform the King, who made answer to me through him that he would see after his daughter as a father should, and that next day, the 19th, he would leave Hampton Court for Greenwich. This he did, and arrived at Greenwich about 2 p.m., where he remained till after the middle of next day.He enquired of the gouvernante and other women about the Princess of her health. He made no enquiry of the Queen's physician nor would he speak with his own. But the said physician made bold to speak to him of the Princess's illness, reporting it as dangerous if not seen to in time.The King, for his pains, told him he was not loyal to him, and that all he said was in behalf of the Princess's desire to go to her mother; but he would take good care not to send her thither, for, the Queen being so haughty in spirit, she might, by favor of the Princess, raise a number of men, and make war, as boldly as did queen Elizabeth (Isabella) her mother.There was no thought of the King seeing the said Princess or sending her a word of consolation. On the contrary, word was sent by her gouvernante that he had no worse enemy in the world than her, and that she was the cause of mischief to the greater number of Christian princes, and the King declared publicly that her conduct was calculated to encourage conspiracy against himImagine Lady Shelton having to deliver that message!Chapuys may have had his own agenda in exaggerating Mary's health concerns. On the exact same day, he wrote to Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, one of the Emperor's advisors:The Princess is well, better than some would have her. She may be called the paragon of beauty, goodness and virtue.Mary's will was iron, and it frustrated everyone. Anne Boleyn wrote angry letters to Lady Shelton about it, and at one point, Lady Shelton herself said in exasperation that if she were the king, she would throw Mary out of the house for her attitude. But for the most part, she tried to treat her charge with respect. It is recorded at one point, the Duke of Northumberland chastised Lady Shelton for her lenient treatment of Mary. Lady Shelton retorted that even if Mary were only the bastard of a poor gentleman, she deserved honor and good treatment for her goodness and virtues.Lady Shelton is commonly accused of treating Mary poorly in general, egged on by Anne Boleyn, but Chapuys sometimes paints a different picture. After Katharine died in January, 1536, Anne Boleyn tried to make peace, and Lady Shelton did her utmost to urge Mary to accept it.The Concubine, according to what the Princess sent to tell me, threw the first bait to her, and caused her to be told by her aunt, the gouvernante of the said Princess, that if she would lay aside her obstinacy and obey her father, she would be the best friend to her in the world and be like another mother, and would obtain for her anything she could ask, and that if she wished to come to Court she would be exempted from holding the tail of her gown, "et si la meneroit tousjours a son cause"; and the said gouvernante does not cease with hot tears to implore the said Princess to consider these matters; to which the Princess has made no other reply than that there was no daughter in the world who would be more obedient to her father in what she could do saving her honor and conscience.The "hot tears" Chapuys describes implies a lot of emotion on Lady Shelton's part, and I doubt it was all from anger or frustration. She seems to have genuinely cared for Mary. She even agreed to allow Chapuys' servant in to see Mary, though she had been expressly forbidden to do so without a note or other token from the king. Mary, however, refused to see him because she had not gotten permission.Soon afterward, Lady Shelton received a letter from Anne Boleyn telling her to cease with the pressure on Mary. Chapuys reports that Mary found the letter in the oratory, took it to copy, and then returned it before she was discovered. Chapuys wonders in his report if it was a ruse, but relates a copy of Anne's words in his own letter.Mrs. Shelton, my pleasure is that you do not further move the lady Mary to be towards the King's Grace otherwise than it pleases herself. What I have done has been more for charity than for anything the King or I care what road she takes, or whether she will change her purpose, for if I have a son, as I hope shortly, I know what will happen to her; and therefore, considering the Word of God, to do good to one's enemy, I wished to warn her before hand, because I have daily experience that the King's wisdom is such as not to esteem her repentance of her rudeness and unnatural obstinacy when she has no choice. By the law of God and of the King, she ought clearly to acknowledge her error and evil conscience if her blind affection had not so blinded her eyes that she will see nothing but what pleases herself. Mrs. Shelton, I beg you not to think to do me any pleasure by turning her from any of her wilful courses, because she could not do me [good] or evil; and do your duty about her according to the King's command, as I am assured you do.If Mary thought this was light at the end of the tunnel, she was sadly mistaken. A few months later, Anne Boleyn was arrested on charges of adultery and treason, and sent to the Tower. Lady Shelton was summoned to be one of the women assigned to serve Anne during her imprisonment.Mary probably believed the abuse would end now that Anne was gone, but she soon learned that it had come from her father all along. The shock of that realization probably had a lot to do with her finally breaking down under her father's relentless bullying. She submitted to him, but their relationship was never the same.Princess Elizabeth was only two years and eight months old when her mother, Anne Boleyn, died on the scaffold. Anne had provided for her daughter as best she could in the last days of her reign, buying clothing for her - the last Elizabeth would receive for a long while.EElizabeth last saw her mother in January 1536, after the celebrations for Katharine of Aragon’s death. Anne’s expense reports show that Elizabeth was at her own household by January 18. Though Elizabeth would later be told a tale of Anne Boleyn, clasping her baby in her arms and pleading with Henry right before her arrest in May, the story is unlikely to be true.Elizabeth was cared for by Sir John and Lady Shelton, along with her governess, Lady Bryan. Lady Shelton was the sister of Anne’s father, and though they shared no emotional affection, she trusted that Lady Shelton would take good care of her baby. And her faith seems to have been well-placed. Though Lady Shelton had been instructed by the king’s council to treat Princess Mary harshly, Lady Shelton stood up to them and insisted that Mary was so virtuous she deserved to be treated with honor and respect.After Anne was slain, it seems no one told the child of her mother’s death. But the little girl was too intelligent and perceptive not to notice the changes to her lifestyle and the title by which she was addressed. Legend has it Sir John was the one she asked about it."How hath it, yesterday my Lady Princess, and today but my Lady Elizabeth?"It’s not recorded how Elizabeth reacted to the news. She probably had little emotional attachment to her mother - in her little mind Anne was a nice woman Elizabeth saw on occasion who sent her presents. Lady Bryan was probably the one to whom Elizabeth was most attached. But Lady Bryan was suffering her own loss at the moment, as her husband died only a month after Anne Boleyn went to the scaffold. It must have been a very frightening and confusing time for the toddler.Cromwell had apparently visited Elizabeth’s lodgings after her mother’s fall to give instructions to her household, but there was some confusion amongst the staff about the little ex-princess’s rank, and thus what level of respect she was to be accorded.Worse, no income had been allotted for Lady Elizabeth’s personal needs, and the child had outgrown all of the clothing her mother had made for her before her death. In a letter from August, 1536, Lady Bryan begs Cromwell for help.. . . My lord, when your lordship was last here, it pleased you to say, that I should not mistrust the king’s grace, nor your lordship. , Which word was more comfort to me than I can write, as God knoweth. And now it boldeneth me to show you my poor mind. [...]Now, so it is, my lady Elizabeth is put from that degree she was afore; and what degree she is at now, I know not but by hearsay. Therefore I know not how to order her, nor myself, nor none of hers that I have the rule of; that is, her women and her grooms. Beseeching you to be good lord to my lady and to all hers; and that she may have some rayment. For she hath neither gown, nor kirtle, nor petticoat, nor no manner of linen, nor foresmocks, nor kerchiefs, nor sleeves, nor rails, nor body-stitchets, nor mufiiers, nor biggins. All these, her grace’s mostake [”must take” or needs] I have driven off as long as I can, that by my troth, I cannot drive it no longer. Beseeching you, my lord, that you will see that her grace may have that is needful for her,as my trust is ye will do;—that I may know from you by writing how I shall order myself; and what is the king’s grace’s pleasure and yours, that I shall do in every thing.About two weeks later, Sir John wrote back to Cromwell:I perceive by your letter the King's pleasure that my lady Elizabeth shall keep her chamber and not come abroad, and that I shall provide for her as I did for my lady Mary when she kept her chamber. Have me in remembrance for the King's warrant you commanded me to deliver to Master Wrisley for money for the household, otherwise I cannot continue it.Henry seems to have taken out his ill feelings toward Anne Boleyn on their daughter, just as he had once done with Princess Mary. But in Elizabeth’s case, he could not justify it by pointing to his daughter’s willfulness. Elizabeth was an innocent toddler who had done nothing to “deserve” her father’s neglect of her most basic needs.Henry’s purpose in confining Elizabeth to her chambers was the same reason he’d ordered Mary into isolation: to keep people from seeing her and hoping she would disappear from the public eye. Poor, friendless, forgotten, Elizabeth would be no competition for the children Henry was sure he would father with Jane Seymour.The next time Elizabeth would see her father would be at Christmas, 1536. Mary, restored to her father’s favor through Jane Seymour’s efforts, sat at the high table with him; Elizabeth was seated somewhere out of sight.Throughout Elizabeth’s childhood, she was in and out of favor with her father, and it would be Henry’s queens who took pity on her and urged Henry toward grudging kindness to the child. When Anna von Kleefes wanted to bring Elizabeth to court, Henry cited Anne Boleyn as a reason against it, saying Elizabeth had a mother so different from Anna that she shouldn’t want Elizabeth around, but Anna insisted.Elizabeth made Henry uncomfortable. Every time he saw Elizabeth’s dark eyes, did he think of Anne Boleyn?Katheryn Howard made a great effort for Elizabeth because of their blood ties, seating Elizabeth across from her at the dinner table. But it was Kateryn Parr who would prove to be Elizabeth’s greatest ally.But even that went awry. After a lifetime of neglect, Elizabeth had found a kindred soul in her stepmother Kateryn Parr, and it should have been the happiest time of her life. Kateryn not only gave Elizabeth the maternal love she craved, she also encouraged the girl’s brilliant young mind with stellar educational opportunities. Elizabeth flourished in her care.Unfortunately, Kateryn fell in love with a monster. She wasn’t the first woman to ever fall for an abusive man’s charms, and God knows she wouldn’t be the last, but hers was a mistake that would have dire consequences for her stepdaughter.Thomas Seymour started grooming Elizabeth from the moment the girl fell under his power, manipulating her and slowly escalating his advances. The arrogant ass was trying to hedge his bets in case Kateryn died in childbirth. He thought he could make Elizabeth fall in love with him and she’d throw caution to the winds and defy her brother and the council to be with him, just as Kateryn had done. Seymour seriously underestimated Elizabeth.I don’t believe Elizabeth ever had any “romantic” feelings for Seymour. She’d once had affection for him, I think. This man was her stepfather, and at first, he’d been good to her, but his teasing became more serious as time went by and it started making her very uncomfortable. Elizabeth didn’t want to believe badly of Seymour. At first, she probably tried to explain away and justify his behavior - until it became too egregious for her to ignore. Seymour probably also hinted to her that she shouldn’t “upset” Kateryn, whose health was in question because of her pregnancy anyway.He was clever. He covered his tracks by having Kateryn participate in some of the early “games.” Then, when she objected to his later conduct, he could pretend to be offended and shocked that she would would see it as nefarious. “Why, you were there! You know it was all innocent!” He probably tried to tell her it was her pregnancy making her so jealous and irrational. And, like many disgusting creatures of his ilk, he probably tried to blame his abuse on the victim.Kateryn was in a very difficult position. She was in love with this man, and she didn’t want to believe he could do this evil thing, but she kept clear sight of the fact that her first duty was protecting her stepdaughter. She had been taught since birth to obey the men in her life, so it couldn’t have been easy to defy her husband and send Elizabeth away. Seymour had to be enraged, and you know he had to have poured the pressure on his wife not to let his victim escape his grasp, but Kateryn held firm. She deserves some credit for that.The testimony afterward noted the steps Elizabeth took to try to avoid Seymour’s little “games” such as rising extra early to avoid him climbing into her bed, and running into a group of maidens when he approached to try to shield herself. Of course she “blushed and stammered” when people asked her about it. It was embarrassing, and Elizabeth was afraid people would think she had encouraged him in some way. She reacted as many abuse victims: with confusion. She likely wasn’t sure it was abuse at first because Seymour had been so careful in his escalations. But by the time Kateryn intervened, Elizabeth was clearly in distress.And so, Elizabeth lost the happiest home she had known, and was later publicly shamed for Seymour’s abuse of her. She had to undergo hours of brutal interrogations as though shewere the criminal. Shortly thereafter, she wrote to her brother to ask him to let her come to court so she could prove she was not pregnant with Seymour’s child, to face down some of the slanderous gossip about her. The courage that would have taken reminds me of her mother’s courage when she, too, was faced with false accusations of immoral conduct. Anne Boleyn walked in to face her accusers with her head held high, and I think Elizabeth would have, too, even if inside she burned with anger and the terribly confused emotions of an abused young girl. Her brother didn’t allow her to come, but he tried to quell the gossip, at least.But it makes me angry on her behalf that anyone could romanticize this situation. She was fourteen, and an intensely pious young girl who adored her stepmother. Elizabeth wanted to spend her time in translating Latin, not being sexually harassed by her stepfather. But there are still those who would typify this as some sort of love affair, and that’s just so wrong on so many levels.When her brother, Edward VI died and Mary came to the throne, she wanted her little sister with her, but it wasn’t to be the warm, family relationship Mary wanted. Elizabeth was Protestant, and thus a rival for Mary’s throne, whether she wanted to be or not. Religion and politics drove them apart.The abuse both girls suffered shaped them into the people they became.

Moscow moves extremely fast, and in different ways than you're used to. A lot of foreign tourists go to Russia and find the city and its people to be somewhat unpleasant, but usually they're reaching that opinion because they don't understand The Rules.Though it's common to get to Moscow and wonder just why in Hell you'd choose to be there, especially in the early hours of your first trip, everyone eventually figures out just how unbelievably awesome Moscow is; unfortunately for some folks this doesn't happen until the last days of their vacation. So my friends and I came up with this list of rules to help new visitors. This list is not exhaustive, but it'll get you a long way.1. Be prepared to walk. A lot. A typical day in Moscow can include several miles of walking, much of it up and down stairs.2. Be prepared to use the Metro. Moscow may have Europe’s worst traffic, but it also has the world’s finest public transportation system. With a rudimentary ability to read a map and recognize station names in Russian you can get anywhere in town, almost always faster than you could get there in a car.3. Be prepared to read some Russian. Speaking the language takes a lot of time and practice, but sounding out words in Cyrillic letters and recognizing a few key words is easy with some practice and absolutely necessary if you’re going to go anywhere by yourself.4. Be prepared to surrender your passport from time to time. Most Russians don’t drive, so the driver’s license that you use as identification in the United States just doesn’t exist in the same way here in Russia – for identification, everyone uses their passport. You will have a police officer, hotel clerk or a museum audioguide clerk insist on having it in their hands at some point, and you will have to hand it over or even leave it for a while. This is normal.5. Realize that getting to and from the airport is an enormous pain in the ass. There are certain days and times when we can guarantee you that traffic will absolutely suck, but virtually no day or time when we can guarantee that there won’t be a problem getting out there – a simple trip out to the airport and back can take one of us or our drivers a full half day or more. Your best bet is to count on taking a cab for approximately $30-40 each way, or taking the express train, which is both prompt and cheap if you can struggle through the Russian language signs. The more adventurous among us take the express train (or bus sometimes) to one of the nearby Metro stations and go the rest of the way by subway for less than $2.6. When you’re coming in to the country, don’t be an idiot at Passport Control. Despite the signs, there is seldom any order or civility – people will do nearly anything to get through the line short of directly cutting in front of you. If you follow what you think the rules are, you could very well be there all day. If you’re smart enough to fill out your customs form while you’re still on the airplane, you’re smart enough to line up at the Diplomatic Passports booth (to the left) and go right through.7. No domestic air travel. We know that it looks easy and cheap, but it’s often neither. Moscow has three airports, all of which are a fair distance from the center (and a great distance from each other) through either a great deal of bad traffic s any sort of user-friendly public transportation link; getting out there is bad enough, suffer one minor delay or itinerary change and you really could end up in trouble. Trains, on the other hand, depart and arrive in stations that are located on the edge of downtown and attached to Metro lines. So long as you need any help or advice from us on how to get in and around Russia, you’ll be on the train. If you’re thinking about going to St.Pete for a couple of days, you’ll be going on the train. In our opinion, unless you’re on a business trip with a tight schedule the night trains from Leningradsky Vokzal really are the only way to go.8. Know what it is that you want to see. There are a few things that every visitor wants to see in Moscow – Red Square, the Kremlin grounds and museums, and the souvenir market at Izmailovsky Park – but there are also thousands of other places. Having no real idea of what you might enjoy, we suggest that you buy the most current edition of the ‘Eyewitness Travel Guide’ for Moscow from DK Publishing and take a long look at it before you leave home, and that you grab a copy of Patriarschy Dom’s current schedule either on-line in the States or at the Starlite Diner once you get to Moscow. There are also terrific apps for Moscow tourism, like the Lonely Planet app.9. Keep some rubles on hand. Credit cards are accepted in many places, but certainly not all, and dollars are nearly useless outside of a money exchange booth. ATM’s and currency exchanges are like policemen and taxicabs – exceedingly common, except when you really need one. We also suggest calling your bank before you leave home to let them know that you’ll be in Russia and that you may need to withdraw more than $400 per day.10. Keep moving, unless you’re absolutely certain that you’re not in the way. Muscovites are, for the most part, very nice people – but they tend to move in ways and manners unfamiliar to you making you somewhat uncomfortable – and completely obviously lost – in a crowd. Hesitate on a Metro platform, for example, and you’re likely to have someone bump you just trying to get by. Until you’re able to move around like they do, just remember not to stop where people are walking.11. Be prepared to buy stuff. Some souvenir items are common and only really vary in terms of pricing from place to place, others really are unique items that you won’t see anyplace else – it can take years of living here to know the difference, so don’t be afraid to ask. But don’t be afraid to buy, either. Too many of our visitors over the years have waited to buy things that were in their grasp early in the trip, only to run out of time later and return home empty handed. Izmailovsky Park on weekends is your best overall bet, and planning a shopping trip there can save you from ever having to look at stuff anywhere else.12. Be prepared to feed and water yourself. Getting around town can work up a fierce hunger, and you’re going to have to figure out pretty quickly how to find and purchase food and drink; we’re all for eating and drinking, but sometimes the coordination with our schedules is difficult. The tens of thousands of kiosks and street vendors in town offer a wide variety of choices, but, for the uninitiated, we suggest sticking to items that you recognize and can point to like bread, pastries and bottled drinks. When all else fails, McDonalds is better in Russia than it is at home and most of the titles are the same in both languages.13. ‘No Photographs’ doesn’t always mean ‘No Photographs.’ Sometimes it just means that you shouldn’t take a photograph directly in front of one of the attendants, sometimes it means that you’re going to get your ass handed to you for trying. Russians like their cameras and their bad snapshots as much as we do, so watch the locals – if they’re taking pictures, it’s OK. If they’re not, then you really should think twice.14. Large numbers of policemen or protesters are not a good sign. If you’re walking up on a square or a park and you notice an unusually large number of policemen or protesters there, you need to go somewhere else. Seriously. Sure, you might get to see some colorful people assembling peacefully to show their patriotic pride or demand a redress of their grievances, but you may also get to see just how well tear gas works as the OMON troops arrest and beat down everyone in sight.15. Accomodations are problematic. Western-standard hotels are available in Moscow, but they’re really expensive. Reasonably priced rooms are available in Moscow, but they’re not even near western standard and may be far from the center. Essentially you have a choice – put up with some degree of privation, or pay one hell of a hotel bill. If you're not going to scour the internet for a hotel deal before you go, our suggestion is that you consider an early reservation with a hostel, hoping to get a single or double room, or that you rent a short-term apartment; both options are reasonably priced, but both options come with beds and bathrooms and service levels well below what you’re used to at home.16. Toilets. Contrary to popular belief, the worst toilets in the world are not found in Russia. Between the three of us, we’ve seen way worse. You probably have, too. The worst we’ve found are in Africa, the border stations between Latvia and Lithuania, and a particularly foul vegetarian restaurant in Berkeley, California. Here in Moscow, you’ve got to be prepared to either lower your standards for where you’ll relieve yourself, or learn to hold it long enough to find a hotel lobby. If you’re going to be traveling on trains or venturing away from the very center of the city, we suggest that you keep some napkins or a pocket pack of tissues handy, too.17. Guns. Get used to seeing them. Though there are more individual gun owners in the United States, the Russians who are either required or allowed to have guns tend to carry them all the time. This means that every day will include coming face to face with a cop carrying a fully loaded, fully automatic Kalashnikov rifle with his finger firmly wrapped around the trigger and at least one gaggle of sweaty security guards with low-end handguns. Be polite.18. Lines. Gone are the Soviet-era days when lots of lines for lots of things stretched around lots of blocks, but it’s still important to know just how to wait in one. Generally cutting a line is treated like a cardinal sin, but anything else generally goes - you will see Russians jump ahead of others to a freshly available cashier booth, gently push others out of the way before previously placed orders have been filled, allow friends into the front of the line with them and have others hold their place. Feel free to be aggressive. Remember, also, that many businesses still require you to order what you want in one line, pay for it in another, and then return to the first line to get whatever it was you wanted.19. Street traffic. Moscow has but one law when it comes to pedestrian traffic - once you step off the curb, you’re on your own. This isn’t a problem on side streets where gridlocked traffic and poor road maintenance usually keep speeds to a comfortable minimum – but the major bulvars and prospekts and naberezhnie are an entirely different story. Many vehicles are going far too fast to stop for you, and many Muscovite drivers won’t even try. Use the perekhods (pedestrian tunnels) when you can, watch your ass when you can’t.This list is not exhaustive, but it's served me and my friends well for more than 20 years now. If you have any suggestions for things to add, please let me know.The truth is that Moscow is awesome. It is unlike any other place in the world, and if you just accept that you have to accept what you cannot change and look past what you think you can't accept, you're going to have a great time.