Category: Russia

Baby boom drives plot for latest toy story | Russia Beyond The Headlines.

Russia’s population is no longer dwindling, as the birth rate has been steadily rising since 2009. So much so, that in 2011 Russia became the largest market in Europe for children’s goods as parents splash out on the cute clothing and toys they never had when they were growing up in the former Soviet Union…

A firefighting helicopter has been dispatched to help put out a blaze on the 67th floor of a skyscraper under construction in Moscow.

“A Ka-32 helicopter will be deployed to extinguish the fire,” a law enforcement source told RIA Novosti.

The fire broke out just before sunset at 8:00 p.m. in the Federation Tower, which will be Russia’s tallest building at 93 floors upon completion in 2013.

A trail of thick black smoke from the blaze was visible for miles around until sunset. With the coming dark the bright red glare of the blaze itself could be seen at the very top of the unfinished building, located in Moscow City, a cluster of modern high-rise office buildings located about a kilometer from the Russian government White House.

The blaze currently covers about 300 square meters, Rossiya 24 television reported. That is up from 50 square meters reported earlier by the city emergencies ministry, but Rossiya 24 said the size of the blaze seems to be diminishing, mainly due to the efforts of the water-dumping Ka-32.

The fire is being fueled by the insulation, tarpaulins and other construction supplies and materials located on the top floors of the unenclosed structure, and is being fanned by high winds.

There have been no casualties from the fire so far, an emergencies ministry official told Rossiya 24.

If we want to understand the reasons behind the Russian protests in the run up to the presidential elections in 2012, then we need to distinguish between the organizers of the protests and the mass of the demonstrators that showed up on the most populous rallies gathering a crowd of some 40 to 50 thousands.

The organizers consist of a wide array of political groupings ranging from rightist liberals to racist nationals and communist anarchists. These people are naturally not unified in any kind of a political program and merely form a Coalition of the Willing driven by the farfetched idea to overthrow Putin and his party by means of street protests and anarchy using the methods of color revolutions. But these people are lagging behind the people they claim to represent for the Russian electorate has matured enough to analyze politics and social questions with their own brains and make their decisions after weighing the pros and cons of complex matters. In another article, The Disparate Russian Opposition, I wrote about the protest organizers, the “opposition,” and the political map of Russia. Here I want to dwell a bit on the participants that followed the call in masses of 40 to 50 thousand people at the most populous rallies.

The bulk of the hardcore protesters close to the organizers, some 5 to 10 thousand people, consisted of such strange bedfellows as the so-called liberal intelligentsia and the racist nationalists. But at the last major attempt to a massive protest on March 10 on Moscow’s Novy Arbat, the nationalists made a show of splitting off with the liberals demonstratively leaving the scene and promising not to join forces with the liberals any further.

With the nationalist leaving some 5 thousand people were left, consisting mainly of the liberal intelligentsia, who get their news from Echo Moscow radio station, the internet journal gazeta.vru (that is not a printing error, vru is Russian for lying), and Radio Liberty. These people are the successors of the Soviet cultural elite who proclaimed themselves “Intelligentsia” in praise of their supposed superior intelligence compared to that of the “mob,” as they think of their fellow citizens. The spiritual roots of this “Intelligentsia” date back to the 19^th and 20^th century pre-revolutionary Russia. It has been opposing and conspiring against the powers ever since the Decembrist revolt in 1825. It was the “Intelligentsia” who brought about the revolution of 1917, the movement, after the chaos they sowed, having been hijacked by Lenin and the Bolsheviks resulting in the not-so-liberal Soviet Union. It is also the liberal intelligentsia that in turn worked to bring down the same Soviet Union. And now they are at it again.

It is interesting to note that the more these people think of themselves as superior in intellect the thirstier they get for bloody revolutions and chaos as a means of self-affirmation. Recently it has been highlighted how the turn of the 19^th and 20^th century writers Ivan Bunin and Fyodor Dostoevsky already identified the destructive and negative character of this self-proclaimed “Intelligentsia” in terms that are completely applicable to their modern day successors.

In Cursed Days (based on his diaries of 1918-1920), Bunin wrote about the revolutionary intelligentsia: “It is terrible to say, but true: were it not for the human disasters, thousands of intellectuals would have felt themselves very miserable. What reason then would there have been to gather, to protest, what to scream for and write about?” This is what gave grounds to the idealism of the Intelligentsia, Bunin concluded: “in essence an idealism of a very lordly nature, an eternal opposition, criticism, of everything and everyone. For after all criticizing is so much easier to do than actually creating something by your own work.” And “the most distinctive features of the revolution,” Bunin noted was “a mad lust for the game, play-acting, posture, farce. It brought out the animal in humans.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky in turn wondered in his diaries over the nature of the Russian liberals saying: “why is our European leaning liberal so often the enemy of the Russian people? Why then do the people that in the very Europe call themselves democrats always side with the people, or at least rely on their support, while our democrat is often an aristocrat who at the end of the day almost always serves the interests that suppress the popular force and end in domineering of the people by the superior ones.”

The film director and Putin’s campaign manager Stanislav Govorukhin recently also quite aptly quipped the dark essence of the Intelligentsia.

Depending from what point of view to look at it, I find the concept “Intelligentsia” ridiculous and repulsive. It is ridiculous that certain people from the arts, culture, media and the leisured classes in general refer to themselves as “Intelligentsia” with the connotation that they consider themselves “the intellectual elite of the society,” with the further connotation that they regard themselves more intelligent than others. But the average journalist, detective fiction writer, painter, and rock musician is certainly not any better endowed than his fellow citizen to judge and pronounce on matters of social life and democracy. And it is outright repulsive when the people of this self-proclaimed “Intelligentsia” move on to really regard themselves as an “elite” whose opinions are supposed to count more than those of the vast majority of people whom they despise.

Naturally it is only to be recommended that artists, other cultural workers, philosophers and such people participate in political activity, as long as they understand that they do not form any special class of “Intelligentsia.” In fact, only normal people free from such kind of vanity can properly and intelligently judge life around us.

Picture: Ilya Repin’s 17 October, 1905. -Members of the liberal intelligentsia rabidly demanding a revolution in Russia already in 1905. Note how interestingly Repin has captured the spirit of these revolutionaries in their bizarre facial expressions.

It was neither the nationalists nor the liberal intelligentsia that made up the bulk of the protesters but, as I affirm, basically apolitical affluent urban dwellers. Most political pundits refer to them as the “Middle Class.” But this is wrongheaded and based on a total miscomprehension of the concept Middle Class, a miscomprehension unfortunately shared by people of all political preferences. The mistake is to define Middle Class exclusively through the prism of people’s purchasing power (affluence) while it should be recognized that more fundamentally it is to be defined through social, cultural and historic factors. I doubt that the concept has much utility for describing social relations in virtually classless European democracies of the 21^st century, like Russia. The concept developed in another age for societies that were literally organized according to adherence to classes. There were the classes of feudal landlords, clergy, bourgeois and peasants. Middle Class emerged to denote the salaried and educated urban people that could not be assigned to any of the aforementioned classes. But today all the other classes are gone (at least what comes to number and political influence), and instead the designation of Middle Class fits most all people. Nowadays the differences between people derive to a very small degree from the historic roots of a class society (especially in Russia which is the successor to the USSR where classes were eradicated, whether we are happy or not with the fact and how it happened) and are more based on personal fortunes and misfortunes, health and interests. With universal schooling and a radical change in living conditions in the rural areas and those of factory workers, I am very skeptical of the idea to exclude even those people from the denomination. Considering the ethnic and regional diversity of Russia, I may accede to the idea that not all people of Russia would qualify for being included in Middle Class, but at least 60 to 70% should be counted in (although I then still have a problem with determining who is to be counted out).

No better is the neologism “creative class” by which some political observers refer to the protesters. I wonder what these people are supposed to ever have created. The adventures of detective Fandorin, or what? For sure they did not create the iPhones and iPads with which to access their Facebooks and Twitters.

People who have their thinking rooted in concepts instead of observed reality insist that in Russia only some 20%, or maximum 30%, constitute the Middle Class (interesting then, to which class do the rest belong?). They arrive at this conclusion by analyzing the figures of economic purchasing power and pronounce that only those people that can afford a second car, so and so many trips abroad, and a “euroremont” of their flats qualify. But if these are the criteria, then I definitely insist that we rather define these people by their iPhones and iPads. In fact, just for this propensity to use the latest gadgets and the mass hysteria social media, I prefer to refer to the bulk of the protesters as the iClass. (I owe this concept to a Russian friend of mine who first called these people the “iPhonchiki”). – Curiously enough a market survey (www.smartmarketing.ru) conducted at the site of protests on Bolotnaya Square revealed that the iPhones and iPads of Apple were predominant among the demonstrators, the iPhone being held by 49% of smartphone users while it only represents some 6% of the total Russian market of smartphones.

What motivates the iClass does not lend itself to a political analysis rather it is a question of social psychology and an analysis of the phenomena of mass hysteria. Many of the protesters are what we used to call young urban professionals, yuppies. Their grouch with Russia is that it is not like the West: the climate is not right, the beaches are far off, traffic is unbearable, service is poor, and the bureaucrats rude. Well-to-do and mobile they travel a lot. In the West all is better, they are convinced. They have been there. “Nothing to complain about the living conditions and quality of government,” they think after the experience of staying at elite hotels in the glimmering capitals of the world and the jet-set resorts. And what can beat tax-free shopping in London and Milan!

Back in Russia to stuff their pockets, they don’t realize that the 13% tax they pay on their income is only a fraction of what the Western governments grab from their citizens. (Funny enough, in the recent World Bank study on the competitiveness of Russian economy, they cite, approvingly, a study according to which Russians consider this lowest income tax in the world excessive). In Russia they are free to do with their money what they want. A liberal haven. But they don’t get it.

The iClass has a good command of English, so they have access to the constant Western propaganda directed against Russia in the Western media. They think they are privy to privileged truths. And they act upon that. All what is wrong they learn from the “free press.” The same press that lies that their protests gather 100 thousand people “braving the bitter cold” and that pro-Putin protests consisting of “bussed in, paid for, and intimidated state employees” garner only 20 thousand (as the venerable Associated Press lied to the global public). Many of them work in Western companies which usually run a more rewarding corporate culture than their Russian peers. They deal with happy foreign management with liberal expat compensation packages and hygienic corporate offices. “This is cool, West is better, Why aren’t we like that,” the iPhonchik thinks.

“I’m different, I am independent, I think for myself,” they learn from the iClass social media which they blindly trust – collectively. All converge in their new found independence. Independently they joined the cheers of 30 or 40 thousand of their copies and shouted “Russia without Putin” – hoping the climate would change.

My point is that the iClass protests were driven by perceptions of Russia versus the West (their West of the elite hotels – not the homes with the 15 degree winter room temperature due to lack of central heating, or the households of the 40 to 60% personal income tax).

It is against this psychological backdrop that the real problems of Russia can be exploited, some of which represent fundamental political problems and a couple of mistakes of the leading powers.

Picture: Protests December 5, 2012. The liberal intelligentsia singing the same old song.

The real fundamental problems are corruption and bureaucracy, both inherited from the Soviet Union and aggravated in the years of criminal anarchy of the 1990’s. But the iClass does not have any sense of history and no interest to analyze causes and effects. For them Putin is to be blamed just as he is to be blamed for the harsh winter, and the sweltering summer and forest fires. Twelve years in power and still corruption and bureaucracy, the iClass social media tells them to think. At the same time the propaganda they are the targets for tells that Putin is a repressive autocrat, who must be opposed by any means. But this just signifies that they share with Putin the rejection of repression as a means to cure the problems of corruption, but further than that their cognitive processes do not carry. They don’t understand that it has been a fundamental condition to enable the fight against corruption to establish a central power with the main state functions in reality being subordinated to the government, something that has been achieved only in the last two or three years. There was no central government when Putin came to power, but now there are the rudiments of it. It is only now, first time in some 90 years, that the Russian state has acquired a legislative base and political force to tackle the problem in an intelligent and effective way. And now because the real Middle Class re-elected Putin we can expect that the fight against corruption will bear tangible results within next two to four years.

But although a lot has been made to fight the manifestations of an excessive, abusive and absurd bureaucracy it is not enough. The efforts here should be seriously stepped up to deliver fast and tangible results. And no doubt it will happen, and that will be the best result of the iClass revolution. Here the government really needs to be on the right side of history.

Then finally we have the problems of the government’s own making: the image of United Russia, the party of power, and the news programs of the state owned channels.

After the Duma elections both Medvedev and Putin acknowledged the image problem of United Russia which is mainly anchored in lining the party leadership and electoral lists with bureaucrats, mayors, and governors who lack popular appeal and a real interest to any kind of political ideology. (Other thing, that the ideology itself is not well articulated. For my part I suggest to build it around a platform of Social Liberalism and Patriotism). They occupy their positions in the party hierarchy and electoral lists the same way a bureaucrat is appointed. Many find that repulsive and do not bother any further with the ideology or political program.

The state-controlled television news have done a lot to destroy the image of Putin and Medvedev by constantly devoting so much of the air time to the daily activities of these political leaders. My impression has been that one third of the time goes to showing what Medvedev has done during the day, one third to Putin and the rest to other news. If somebody thinks that this kind of publicity works in favor of these politicians then they are dead wrong.

To conclude, we see that there is no Arab Spring in the air. We have a host of real and perceived problems. And it seems that the people around Putin have identified the real ones. The fight against corruption is now real and will bring results; daily life will be facilitated and bureaucracy will be cut down with tangible results in the coming years; United Russia will be given a facelift and hopefully turned into a real people’s party; and there are encouraging signs that the television is changing. Together with continuing economic growth thanks to Putin’s social liberal program these measures will secure the needed support for the government.

The writer (Jon Hellevig) is a Finnish lawyer and Managing Partner of Hellevig, Klein & Usov (www.hkupartners.com) who has lived in Moscow for 15 years. He has written the book Expressions and Interpretations (www.hellevig.ru) discussing Russia’s social development from the viewpoint of philosophy and philosophy of law. He is also the author of several books on the Russian tax and labor law…

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 Jon Hellevig’s article on its pages today. It is hoped that we will have many more of his writings in the future…

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Last night it snowed some more and that has been the normal for almost every night for a week. This photo is taken on April 2nd, 2012 and gives you a good idea of what it looks like outside as I walk Boza. It is Spring and the snow is melting but in Russia it seems that Spring is just that. The melting of all the snow that accumilates over the Winter…

Spring is not a time to enjoy flowers in Moscow. We get to enjoy puddles of water and snow everyday. Soon we will have Summer and by then the Spring and snow is gone… 🙂

It is strange to see everyone plant all their seeds inside, like we do tomatoes every year. It is the only way to get a jump start on your veggies for good health. Peoples balcony at the flats become little green houses. Makes sense…

I see a Russia that uses survival methods and that is why they have such an advantage over Americans. In America so few of us understand what to do to take care of ourselves with out government intervention. In Russia they don’t have a government that helps them hand and foot. So hence they have to survive by their wits…

That is why I love Russia. It is so different from anywhere else that I have lived…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

Russia will require reports from every family in the United States who adopts a Russian child. This was announced by the Commissioner under the President of Russia on the Rights of the Child Pavel Astakhov. US-Russian agreement on cooperation in the field of adoptions made in the State Duma for ratification on Friday. Astakhov stressed the need for urgent ratification of the document, “to get Americans to fulfill their obligations and ensure the rights of Russian children.” Since 1996, American host families have killed 19 children from Russia, says the press office of the Ombudsman. Several cases are still ongoing. (RIAN)

From what I understand Putin has been working on even banning forever adoption by Americans. The issue of adopted first by Russians has become forefront and foremost. The word is that if Americans will not promise a record trail on the adopted child and allow a Russian check on the children at least until they reach 18 years old then no adoption will take place…

This new program has been laid out by Pavel Astakhov who is in charge of the adoption situation in Russia and believe you me Pavel Astakhov, has a lot of respect in Russia and what he wants will happen. Medvedev gave him total control over the situation for children and Putin has followed suit…

I just do not see America complying with what Russia wants, because of all the rules and regulations to keep adopted children from know who their real parents are in America. Russians do not understand tat type of thinking and hence, you adopt you tell the child who his real parents are. Hence the child should be taught Russians as well as English. Hence the child has the right to know that he or she was Russian. Also not only be told at an early age but allowed to bask in the Russian heritage as much as the American heritage…

People in America like to play games with adopted children and never want that child to never know that they have other parents. I guess it is a psychological issue. Hmm…

I do not know because I never was adopted or never adopted anyone, but I do know many that where and some of them were lied to all their lives, until an accident caused them to find out that they were adopted. The pain and hurt was vastly exceeded by the fact that their parents lied bold faced and pretended that they were natural born to them. I saw it many times and never understood why this was this way…

I guess fear of rejection by the child in the future is greater than the fear of repercussions of the truth ever being told… 🙁

Love breaks boundaries and if they love the child then the truth is appropriate for all parties involved. Even if the child is adopted at birth, they still deserve to know what their past is and to embrace that past, however they feel to embrace it…

Kyle Keeton

The Russian Interior Ministry is planning to spend 45 million rubles ($1.6 mln) on the purchase of 3,800 non-lethal pistols for police officers, which means that precinct inspectors, traffic and transport policemen on duty will be armed with PB-4SP Osa handguns instead of conventional 9-mm Makarov pistols…

Other words trade a 9-mm, gun-powdered propelled chunk of lead at 519 joules for an 18-mm rubber bullet with metal reinforced core that is equipped with a laser pointer. Its muzzle energy is limited by law to 91 joules. Big difference and this is a Russian answer to life in Russia…

This should make you think about what your police are carrying at your spot in the world…

Sometimes I just go – Hmm…

While the swat teams rule back at my home country, the Russians are going to use rubber bullets instead of real bullets…

Man, that coffee is really good right now…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

# Warning this post contains the word terrorist and that could be detrimental to your reading pleasure. Reading an article with the word terrorist in it may put you on a blacklist of suspected evil people, that will harm your pristine reputation in many ways. The American government has made the word terrorist to be a very taboo subject and remember only the government can stop terrorists. So you have been warned and all offending terrorist words have been crossed out to show what you do not need to read… #

A quote from Jim Rogers says, “There is nothing like crossing outlaying borders for gaining insight into a country.”

From airport check-in to plane in the air, takes virtually no time in most airports in the world, except the land of the free and the home of the brave. From the plane landing to grabbing a taxi at most airports in the world, takes virtually no time, except the land of the free and home of the brave…

Sveta and I travel a lot! Sometimes I tell you about it, sometimes I do not. This time I have mentioned and talked about when Sveta and I just traveled to Georgia. What I have not talked about is crossing the borders once again from Russia to another country and back from said country to Russia…

If you asked Sveta what country is the worse in the world to cross the border into? She would tell you the USA! If you ask me what country is the worst to cross the border at? I would tell you the same as Sveta! The USA and I am a USA citizen and not a Russian citizen like she is. Hmm – you would think that my being a American citizen would make things better for me to cross an American border. Not gonna happen…

Going through the border at the Russian Moscow Domodedovo Airport was about a 15 minute affair and was polite, smooth and painless. Never at one time did someone lay a hand on us or tried to harass us in any way. In fact it was such a well organized, swift and pleasant experience. That when we were done Sveta and I could not believe that it was over. We were standing in the International Zone in a daze it went so fast…

Coming back from Georgia was the same (15 to 20 min.), except one little thing! Sveta had in the bottom of her purse, (which by the way her purse has things in it from 20 years ago, like many women’s purses have) a pair of toe/finger nail scissors. Georgia caught my “Terrorist Russian Woman” red handed and confiscated those scissors so that she would not be able to attack the jet and its occupants while in flight. Now this was the same purse and same scissors that have traveled at least two years with the scissors in the bottom of her purse… Hmm…

It dawned on me while contemplating why they would worry about such a trivial thing in my wife’s purse, when I had a wooden Popsicle stick in my bag that could easily be made into a weapon that I could kill you just as fast and easy as a tiny small fingernail scissor could kill you. In fact as a kid we turned Popsicle sticks into very dangerous weapons, in rubber band guns that we made. I seem to remember some birds and a squirrel that would give testament that they (Popsicle sticks) are deadly in the hands of a 8 year old, if those little creatures had lived – that is…

*** Also it just dawned on me while writing this that I had toe nail clippers on me, in my pocket of my pants, that had a pull out nail file made of steel and believe you me when I say that a 2 inch blade of nail file will do more damage then what Sveta was stopped over. Should make you think… ***

But Georgia was a very efficient and easy crossing and I just like to pick on Sveta, as I now jokingly call her my “Terrorist Russian Woman”. But hey they let her fly… 🙂

So if you want to see what America is about, then travel to India, China, Russia, Georgia and a hundred other places. Then you will see that as Jim Rodgers says, “There is nothing like crossing outlaying borders for gaining insight into a country.”

So far nowhere that Sveta and I have traveled, unless it is a Western based country is a hassle. Well, except for Georgia and they stopped my terrorist Russian woman in her tracks and took her weapon of choice…

You (Americans) should really travel to another country soon, before you do not even get to do that simple pleasure of life. I see that the Western borders are slowly clamping shut and one day you will be looking out as the world goes by. But hey you will be safe – huh!

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

PS: So I hope that by you reading this article with the word terrorist in it, that you will not be harmed in anyway by any form of anti-terrorists activity in America or elsewhere in the world. For this really is not a terrorist article and this article in no way imposes any type of terrorist activity. Well except maybe the part about the Popsicle sticks (and nail file attached to a nail clippers) could be twisted by a mental midget and formulate a new idea of what to look for in terrorist weapons. I see you are scared that you read the article now! You should be, the article was full of terrorist words…

We are watching important times in the world and if you are smart you will take your news from outside sources from the mainstream. The clock is ticking and the hands are moving non stop. The world is getting ready for a world with out the Western Empire in the lead. I once wrote many articles called something like – Change is in the wind! Several parts were written. People disagreed with me but I promise you, the balance of power is shifting in the world and it is a natural process that has happened all through time…

The wind just blew today and in fact it blew several times. The day started with India telling the world that it will not stop buying Iranian oil. Now the BRICS stand together as is only correct…

The nations also plan to sign agreements facilitating banks to extend credit to other members in local currency in order to diminish role of the dollar in trade between them (BRICS).

The BRICS will also launch a benchmark equity index derivative shared by the stock exchanges of all the five nations as soon as Friday. The instruments could be bought in local currencies.

The nations also plan to sign agreements facilitating banks to extend credit to other members in local currency in order to diminish role of the dollar in trade between them.

Using national currencies would reduce macroeconomic risks, stressed Russian Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina. “All countries can face such risks this is why I believe it is very important to use national currencies in developing trade cooperation,” she said during the address at the summit.

Experts agree, the world needs more reserve currencies as the Western world slides into recession.

“The turnover among the BRICS countries is rising,” explains Lissovolik. “In this sense, boosting trade, boosting investment and boosting the role of currencies between BRICS would be a step toward creating a new reserve currency”.

I say hmmm…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

Today with that cup of coffee go some thinking’s! Lets just say that I will not get too involved with explaining my thinking’s, but I will tell you what I am thinking about and I promise that these thinking’s are very important and if you think they are not, then well you need to do some thinking’s of your own…

First let start with: Economic sanctions against the USSR imposed by America in 1974 (Jackson-Vanik amendment) could backfire on America this year as Russia joins the WTO! Then Russia who is very happy for America not to change the way things are going will have sanctions to impose upon America after they are in the WTO! Yes and now you know why Obama is jumping around like a upset rabbit and trying to get the amendment repealed. Why even the WTO will have to apply tremendous pressure to America and that will not look good in anyone’s book…

Tidbit of history: I was suspended for three days in High school because I wrote a paper on the Jackson-Vanik amendment! I was told to rewrite the paper to a better subject, either or support the Jackson-Vanik amendment in my paper. I refused and got a F and suspended, because I refused to accept that the Jackson-Vanik amendment was a positive thing and good Americans support it…

It is believed that the Jackson-Vanik amendment was a response to the Soviet Union’s “diploma taxes” levied on Jews attempting to emigrate, although amendment doesn’t specifically mention Jews and the tax applied to all Soviet citizens, not only the Jews…

(By the way! I was top of my graduation class and the reason I was not Valedictorian was because of this one incident!)

So this started the beginnings of a person in high school who knew that our government was as corrupt and terrible as any government in the world. What they did was reinforce the thinking’s that I had and made me realize that I was correct.  Cool huh?

Once again it is a case of the “pot calling the kettle black…”

Next lets do some thinking’s about SWIFT, which stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is a worldwide financial messaging network that exchanges messages between banks and other financial institutions. Guess what? The start of the demise of SWIFT is on its way…

As other countries become wary of the biased actions of a select club within the U.S., UK and EU, SWIFT may well find itself being replaced. After all, it has only been around since 1973, and was founded on the support of just 239 banks in 15 countries. Given that many do not agree with either the Iran sanctions – China, Russia, India, the members of the Economic Cooperation Organization and countries in South East Asia, Africa, and South America – it is clear that support is already there for a parallel or replacement system to SWIFT.

Cool huh, and the West only has itself to blame…

Next on the list: The Russian Parliament’s upper house, the Council of Federation, has approved the president-submitted bill to simplify the procedure of setting up political parties in Russia. Under the draft law, for a party to get registered, it should have at least 500 members, rather than 40,000, as before. A party cannot be abolished because of insufficient membership of its regional branches….

Now everyone can be a political party in Russia! Why I promise that I could get 500 members in an afternoon on the streets of Moscow. Why this is almost a party of one! I meet 500 people just walking the dog. This should be interesting to see what springs up from this movement by the government of Russia! I suspect that it has to do with slowing the rallies down…

They say that over a 100 applications have now been filled. I say 1000 possible by the end of the year. Cool huh…

So one last thought: Afghanistan – time to get out as the so called friendly people of Afghanistan kill our men. Time is up and the fact that we have made things much worse, just like we did in Iraq, is not helping things. Time to go home and take our high and mighty tails tucked between our legs! Just as we did in Nam…

Not cool huh!

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!