Year: 2008

I Wanna be a Hurricane! You can be a Hurricane too!

Hello,

Tropical Storm Kyle Forms In the Atlantic.

Looks like a Bad, Tough Storm To Me! 🙂

I have mixed feelings about my name being used to name a possible Hurricane. I think that it is cool, but what happens if it turns into the storm of the century and destroys half the world. I would really feel bad then….

MIAMI, Florida (AP) — The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Kyle has strengthened as it churns through the open Atlantic, south of Bermuda.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds have increased to 50 mph Thursday night. Forecasters say the storm could become a hurricane by Saturday as it moves north.

It’s centered about 555 miles south of Bermuda and is moving near 13 mph.

Forecasters expect the storm to continue moving north and strengthen over the next couple of days.

Kyle is the 11th named storm this season in the Atlantic. (Link)

So my wish is to be the baddest Hurricane that ever hit the earth, The Daddy of all Hurricanes. The Hurricane that stories will be written about for thousands of years….. (But no-one can die or be injured – sorta like a Hollywood movie that everyone lives through!)

Kinda a Catch-22…… My luck the Hurricane Kyle will sink the Bermuda Islands, push Cuba into Texas and send Florida to become part of Europe. (Ouch)

But according to the Weather People: Kyle is just going to become a Hurricane and head up to the New York and Maine area. (Oh well!)

I just saw a news report that Tropical Storm Kyle has killed 4 people in Puerto Rico. 🙁

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russian News: September 26th, 2008!

Hot News!

RBC, 26.09.2008, Moscow 12:35:07.The Russian stock market is expected to recover fully by mid-October, experts told RBC TV today. Until the end of September, the market will likely continue a moderately downward trend, with certain stocks remaining highly volatile. The trade volume depends not only on margin lending that resumes now on the market, analysts say, but also on government support anticipated to begin October 1. Investors will not take any active steps until then, experts note, or until US Congress decisions have been announced. The oil sector is expected to be the most attractive for investment during the next three to four months. Although Gazprom and Rosneft are currently under pressure, their shares, as well as those of LUKoil and Surgutneftegas, are projected to become the Russian market’s best performers from October 1. In particular, analysts indicate that LUKoil is the most undervalued Russian company at the moment.

RBC, 26.09.2008, Moscow 11:59:46.The Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom expects Australia to ratify a nuclear cooperation agreement, a high-ranking source close to the sector told journalists today. Russia is of course interested in the ratification, the source said, adding however that it was of no great importance for the country’s nuclear industry. Russia and Australia are equally interested in cooperation, the source noted – the former in terms of the diversification of uranium supplies and the latter in terms of uranium sales diversification. Russia’s participation in uranium production in Australia, including an asset swap, was discussed as part of the agreement, the source pointed out.

RBC, 26.09.2008, Moscow 10:28:50.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet today with his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, who has arrived in Russia on a short working visit. The talks are to take place in Orenburg, where Chavez is scheduled to go after Moscow. During his visit to Russia, several bilateral agreements on energy, scientific, and technological cooperation are to be signed. The Russian and Venezuelan leaders are also expected to visit a military range close to Orenburg, where the final stage of a large-scale exercise will take place.

RBC, 25.09.2008, Samara 18:44:09.Russia’s potential WTO partners have lost interest in its entry into the organization, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told leaders of the Agrarian Party in the Samara region today. He noted that WTO member states had apparently lost motivation to accept Russia. The country fulfills all commitments even without being a WTO member, Putin stressed, so there is actually no need for them to allow it to join the organization. He pointed out that Russia’s partners had to realize that the process of entry to the WTO was not easy and that concessions were necessary from both sides.

RBC, 25.09.2008, Samara 17:55:23.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin believes that the government and the Central Bank’s measures taken to address the recent financial crisis were absolutely fitting and efficient. He made this statement during today’s meeting with representatives of regional offices of the United Russia political party in Samara. Putin reiterated that the global markets were shattered primarily because the leading economies, including the US, were pursuing an unfortunate economic and financial policy. However, he stressed that Russia was strong enough to overcome the crisis, allowing it to remain secure amidst the present global crisis.

RBC, 25.09.2008, Samara 18:17:28.Russia is not making excessive claims to the Arctic Shelf, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told the representatives of the United Russia political party’s regional branches, adding that the country’s claims were in line with current international law. Russia intends to develop relations with its Arctic Shelf partners on a friendly basis, while simultaneously protecting its own interests, the PM stressed. He also noted that he did not understand why Russia’s partners had reacted so sharply when Russia clarified its position on the Arctic Shelf. Putin reiterated that the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Norway, Denmark, Canada, and the US had recently held a meeting on the matter. The Ministers have agreed that the problem would be resolved in accordance with existing international legal base, particularly maritime law.

RBC, 25.09.2008, Moscow 14:16:25.Russia may become the strongest financial center in Eastern Europe in the next five to seven years, Russian Presidential Aide Arkady Dvorkovich said during a lecture at the International University in Moscow. He indicated that at the moment Russia could not be considered a global financial center, but stated that Moscow itself was steadily becoming a financial center of the CIS. With that in mind, in the next 10 to 15 years Russia could be ranked among the top eight global financial centers, Dvorkovich noted. He added that the process could have been expedited if Russia created an offshore zone, stressing, however, that this would have harmed Russia’s image.

RBC, 25.09.2008, Moscow 16:58:51.At the request of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the government will allocate RUB 500bn (approx. USD 19.94bn) to stabilize the stock market by buying out shares of Russian companies, making those with a government stake the first priority, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told representatives of the United Russia political party’s regional branches. The government will be buying out undervalued stocks, Putin noted, pointing out that it expected them to rise.

In Russia Life is Simple: We can Just Remove that Border in South Ossetia!

Hello,

This is what I like about Russia, everyday you get to shake your head in disbelief at the news you hear:

“As far as integration is concerned, currently it will be enough if we essentially eliminate borders between the Russian Federation and South Ossetia, assisting to restore the republic’s economy, if we give people an opportunity to live quietly and bring up their children, develop their republic and communicate without restrictions, without formalities at the frontier,” Putin said.

He has added that one more document should be signed – on the one side it will be protecting Russia’s interests in respect to its outer boundaries, and on the other side it will give people an opportunity to communicate freely, “without any administrative barriers”.(Link)

But that is why I love Russia! The way Russians look at things is great, “Just erase the borders!”.

Kyle & Svet

PS: This should start, Bush and Company jumping up and down again…..

comments always welcome.

Russia: Why is She Not Part of OPEC?

Think if you added Russia to this graph!

Hello,

I was drinking my second cup of delicious coffee after a long morning walk with the dog. I was thinking about OPEC and Russia! Why Russia was not part of OPEC? To answer that question, it looks like they may become part of OPEC soon. Russia is starting to lean toward that prospect and OPEC is showing open arms.

Russia’s daily oil output stands at around 10 million barrels, or about 12% of (world) global production, very close to the level of leading producer Saudi Arabia. OPEC’s 13 member states are Algeria, Angola, Venezuela, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ecuador. The countries account for around 67% of global proven oil reserves and 42% of global oil output. So you see Russia would be a huge increase in the OPEC’s Global standings. It would give OPEC over 50% of Global oil output and over 75% of global oil reserves!

What is OPEC?

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) was created in 1960 to unify and protect the interests of oil-producing countries. OPEC allows oil-producing countries to guarantee their income by coordinating policies and prices among them. This unified front was created primarily in response to the efforts of Western oil companies to drive oil prices down. The original members of OPEC included Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. OPEC has since expanded to include seven more countries (Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates) making a total membership of 12.

OPEC represents a considerable political and economical force. Two-thirds of the oil reserves in the world belong to OPEC members; likewise, OPEC members are responsible for half of the world’s oil exports. The fact that OPEC controls the availability of a substance so universally sought after by modern society renders the organization a force to be reckoned with. (Link)

OPEC has opened it’s arms and has made it clear that they would like to welcome Russia as its member. The respective statement was made by Algerian Oil Minister and OPEC President Chakib Khelil.

I know that Russia is being considered positively and that Russia has been cooperating with OPEC for at least a decade and potential of a new format is very interesting. Russia will be attending the next meeting of OPEC that is slated for December 17, 2008.

So why has Russia not been made a part of OPEC?

Answer: Is that Russia hadn’t officially applied for the membership!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia Does Not Have the Time to Placate in Iranian Witch Hunts!

Hello,

Today while drinking my morning cup of coffee, I was thinking about what I had said over a year ago: http://kylekeeton.com/2007/06/russia-wont-take-much-more-and-i-dont.html This article was about a time I was upset with the involvement of American politics in Russia. (Boy was I correct!) Russia has reached the point of telling the USA to “BUG OFF”.

Even CNN has got the picture correctly now, I have been impressed with the change of direction in reporting by Time and CNN. They have a ways to go but at least they seem to try to get the truth now. (sometimes) CNN says, “A key meeting of world powers to discuss a fourth U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran is unlikely because of a Russian boycott, according to a top U.S. official.” This is correct, Russia does not have the time to placate in Iranian witch hunts!

Seems that the USA wants to come down on Iran while the Iranian President is in New York City for U.N. meetings. It seems that the Iranian President came down hard on the USA: ” In a blistering speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed “a few bullying powers” for creating the world’s problems and said the “American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road.

“At the United Nations, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said countries are turning their backs on “bullying powers.”

And while he insisted Iran’s nuclear activities are peaceful, Ahmadinejad blamed the same powers for seeking to hinder it “by exerting political and economic pressures on Iran, and threatening and pressuring” the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Those powers, meanwhile, are building or maintaining nuclear stockpiles themselves, unchecked by anyone, he said.

As Ahmadinejad spoke, the only person at the United States table was a note-taker; no U.S. diplomat was present. When President Bush spoke earlier Tuesday, however, Ahmadinejad was in the room.

“As long as the aggressors, because of their financial, political and propaganda powers, not only escape punishment, but even claim righteousness, and as long as wars are started and nations are enslaved in order to win votes in elections, not only will the problems of the global community remain unsolved, but they will be increasingly exacerbated,” the Iranian leader said.

He accused the United States of oppressing Iraqis with six years of occupation, saying Americans were “still seeking to solidify their position in the political geography of the region and to dominate oil resources.”” (Link)

Strange feeling to me when the Iranian President makes a lot more sense than our own leaders in America. It seems to me that all I hear out of Washington is Blah, Whine, Blah, Whine, Blah, Whine, Blah. That is what the rest of the world seems to be hearing also…..

In Germany: It’s not a call for assistance; it’s a scream for help. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is asking other countries to help buy up bad US debt. The US government is putting up $700 billion in taxpayer money in the hopes that the measure might restore stability in the financial system. The German government has answered this call quickly and clearly: NO!.

Germany will not be the only one to say, NO! The problem is created and grown in America and by Americans. The world will suffer greatly from the problems now, much less buy more worthless debt and hold more funny money.

I also saw that Bolivia is throwing the fire back at America: At the same U.N. meeting that the Iranian President scorched the USA in, Bolivian President Evo Morales on Tuesday said, “The United States has tried to thwart his political ambitions and, more recently, failed to condemn a pro-autonomy movement that uses “terrorist” tactics.” Morales, in the address to the United Nations General Assembly, described privatization as the cause of the world’s financial crisis, and credited his nationalization of Bolivia’s petroleum industry as a boon to the nation’s economy. (Link)

To end this hodgepodge of an article we will concentrate on the latest words of wisdom from Moscow: “We would like very much that, in Washington, they finally get clear what they want from relations with Moscow,” said Andrei Nesterenko, official representative of the RF Foreign Ministry. as he was commenting on the proposal of the U.S. Department of State spokesman Sean McCormack. McCormack has urged Moscow to put aside all issues where it disagrees with the United States and focus on the fields, where the cooperation is possible, for instance, on Iran.

“If they want to punish Russia, it’s one thing. If they agree that we have common interests to be promoted by joint efforts, that’s another story. But as Rice puts it, “You can’t have it both ways,” Nesterenko pointed out. (Link)

Seems to me that the USA needs to get its “ducks in order” as they say. Russia does not have the time to placate in Iranian witch hunts!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: Is She Really That Corrupt?

Corruption Is Universal!

Hello,

I was drinking my second cup of coffee and reading once again about the corruption in Russia. Sometimes that is all you hear about. How corrupt the Government is, how corrupt the cops are and how corrupt Moscow is. The fact is the articles are correct and if Russia could really get corruption under control that would be fantastic. I am not going to hold my breath though.

Another fact is that out of all the countries that I have lived in, I find Russia one of the least corrupt countries that I have had to deal with. Now I realize that is going against everyone else’s thoughts in the world. But corruption is a matter of opinion allot of times. Russia also is the cheapest country to bribe compared to other countries. The most expensive country I have dealt with was Vietnam then the USA.

The most corrupt places in Russia are Moscow (42% have paid bribes), Tatarstan and Krasnodar Territory (41%), Stavropol Territory (40%), Moscow Region (37%) and St. Petersburg (34%). The least corrupt places are Perm Territory (12%) and Tyumen Region (18%). There has been no research in Yakutia, Chechnya or Dagestan yet. Most Russians (54%) have a tolerant attitude toward those who take bribes. That figure ranges between 63 percent in Moscow and 32 percent in Sakhalin. Thirty-seven percent of Russians (55% in Leningrad Region, 30% in Moscow, 28% in Krasnodar Territory) strongly condemn corruption. (Link)

Remember most of what they are calling corruption has to do with the police. It can get interesting at times while you drive the Russian country side, but it also makes it exciting and fun. Also put in perspective about the people that pay bribes to get things done faster: We have yet to pay a bribe to get government work done, but then we do not wait until the day it is due to get it done. Everything gets done with out bribes, but bribes get it done faster….

I remember in America that I helped someone get a liquor license, after we had gone through Hades and back with the State application to get a license. We then had to deal with the local officials; We took (6) Six envelopes with several thousand dollars in each then it took us a day of begging and bribery: 1st and 2nd envelopes went to City Police department and County Sheriff department to ensure our status as non criminals. The 2nd envelope went to the Head of the Town Council to activate our application with the city. The 3rd envelope went to the Mayor of the town to ensure our future security with the police department. The 4th envelope went to the City Fire Chief to make sure our building passed fire code inspection. The 5th envelope went to the County Health Department to make sure that they passed us for serving beer. This was just the county and city side of the transaction. The State side was another whole ballgame of bribery and begging (Just bigger bribes.)…..

So corruption is in the eye of the beholder:
I would much rather pay a 500 ruble (20 dollars) bribe, no points off my license, no increase in insurance and no court hearing; to a cop for speeding in Russia. Than a $250 dollar (6250 rubles), points off my license, court day and increase in my insurance (ouch), speeding ticket in America!

Just thoughts for a Tuesday…

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: What Would An American Do For A Living in Russia?

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and thinking about what Americans do for a living in Russia. My first thought went leaning towards English teachers, then maybe business men?

I did a little searching into the subject and happened upon the little known fact:

Most Foreigners in Russia Are Managers! It was found that foreigners worked in 87 percent of the companies taking part in a research by Kelly Services (large and medium-size companies in Moscow), but the total number of foreigners was quite low at 1-5 percent of a company’s personnel. In 68 percent of cases, the foreign workers were top executives, in 26 percent they were middle managers and in 3 percent they were specialists. Among the spheres with the most foreign specialists were marketing (18%), sales (17%), finance (12%) and administration (10%). (Link)

Seems that the demand for Business Managers is the greatest need. I myself see that demand and understand the need. One of the weakest areas that Russia has is in Customer Service. This is a direct correlation with Lower Management and Middle Management, which is a directly stimulated by upper management!

The management training that I see in Russia falls mainly in the: “He wants to play manager let him play manager.” Training is sporadic and on the job. To be fair to Russia though: The “McDonald’s Management Syndrome” is slowly affecting the Russian work force. McDonald’s has their University (or equivalent) in Russia that trains their managers. The training of management by McDonald’s is some of the most ridged and thoughtful management training in the World. I taught in McDonald’s University many years ago and I see the same young people in Russia running McDonald’s the very same way we taught them in the USA. This is a trickle effect to the rest of the businesses in Russia. As McDonald’s managers grow up (so to say), they leave McDonald’s and move on to greener pastures. Many years from now you have a compounded effect of increased manager skills through out the country. Russia needs this….

The next area that I see many Foreigners in, in Russia: They teach foreign languages. The demand for teachers here is unbelievable. English seems to be the strong language to learn. If you like the solo side of life, tutoring individuals has no limit to the demand. If you like the security of a school or business environment then you can find no less than thousands of schools to teach at. (I receive about 5 to 6 offers a week to teach at some school in Russia.) Myself, I like the solo side of life. I teach one on one otherwise called tutoring. I then can control my schedule and pace.

Just another little tidbit about Russia you may not have known…

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russian News: September 23rd, 2008!

Hot News!The state company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. has announced a new agreement with Gazprom concerning the Russian monopoly’s first foreign project to produce liquefied natural gas. Gazprom will invest about $850 million in the course of seven years and receive the income from the sale of 700,000 tons of liquefied natural gas, that is, about $420 million at current prices, per year. Alexander Medvedev, Gazprom deputy chairman, and Rafael Ramirez, Venezuelan Energy and Oil Minister and president of PDVSA, held negotiations last Friday and signed a memorandum of understanding on the Blanquilla and Tortuga project in the presence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Estonian police have arrested high-ranking member of the Defense Ministry Herman Simm on accusations of espionage. His wife Heete Simm, a police lawyer, faces similarly charges. Estonian authorities have not named the country the couple were providing information to, but Estonian media and local experts claim it was Russia. Herman Simm, 61, was responsible for military secrets. In spite of several earlier claims by the government of Russian espionage operations in the country, this is the first spy case in the modern history of the country in which an actual agent has been identified.

Food prices went up 12.2 percent in Russia from January through August, Interfax reported with reference to the country’s statistics authority Rosstat. Of interest is that the prices averagely stepped up no more than 3 percent in the European Union.

Georgian authorities intend to protest to the European Union about “violations of the Sarkozy-Medvedev agreement by Russia.” Tbilisi maintains that the agreement was violated in the village of Khurcha, near the border with Abkhazia, where one Georgian policeman died and two were injured in gunfire issuing from unknown sources. That was the third such incident in recent days. Georgian policemen have also been killed by sniper fire near the village of Karaleti, on the Georgian border with South Ossetia, where a Russian checkpoint is located, and on the bank of the Inguri River, which separates Georgia from Abkhazia.

Russia, Egypt, Qatar, Algeria and Iran are willing to host headquarters of gas OPEC – GECF, Interfax-AGI reported.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived in China on Tuesday for a three-day state visit, part of his week-long world tour which includes Russia, Portugal and France.

The official dollar rate set by the Russian Central Bank for September 24 is 24,9864 rubles, down 28.26 kopeks from Tuesday, the Central Bank said.

An intestinal infection has hospitalized a total of 29 cadets from a military school in the city of Minusinsk in East Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk Territory, a source in the regional consumers rights watchdog said on Tuesday.

Russia: Helps Ukraine A lot – to Survive!

Ukraine likes to badmouth Russia but Russia always keeps their infrastructure going….

Ukraine has started electricity imports from Russia as domestic thermal power plants experience problems with coal supplies, the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN said on Tuesday, citing the country’s fuel and energy ministry.

According to the ministry, it made the decision on electricity imports due to delays in coal supplies to thermal power plants, unplanned repairs on the second energy unit of the Khmelnitskaya nuclear power plant, and a failure by the state coal company, Ugol Ukrainy, to carry out in full planned coal deliveries.

“The state foreign trade enterprise, Ukrinterenergo, started from September 15 the commercial imports of electricity from the Russian Federation. The amount of electricity supplies defined in a contract with the Russian counterparty, Inter RAO UES, totals 500 MW. The cost of electricity has not been disclosed,” UNIAN said.

Ukraine’s fuel and energy ministry said Russian electricity was being imported at prices 12% below prices on the Ukrainian wholesale electric power market, but declined to specify the length of the contract. (Link)

This is just a small example of what Russia does on a daily bases. For years Russia has carried Ukraine in the Energy side of life. (Even when they owed multiples of billions of dollars in debt.) In fact as of right now they have outstanding, several billion dollars in energy bills.

Yet Ukraine continues to bite the hand that always helps them….

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Thanks Kyle & Svet