Windows to Russia

Russian children’s rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said on Thursday a lawsuit had been filed against him by an American woman who sent her adopted son back to Russia.

Torry Hansen filed a lawsuit in Moscow’s Savelovsky Court, seeking retraction of a November 24, 2011 article in the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily. She also demands punitive damages.

“The essence of the lawsuit is that I call Hansen an adoptive mother, while she wants me to call her Artyom Savelyev’s former adoptive mother,” Astakhov said.

“I’m glad a lawsuit was filed by Torry Hansen against me and the Rossiiskaya Gazeta. I’ll gladly meet her and request that she visits Russia and the court,” he added.

Hansen was living in Tennessee in April 2010 when she put Artyom Savelyev, then 7, on a flight back to his native Russia unaccompanied, with a note saying she did not want him because he was “psychotic.”

Astakhov said that the Russian side would seek child support payments from the U.S. woman, according to the March 8 U.S. court ruling.

“We will try to make her pay the cost of Artyom’s support, nothing more,” he said.

According to the child ombudsman’s estimates, the boy’s stay in a group home costs 42,000 rubles per month (over $1,400), not including psychological treatment costing 27,000 rubles (over $900) per month.

Update: This is the article that Torry Hanson puts in her lawsuit…

Lucky: Artem Saveliev found a family

The fate of nine-year-old Artem Saveliev, “RG” followed in April 2010, when adopted him from an orphanage, the Partizansk Primorye American Torri Anne Hansen, “disappointed” in the receiver’s son (“he was mentally unstable”), presented him with a Russian passport U.S. visa, birth certificate and a note in which the child refused, and requested the Russian authorities to take him back. After that landed the then seven-year-old Artem on a plane to Washington and sent to Moscow .

The scandal erupted on both sides of the ocean. And, as they say, there would be a blessing in disguise. Shocking story of the return of Russian orphans, as they say, aviaparcel, in violation of all moral and legal norms, was the last straw in the cup of patience of the Russian side. Russia, which had up to that criticism to how fate for inter-country adoption of children by Americans and insisted on the necessity of concluding a bilateral agreement with the U.S. on international adoptions, said that if such a document will not be accepted, suspends the process of adoption of Russian orphans by U.S. citizens. America, to the case of Artem Saveliev, who avoided the development and signing of the agreement, acknowledged its necessity. Then, almost immediately, work started on a document, and July 13, 2011 Russian-American agreement was signed on adoption.

As will emerge Artem lives after returning home, worried about so many – both in Russia and in America. On all matters not whether the orphan be returned to the orphanage, the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Pavel Astakhov, who took the boy under his patronage, replied: “To Artem we find a family in a shelter, he would not return.” Ombudsman even had to refute the information that has passed in August last year on the U.S. television channel CNN that Artem Saveliev back to the orphanage Partizansk, where it may be transmitted to the adoption of the new American family: “Despite the fact that the National Council for Adoption United States (NCFA) said Artyom American citizen, hopes to return the child to the United States, and even declares that the boy in America have potential adoptive parents, we will not allow it. Artem Saveliev, above all, a Russian citizen, he will remain in Russia and Here it will be picked up a new family. ”

Commissioner for Human Rights of the Child kept his word as it became known, Artem Saveliev for two weeks, as he lives in the family, Children’s Village-SOS in the suburban Tomilino (about this unique form of device orphans “RG” is not just telling, see ” 700 Friends one village “-” WG “№ 4081 of 01.06.2006,” What gave – that is your “-” WG “№ 4253 of 21.12.2006, and other publications). He has five brothers and sisters. The head of the family, Vera Egorova, says that the boy was already on the second day, called her mother. Artem quite pin. Quickly made himself at home, made friends with the brothers and sisters. Academic performance in second graders Saveliev quite decent. However, travel outside the village-SOS, even for some entertainment, it still does not want to. And about half of his life in an American family who did not want him to become a mother, said with great reluctance “about America, I do not recall, here I have another life. I am the luckiest.”

Meanwhile

On Monday, the U.S. District Court in Bedfordskom American city Shelbyville (Tennessee) opened preliminary hearings in the case of Torrey Ann Hansen – former usynovitelnitsy Artem Saveliev. The lawsuit filed against the family Hansen adoption agency World association for children and parents (WACAP), more than two years ago helped Torrie Hansen and her mother Nancy adoption Artem. Plaintiffs need to oblige Torrey Anne, under the law are still receiving the child’s mother, to pay 27 percent of the salary for the maintenance of the boy, now 9 years old.

Hansen family lawyers insisted that the hearings were closed, citing the interests of the minor. However, the judge rejected the defense motion and ordered the open nature of the meetings with the media and the public.

Assuming that the trial will begin Hansen in March-April 2012.

Source: http://www.rg.ru/2011/11/24/artem-site.html

Kyle Keeton

Windows to Russia!

The recent outcry by the American Media complaining of mass riots over the Russian election has gotten me thinking.  Do the youth in Russia protesting understand exactly how free they are compared with the American’s slandering them?  Consider the facts.

1.  America’s Free Press
Six Corporations control the American press (Walt Disney, General Electric, New Corporation, Viacom, CBS, and Time Warner), whether in print, or on the television.  They even used the frequently derogatory term bloggers to refer to free publications that do not follow their talking points.  In covering the protest in Russia the supposedly freest press in the world even saw many programs using falls footage, such as those from riots taking place in the European Union, and mimicking those of the Occupy and Tea Party movements happening coast to coast in America.

2. America’s Free Speech
If you think you can say anything you want if you’re an American consider the American president recently authorized the assassination of an American citizen who was known for recording tapes and CDs denouncing America’s policies as immoral, and oppressive.

3. America’s Freedom of Religion
Frequently in the last several decades children have had to rely on parents taking schools to court to avail themselves of the right to pray; Churches and Mosques are frequently having to show up in court to preserve their rights to call people to prayer, ring bells, or even maintain a cross that happens to be visible from a public highway.

4. America’s Freedom from Taxation without Representation
American’s Pay Almost 50% of their income in Taxes, and work the longest hours of any country in the world.
While Americans insist their tax burden is low, once one tallies the taxes on products, housing, transportation, and hidden taxes employers must pay on behalf of employees Americans work 6 months of the year before they see any profit for their labor.

The average American has 2 weeks of paid vacation, and 3 personal or sick days for unexpected absence at work.  Many are so afraid of becoming unemployed they do not avail themselves even of these.  Expecting mothers in most American jobs are expected to work to within a month of their expected due date and return to work in 6 to 8 weeks.  With the effect of so many families where both parents work the prices of American products are such that only if one member of a married couple is independently wealthy it is impossible for them to survive on an income of a single worker.  Women are not free to stay home and help raise children, and increasingly many children are raised by daycare workers, and school teachers.

5. America’s Open and Transparent Courts, and Corruption Free Police
While other nations are changing the terminology of Militia to Police, America is enacting laws to the opposite.  More and more anti terrorism legislation is targeting ‘special instances’ where American Citizens can be denied indefinitely rights to an attorney, and be held without being charged with a crime.  Further these special situaions call for moving ruling on whether these Americans have committed any crime into Military courts which are not subject to the constitutional protections of traditional American courts.

6. Free Elections
International observers are not allowed at American elections, in fact foreigners present at American elections thought to be spying can be charged, and deported and not allowed to return to the United States.  Increasingly exit polls conducted on those exiting voting sites in America show disparity with officially reported results; and Americans have little means to investigate why.

The electoral college system in America is legally able to elect whomever they choose for president regardless of whom Americans vote for, and it is legally possible, and has happened recently more than once, for the winning candidate for the presidency to lose the majority vote.

While in regional elections there are sometimes 3 or 4 parties on the ballot who occasionally elect a small number of representatives to local or state governments, on the national level it is nearly impossible for any party other than Democrat or Republican to be on the ballot.  In several states laws prevent any other party from even applying regardless of how many people endorse the candidate.  In several states write-in candidates, those not officially on the ballot, can only be counted if the candidate has been added to an acceptable list of write ins.  Ron Paul, who was not on the Ballot in New York was also not allowed onto the write-in list despite massive support which certainly resulted in numerous write in votes for his name.  This would be akin to only votes for United Russia or the Communist Party being counted.

7.  Freedom to Protest
The police in numerous cities have violently reacted to the Occupy Movements in the United States where protesters angered by the United States Government favoring wealthy corporations over citizens who individually are increasingly making so little money they are statistically included in poverty lists.  Old women have been sprayed with gases and physically assaulted by police looking to cover up massive unrest.  The United States hasn’t used rubber bullets against protesters as Georgian president Sakashvili did multiple times in recent years but with John McCain, former candidate for president, and still Senator, stating on multiple occasions his empathy for the Georgian president how long will it be before the increasingly military-like, replete with more powers and weapons previously only available to the military, police begin using those on protesters as well?

The same media that criticizes Gay Pride parades being barred from central Moscow on the grounds it would be disruptive and unmanageable, are fine with the same excuse being used when protestors from one party show up un announced at conventions of rival political parties.  Protesting outside of ‘designated protest areas’ distant from these conventions is grounds for arrest.

8. Freedom to Keep and Bear Arms
Americans have a false belief that most nations do not allow individuals to keep arms or use them against those threatening their life or property.  Many non-Americans are mistakenly of the belief that any American can walk to the store and buy a cart full of automatic machine guns.  The fact is most countries, with the notable exception of the United Kingdom, allow a person to keep weapons for self defense and hunting, the Russian Federation included.  In America Americans cannot purchase or for the most part have access to use automatic weapons.  While many states allow for Americans to carry concealed pistols, these generally require difficult to acquire permits involving the endorsement of long time acquaintances of those applying.  The prevalence of guns in crime stems not from American laws, but from illegal purchases of guns, as it does in other countries.  The American government in fact engaged in selling thousands of illegal weapons which officials now confess are likely to be used in crimes for decades in a failed attempt to gather information about narcotics rings, and mafia organizations.

With all of this in mind I’d like those who consider America to be any freer than its neighbors, or even free at all to consider the original Bill of Rights, designed to keep America a ‘free country’, and whether they are in fact doing so, or whether the American government has simply disregarded them completely.

The Bill of Rights (The first Ten Amendments to the United Stated Constitution):

• First Amendment – Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause; freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly; right to petition

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

• Second Amendment – Militia (United States), Sovereign state, Right to keep and bear arms.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.^[56]

• Third Amendment – Protection from quartering of troops.

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

• Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

• Fifth Amendment – due process, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, eminent domain.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

• Sixth Amendment – Trial by jury and rights of the accused; Confrontation Clause, speedy trial, public trial, right to counsel

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

• Seventh Amendment – Civil trial by jury.

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

• Eighth Amendment – Prohibition of excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

• Ninth Amendment – Protection of rights not specifically enumerated in the Constitution.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

• Tenth Amendment – Powers of States and people.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

I do not observe these facts out of an interest to dissuade protesters in East Europe, or indeed anywhere else in the world, from pursuing a free and transparent government that protects the interests of those it represents.  Instead I ask that they consider what can be the true intentions of those so loudly calling foreign nations un-free.  With Time Magazine calling the protestor the ‘Person of the Year’; what are they doing to help American’s maintain their freedom?  Not much.  Mean time their parent company, as well as News Corporation, have used on numerous occasions falsified or modified footage to deride other nations as un-free, and oppressed.

What can be more oppressed than a people lied to by their press, over worked, and over taxed, unable to elect representation outside the established two parties, which are of course only one party better than a dictatorship, all the while being told they are the freest nation on Earth?

by Author: Vasily Georgevich

The views of the above author are not strictly the views of Windows to Russia. They are an independent view from an outside source and country that brings a better light on the world in general and Windows to Russia is pleased to have Vasily Georgevich’s article on its pages today. It is hoped that we will have many more of his writings in the future…

Windows to Russia!

The Playground is still hardpacked ice and snow...

It finally has happened and it is possible to say Spring is here in Moscow. The birds are singing, the days are long and the weather is warm. Well warm as +1 or +2 Celsius can be. But it is Spring and the snow has finally started to melt faster than it comes out of the sky, in fact the surefire sign that Spring is here is that it has started to rain instead of snow. Or we get lots of sleet also. That is Spring…

Also we get huge rivers and puddles of water everywhere backed up by damns of snow and ice. Some piles of ice are so huge that they literally will never melt and workers are assigned to chop them up into smaller chunks, so that mother nature can take care of what man piled up, off the sidewalks and roads…

Sveta is interesting to talk to at times. I say the weather man has said the temperature will reach +10 this week. Sveta says, “If he is not lying!” Then she will say,”They tell a lie to make everyone happy for a few days!” Then I say, “Oh, that is what you said last time and you were correct!”

Sveta knows how they do things here and I try to look at the future weather reports and have always been fooled…

Sveta says, that you can not look any farther than a few days on a 10 day forecast, because after the first few days it becomes false…

So I have learned to to try to do the same, but today I glanced at the future temperatures 5 days from now. +27 Celsius is what the weather report is for long term. I then looked out the window and saw two feet of snow and 1 foot of ice still on the ground. I realized that even if it wanted to get up to +27 Celsius that it could not unless a volcano appeared right in the middle of Moscow and turned the place into a inferno. Then it might melt that fast…

It is like a refrigerator outside and until the snow and ice is gone, the old icebox or ice chest will stay near freezing. For that is what we are right now, an old time icebox that will not warm up or dry out until that last load of ice is gone and from my window there still is a lot of snow and ice left to melt…

I say about two weeks and then the flowers will be able to poke their heads up and start to bloom. Also the trees will be able to start budding here very soon. I know that me and a whole bunch of Russians are waiting for that to happen…

Spring may be late in Russia but when it comes, I know of no one else on earth that appreciates it anymore than Russians. The Winter is so long and will come again so soon that in a few weeks Russians will be planting all the plants that they have growing on their balconies and their dachas will be full of guests and joy…

I hope that Sveta and I can get to the village before long…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

Orthodox Christians will begin celebrating the first week of Passover. On Monday (April 9th, 2012), the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill will hold a liturgy in the Donskoy Monastery of the capital…

During the holiday period it is traditional that churches will keep their doors open as a sign that through his death, Christ has opened the way for people to heaven…

Also, according to tradition, anyone can climb the church tower and ring the bell, sharing with others Easter joy…

More Easter Traditions in Russia:

In Russia and several other parts of the world Easter is observed through one whole week. Each day of the week is referred by unique names and traditions. It is believed that most of the traditions followed during Easter have been derived from pagan and Christian beliefs…

Easter in Russia begins with the popular custom of triple kissing followed by exchange of eggs stuffed with goodies as a present. This is the most distinguishing feature of celebrating Easter in Russia…

The very beginning of the Easter is marked with people gather at sunrise early in the morning. This way they predict the weather of the forthcoming summer…

Wearing new clothes is a very important part of Russian Easter. It symbolizes the beginning of new life. It is believed that the tradition is followed since the early days of Christianity. The story goes like hundreds of people were baptized at sunrise to adapt Christianity on the first Easter day and were made to wear new clothes as a part of the custom…

People these days generally start wearing new clothes after the end of Lent. People of all age group, specially the young kids are seen in bright and very colorful clothes. The most popular color of Easter is red…

A common belief of Easter is that the gates to heaven remain open during this whole week. And whoever dies goes straight to the heaven during the Easter week…

Days of the week of Russian Easter:

Monday and Tuesday: The first two days of the Easter week is referred as ‘Bathing’. The custom of the event is to douse water over those who are caught sleeping during the morning service. This is a very fun event and is taken part and enjoyed by all…

Wednesday: The third day of the Easter week is popularly known as ‘Hailing’. The common tradition is not to work on the Wednesday during Easter to keep the crops safe from hail and sleet…

Thursday: This is the fourth day of the Easter week and is one of the most important days of the festival. Those who have died are remembered through prayers for the whole day…

Friday: This is the day of mercy and is referred as the ‘Forgiveness Day’. Friends, relatives and close ones seek forgiveness from each other through various day long events…

Saturday: A fun filled day as the weekend begins is the day of ‘Round-Dancing’. People dress up in beautiful attire and gather together to take part in dance parties…

Sunday: This is the most important day and is known as ‘Red Hill’. This is when Easter is observed welcoming the beginning of spring. A straw figure is made and placed at the summit of the hill. Men and women from all parts of the city gather to sit in a circle, and sing and dance. Since wedding is not allowed during Lent, this day is observed as a matchmaking time. It is believed that girls and boys will finally get their perfect partner that will end in marriage…

So there you have in in a nutshell!

Orthodox Easter is different from the Western Easter that I grew up with in America. This article by far does not cover all traditions of Russian Easter but it will give you an idea…

Another neat tradition for Easter in Russia: http://windowstorussia.com/russia-has-willow-sunday.html

Have a nice Easter and I know that Easter is being celebrated already in the West. But in the East we have lots of fun times yet until the Easter is officially here…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

Search Windows to Russia for Orthodox Easter…

A 17-year-old student from Texas is to become the first American to graduate from the world’s leading ballet school, the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Joy Womack has lived by herself in Moscow, Russia, for three years, more than 6,000 miles away from her home in Austin, to attend the school. Now, after years of dancing for 10 hours a day and six days a week, Joy is preparing to sit her finals and graduate in May.

Joy Womack began dancing at the age of three in a dance exploration class in a small gym in Los Angles. In the summer of 2009, Joy received a unique opportunity to be featured in the commencement gala of the Bolshoi Ballet’s Summer Intensive in New York City. This was her first opportunity to expand a solo repertoire and she danced title roles in Paquita, Don Quixote, and Character roles. She was saluted by the director of the academy, Marina Leonova.

She is the only American dancer to be offered a three year contract with the Bolshoi in Moscow that year. As of August 30, 2009, Joy studies full time in the Russian student only program at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, also known as theMoskovskaya Gosudarstvennaya Academiya Choreografie.

Since studying with the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, she has been invited to study in the Russian course and graduate with the Russians. This being a rare opportunity in contrast to the normal admittance of foreign students into foreign classes.

Joy has risen to the challenge and has gained mastery over the Russian language over the short time of studying in the school. She was the only first course student to dance a soloist role with the Premiere of Yuri Gregorievich’s La Fille Mal Gardee.

Since working at the school Joy has had the opportunity to dance La Fille Mal Gardee pas de deux with Artemy Belykov, a third course principal in the school.

Most recently, Henry and Joy also performed as rose waltz soloists in the Peter Pestov Gala with artists from the Bolshoi Ballet. Her teachers are currently preparing her for the lead in La Fille Mal Gardee next year. She eagerly looks forward to these challenges and is thankful to all who have helped her in this exciting process. In the summer of 2010, Joy once again took part in the Bolshoi Ballet Summer Intensive in cooperation with the Russian American Foundation.

Joy also had the opportunity to learn works of the talented and renowned choreographer Avichai Scher. On scholarship as a student representative of the Bolshoi, Joy had the opportunity to dance principle roles while bridging Russian and American cultures with the Russian and American participants.

Windows to Russia!

It’s impossible! Six hours on the street. Hundreds of gorgeous pictures of deer, reindeer, chumrabotnits, people and animals. Then three hours at the computer. To select the most-most of the hundreds of pictures of deer, reindeer, chumrabotnits, people and animals. And then – a few more hours to put it all in ChUMoteku. How much does it happen? ChUMrabotnitsa believes that it has fulfilled chsetno April 7 – World Health Day, also known as the Annunciation, he Runet day, he’s “Syamyanhat Meret” (fastest) – Competition herders.

So you, dear friends, I do not blame me. It may cut down hundreds of ChUMrabotnitsa still a lot left. Look. To penetrate. Into their heads dangle…  (LINK)

Translate the page and then translate the blog. It is a read worth taking the time for. Read a little and learn a lot about people different than what you know and see…

What a wonderful world we live in to have such variety and spice of life…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

Source: http://www.chumoteka.ru/2012/04/blog-post_07.html

http://www.chumoteka.ru/

At one point during sentencing, which lasted for over an hour, the prosecutor said that Viktor Bout had agreed to sell weapons to kill Americans, to which Bout shouted out, “It’s a lie!” He told the judge he “never intended to kill anyone” and said, “God knows this truth.”

Addressing the court for the first time and speaking through an interpreter, Bout said that he had never intended to kill anyone or sell arms to anyone and he said the truth was known to “those people” at which point he turned around and pointed at the DEA agents who had testified against him. That is according to RT correspondent Marina Portnaya, who attended the sentencing hearing.

Bout also added that the people who brought the allegations against him would have to raise their children knowing the truth. He turned around and pointed at the agents again and said, “Let God forgive you. You will have to answer to him not to me.”

I believe him, he has been sold out by the very people that hired him, but what he can not ever understand is that the DEA agents sold their souls along time ago for greed. They sleep at night because they have money in their pocket for playing the system for politics. It is their god – Money…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

Superficially, turning to trade protectionism will improve a country’s international payment conditions and its economic structural adjustment, but it will also aggravate the shrinking of the global economy and further increase the costs for countries trying to emerge from the lingering international financial crisis. Trade wars will also result in distorted resources distribution in the countries involved and undercut the efficiency of global economic development.

The Obama administration knows this, but plagued by domestic economic woes, it has chosen to instigate trade wars, turning a blind eye to the fact that such acts contravene its own long-standing calls for trade liberalization.

The US is confronted with high unemployment and an economy that is undergoing another long and profound “cyclical adjustment”. Although there have been some signs of economic recovery and the jobless rate has declined following the introduction of innovation-led measures, there is still a large army of non-technical laborers who can’t find jobs.

The “Occupy Wall Street” movement and other protests across the US over the past year have prompted the Obama administration to seek every available means to create jobs in a bid to boost his re-election chances. Similarly, the “re-industrialization” strategy put forward by the Obama administration is also a reflection of its intention of playing the trade card with China to regain the China-bound low-end industries and resolve the issue of employment for its low-end labor.

The US also views trade wars as an important means to regulate the US’ economic contest with China. Compared with Washington’s struggling efforts to change its economic and financial deficits since the start of the global financial crisis, China, as the largest holder of US debt, has greatly consolidated its position in the global economic arena. Whether in trade or in the build-up of its real economy or in the internationalization of its financial strategy, China has demonstrated a positive and proactive approach. In particular, its efforts to promote reforms of the international monetary system and its efforts to push for internationalization of its currency, have all been viewed by Washington as a huge challenge to an indebted US that has witnessed the decline of its international reputation.

Washington regards reversing its trade deficit with China and preventing the decline of the US dollar as the world’s hegemonic currency as top priorities. At the same time, containing the continuous expansion of China’s trade surplus is also believed to be an important way to check the threat to its long-established economic dominance.

The US-spearheaded trade wars against China under the US-dominated world’s economic pattern will have extremely unfavorable effects on China’s trade relations with its other trade partners. Given that trade wars waged by one country can easily spread to the rest of the world in an era of economic interdependence, the US’ protectionist practices are likely to cause other countries to follow suit. This, if it becomes reality, will cast a huge shadow over the already-fragile global economy.

In the face of increasingly complicated trade wars, China should continue adhering to its policy of trade liberalization, especially as its domestic demand is yet to be fully cultivated. At the same time, it should try to increase its international policy coordination with other countries and take advantage of the platform of international organizations and other multilateral cooperative channels to increase imports from the US or other trade partners who suffer trade deficits with it to prevent China alone sustaining the cost for international payment imbalances. China can also consider working together with other nations enjoying a trade surplus with US to adopt voluntary measures to help the US create job opportunities instead of allowing Washington to implement a quantitative easing monetary policy.

China should be well aware that any of its measures to promote industrial upgrading, structural adjustment or increase incomes, if not suitable for its current national conditions, will possibly have unwanted economic results. The accelerated adoption of an impracticable industrial upgrading strategy is very likely to force young sectors to abandon industrial development and enter the fictional economic field, which will fuel the growth of bubbles.

The author is vice-dean of the School of Economics at Fudan University.

The views of the above author are not strictly the views of Windows to Russia. They are an independent view from an outside source and country that brings a better light on the world in general and Windows to Russia is pleased to have the article on its pages today. It is hoped that we will have many more in the future…

Windows to Russia!

Greek Orthodox Easter Dates Starting 2012 till 2024:

2012 – Easter Sunday – April 15th
2013 – Easter Sunday – May 5th
2014 – Easter Sunday – April 20th
2015 – Easter Sunday – April 12th
2016 – Easter Sunday – May 1st
2017 – Easter Sunday – April 16th
2018 – Easter Sunday – April 8th
2019 – Easter Sunday – April 28th
2020 – Easter Sunday – April 19th
2021 – Easter Sunday – May 2nd
2022 – Easter Sunday – April 24th
2023 – Easter Sunday – April 16th
2024 – Easter Sunday – May 5th

Sorry but this is not the Western Easter days…

Windows to Russia!

The Ministry of Transport wants to allow air passengers to keep their shoes on and has proposed changing security procedures at Russian airports. This is based on sole and heel thickness and they will allow people to keep belts on that are 4 centimeters or less wide. No this is not done by a new dangled piece of dangerous equipment like America keeps promising. It is called simply seeing the need to change the rules to help passengers have a better flight… (Oh My!)

Now that is another pleasant surprise coming from Russia. That is the only hassle when crossing borders all over the world. Taking shoes off. I laugh every time when I do it, because I think of the old show, “Get Smart!” He had a phone in his shoe…

Now it looks as if taking shoes off at the Russian border will be a thing of the past as long as your shoes are not crazy super thick soled shoes or something…

Strange how I am watching a Russia develop so differently than America. The mind set is so different between the two countries…

I use to think that there was not a whole lot of differences between Russia and the USA, but now I see that many times it is night and day in the thinking’s between the two countries and most of that is the governments thinking’s. America really needs to clean house on the American government. My grandma would have said, “Out with the old and in with the new!”

So while rubber bullet guns are becoming the main police weapon in Russia, us common travelers will not have to take our shoes off anymore just to cross an international border. If you ever decide to travel to Russia you will see a huge difference in the border crossings between Western countries and Eastern countries…

So how is crossing that American border going for you? TSA loves you, more than you know…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

PS: I am so glad now I can travel with my phone in my shoe again… 🙂