Year: 2009

The EU can prove more useful in cooperation with Russia:
Alexandre Adler, a well-known French historian and columnist at Le Figaro and France Culture, for the first time participates in the Valdai Club Summit and shares his thoughts on the topics discussed this year.

Putin ‘optimistic’ about Obama relations:
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has a favorable impression of U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration, a leading U.S. academic said Friday.

Russia switching vector of interest to Asia:
The vector of Russian interest is switching from Europe and the United States to Asia, a Canadian analyst said after a meeting with the Russian premier on Friday.

What the Russian papers say:
MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti) Medvedev rallies public support to change Putin’s development model / Venezuela’s Chavez recognizes Abkhazia, S.Ossetia / Moscow may help Washington deal with global challenges / New Opel owners to coordinate their plans with GM.

Russian Church commemorates Beheading of John the Baptist:
Russia is commemorating on Friday the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church held a liturgy in the cathedral in the Volga city of Nizhny Novgorod.

Kanaeva wins fifth gold medal at gymnastic world championships:
Russia’s Evgeniya Kanaeva won her fifth gold medal in the individual all-around event at the rhythmic gymnastic world championships in Japan on Friday.

Russia to call tender for foreign helicopter carrier:
Russia plans to hold an international tender for the purchase of a helicopter carrier, involving France, Spain and the Netherlands, the country’s Navy chief said on Friday.

Putin to reach agreement with Medvedev ahead of 2012 presidential polls:
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he and President Dmitry Medvedev would come to an agreement before the 2012 presidential polls and would not compete with each other.

Putin offers condolences on anniversary of September 11 attacks:
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin conveyed a message of condolences on Friday to the United States on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

“Initially, GM had serious reservations about Magna’s offer and seemed to favor a rival bid by the Belgian-based investor, RHJ International. One GM official said RHJ’s offer was “simple and elegant.” In particular, GM was uncomfortable with a Russian company getting its hands on Opel’s technical expertise and patents!“

I have followed this story from the beginning and have posted these articles on the subject:

http://kylekeeton.com/2009/05/opel-is-officially-sold-to-russia-and.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2009/08/is-gm-dragging-feet-because-russia-is.html

I waited to print this article even though it was splashed all over the Eastern Press. I am learning that many people can not accept any press but the Western press. (Sad but true!)

So finally the end is in sight for this transaction between GM and Magna – Sberbank! Germany had to push way too hard for this deal to happen and it just proved to Germany that the American Government could care less what is best for Germany! This had nothing to do with what is best for America or GM it was a anti-Russian situation plain and simple. 

GM retains a 35% holding in the Opel company and hopefully that will become 0% in a few years…

On Thursday, GM said the Magna-Sberbank group would acquire 55% of Opel. Employees will hold 10% of the German automaker, leaving GM with a 35% stake. (Link)

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Lets have some facts about the World Trade Center reconstruction:

1. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, with the ruins of the World Trade Center still smoldering, political leaders from New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to President George W. Bush vowed to quickly rebuild the site, bigger and better than before.

2. Eight years later, the site known as Ground Zero remains mostly a giant hole in the ground. (How Come?)

3. A projected completion date has been pushed back years, if not decades. The project has been beset by repeated delays, changing designs, billions of dollars in cost overruns, and feuding among the various parties involved in the complex undertaking.

4. A 2005 design called for a spiraling glass skyscraper, named Freedom Tower, that would rise a symbolic 1,776 feet in the air. But after the design was unveiled, the New York Police Department said the new building would be too vulnerable to truck-bomb attacks and sent the architects back to the drawing board. A redesign moved the tower back from the street and placed it atop an impregnable 200-foot steel-and-concrete base.

5. This year, the name was changed to World Trade Center One, out of concern that Freedom Tower would become too tempting a target for terrorism.

6. By some estimates, the entire project involves more than a dozen government agencies and at least 100 construction companies and subcontractors.

7. The projected costs have soared far above the $15 billion budget, construction is years behind schedule, and Larry Silverstein, the developer of three towers, is locked in a dispute over financing with the Port Authority.

8. The ambitious plan now calls for four office towers, including World Trade Center One, with a memorial and two tree-lined reflecting pools standing on the footprints where the old twin towers stood. Cascading waterfalls lead down to a museum, 70 feet below ground level. The plan also includes a massive futuristic-looking transportation hub to rival Grand Central Terminal…. (What is wrong with just a beautiful memorial?)

9. What Ever….. This is a bad sign of the times for America! 8 years and they have a hole in the ground. Even Russia gave a beautiful memorial to America for 911…
http://kylekeeton.com/2009/03/from-russia-memorial-to-9-11-terrorist.html

Sad…

Please remember the dead at this tragic event and do not allow our memories to become like the government bureaucracy that has mired this project into oblivion.

The air waves lit up in Russia today:

Mr Chavez made the announcement during his visit to Russia today. He said that Venezuela will recognise the independence of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia!

That makes Venezuela the third country to support the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, after Russia and Nicargaua.

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Russian bombers complete routine Arctic patrol mission:
Two Russian Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers have carried out a routine patrol flight over the Arctic Ocean.

Russia approves new ISS crew:
A special commission has announced the composition of the main and backup crews for the next mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Russian labor chief plays down mass redundancy fears:
Russians will not face mass redundancies this fall, with unemployment figures expected to rise only slightly more than the usual seasonal increase, the labor service said on Thursday.

Russian Far East students hold protest over accommodation:
Students in the Russian Far East held a demonstration at their music school on Thursday after they were left without accommodation.

Kazakh, Azeri, Turkmen and Russian leaders to meet Sat:
The leaders of Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan and Tukmenistan will discuss regional security at a meeting set for September 12 in the Kazakh Caspian coast town of Aktau, the Russian presidential aide said on Thursday.

Venezuela’s Chavez to meet Russian president, PM in Moscow:
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is set to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday and Friday in Moscow.

Maltese investigators expected on board Arctic Sea soon:
Maltese investigators are expected on board the Arctic Sea cargo vessel as part of the ongoing probe into the disappearance and seizure of the ship, Russia’s foreign ministry said.

PACE rejects proposal to deprive Russia of voting rights:
PACE’s monitoring committee failed to back a Georgian proposal to deprive Russia of the right to vote at the September session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a senior legislator said.

City of London and Moscow mayors hold talks:
The Lord Mayor of the City of London Ian Luder met with his Moscow counterpart Yury Luzhkov in Russia to discuss the economic situation and how the recession has affected the capital, RIA Novosti reported.

In 2007 Alexander Ponosov was fined 5,000 rubles — about $200, or half his monthly wage — last year when a local court found him guilty of installing unlicensed Microsoft Windows and Office software on computers used by students at his school. The local courts were being manipulated by hungry prosecutors to prove that Russia is serious about catching Pirates of software!

Alexander Ponosov says the software was installed on the computers when they were purchased by the school & delivered by a subcontractor. He did not know that the licenses were faked. (Link to Article)

So Finally Today:

Teacher Wins $8,000 in Pirated Windows Lawsuit
09 September 2009
The Moscow Times

A Perm court on Wednesday ordered the government to pay 250,000 rubles ($8,000) in damages to a village schoolteacher for falsely accusing him of using pirated Windows software. Interfax reported.

Alexander Ponosov, who was the school’s principal at the time of his arrest, was convicted in 2007 and fined 5,000 rubles, or half of his monthly salary. Prosecutors said he had caused 266,000 rubles in damages to Microsoft.

Ponosov maintained his innocence in two years of subsequent appeals, saying the software had been installed on the computers when they were delivered by a subcontractor and that he had not known that it was pirated.

Ponosov had sought 300,000 rubles in damages, and the Vereshchaginky District Court initially agreed to award 75,000 rubles. It raised the amount to 250,000 rubles on Wednesday.

This is fantastic. I have followed this case from the beginning and this man (Alexander Ponosov) has refused to give up. That is the way it should be when you are right and the system is wrong…

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The Arctic Sea Freighter was hijacked in the Baltic Sea in late July after leaving a Finnish port. Russian naval vessels intercepted the ship weeks later off Cape Verde, thousands of kilometers from the Algerian port where it was supposed to deliver a load of timber. (It really did have timber on it.)

I have kept quiet about this because I have watched what Russia has been saying about the situation. I have also watched the Western press analyze what was on that freighter. I have seen so far: lumber, illegal music CD’s, illegal DVD’s, drugs, small arm weapons, nuclear weapons, anti aircraft weapons and the favorite word is clandestine cargo! That is a big word that many people have never used. (Why not just say secret cargo?)

Now on top of all things that have been mentioned, the Western press says it is possible that S-300 surface-to-air missiles destined for Iran or Syria were on the freighter. (We no longer have clandestine cargo but overt cargo…)

But Lavrov said “the presence of S-300s on board the Arctic Sea cargo ship is a complete lie,” RIA-Novosti reported.

I believe him: The Arctic Sea Freighter did not have anything but lumber on it and I really do not think that it was carrying anything else. After looking over all the information I would say that the Arctic Sea Freighter was a decoy ship that was used to cover up the real situation and shipping of “what ever” was shipped. Other words: While the Arctic Sea Freighter was being played as a carrier of deadly cargo, the real cargo has been shipped and delivered long ago…

(This tactic is used in American Football all the time and called a fake! The play fake is the most effective way to confuse a defense. It sucks defenders in by making them anticipate a running play, which results in less coverage against your receivers.)

The Western press needed something to play games with and Russia gave it too them – this has been a couple of weeks of good anti Russian propaganda to toss on the airwaves…

What do you think?

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In the Soviet era it seems that towns were built for specific purposes. Example is this town called Ermolino, which is 80 kilometers away from Moscow. Is a town built only for blind people.

It was an ambitious project, the city for 40,000 people, where the blind would have their own recreational, educational and rehabilitation centers, is now just a few dozen houses and a factory with one fifth of its initial workforce. The collapse of the Soviet Empire was a death sentence to this town and many others like it, all over the former Soviet Union.

Like many towns in Russia it is slowly becoming a ghost town and one day will be totally empty…

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The Russian market still talks of dollars and cents to the world and here is proof that is true. Looks Like Burger Kings Wants to Get in Russia?: The U.S. fast food giant has been focusing on putting the necessary infrastructure in place over the past several months in Moscow and other major Russian cities. Seems that Moscow may have some competition coming for McDonald’s and believe me McDonald’s has no competition in Russia! Have it your way Russia…

So while Burger King is getting ready to make McDonald’s life in Russia more complicated. Lets see what some really bad guys wanted to do: Bombers Had Tickets To Moscow: The suspected insurgents were found with explosives strapped to them, hand grenades and train tickets to Moscow. They started a gun fight and all three men were killed during the exchange of gun fire. Now that was three really bad men.

It seems to me that this survey is actually fairly accurate. Russians want their own way – survey: The majority of Russians want a unique way of life, and want it to be protected from alien ideas, a recent study has revealed. Other words they want the Western world to keep their ideas and attitudes away from Russia. Russian people have lost the trust for the Western world and the Western world have only themselves to blame…

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I always have found it strange that candy and food manufacturers also produce pet foods. It makes sense in a way but since I was a director of food service for many many years. The thought that the same food humans eat, being produced by pet food manufacturers, seemed to put a funny feeling down my spine…

Global company Mars is to produce pet food in Russia’s Volga city of Ulyanovsk, the region’s governor Sergei Morozov told RIA Novosti.

“Today Mars launched its first production line turning out pet food in the Ulyanovsk Region,” Morozov said, adding that total investment in the project was over 1.5 billion rubles (around $47 million) which would generate around $9.5 million in taxes for the local budget. (Link)

Lets see what else the company Mars makes. They make the Mars bar one of the most popular candy bars in the world. Yummy! They are good… But does pet food go with a candy bar? I thought chocolate was bad for dogs?

Next we have something we all know and love – M and M’s. Some people think that the M and M guys are pets though, so maybe that is a connection?

Oh – I love this rice and used it extensively in food service. It is a high quality product and virtually fool proof – add red beans, crushed red pepper and what a meal! They make Uncle Ben’s if you did not know…

Does this look like Pet food?

Hey we found pet food and what hungry kitty would pass up real rabbit kitty chow? They make Whiskas cat food if you did not know…

And just for the dogs we have Pedigree! I know our dog loves this brand and there is no chocolate in it…

Kidding aside – The company also makes many many more items they have a line up that includes snacks, drinks, pets and foods!

Did you know that Mars had 7 of the top 20 candy bars in the world? Too find out about Mars company follow this link… (Link)

I am glad that Mars trusts Russia enough to continue their growth here. More companies need to follow their path and they will find out that Russia is a fantastic market for growth!

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.