Category: Russia

President Medvedev’s supporters from Russia’s Big Government launched a new site late Friday -Rossiyabezdurakov.rf. (Russia without fools) where visitors can report any absurd or simply stupid bureaucratic decisions…

http://россиябездураков.рф/ is the site. If you are English speaking and wish to see what it is about, use Google translation. I tried it to see if the site would translate and it did with no problem. There is some interesting things on there, Some are just plain worthless and shows that people all over the world will complain about nothing. But some of them show how stupid things are in Russia just like they are in America…

One example: Someone wrote, “Asphalt is placed on the snow in my urban community. My question – how long it will last?” I had to laugh and think about the American joke we have about when we see workers on the highways and byways. You find it is common to see one guy working and 12 guys standing and watching. I have seen guys lay asphalt on two to three inches of hard pack snow in the middle of winter before in my lifetime… 🙂

I saw some really good statements and the comments are coming in at a fast pace. They are being looked at before they are posted, due to trolls and such. No cussing, hate and racist attitude will be allowed. I think that it is a good thing and it is a better thing to allow Russians a chance to voice their opinion. I just hope someone listens…

Fore some reason I think they will…

Kyle Keeton
Window to Russia!

Russia will not allow the Libyan scenario to be repeated in the region’s other countries. A statement to this effect was made by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as he summarized the results of the year 2011 and outlined the agenda for 2012 at a news conference on Wednesday.

Many of the conflicts that broke out in Arab countries in 2011 will remain hot issues in 2012. As changes in the troubled countries have just begun to take hold, the international community should refrain from meddling in their domestic affairs, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

“Nations should be free to choose what path of development they wish to follow and the international community should accept their choice. Foreign countries should refrain from interfering, let alone the use of force. What is happening in one country has nothing to do with what goes on in others. Other countries should focus on their own business and abide by the principle of ‘Do No Harm.”

A repetition of the Libya scenario has to be avoided at all costs. Unfortunately, some western countries attempted to pursue a similar scenario by offering their so-called “assistance” for resolving the crisis in Syria. Russia will do its utmost to obstruct a UN Security Council resolution on military intervention for Syria. Moscow has proposed a draft resolution which stipulates non-interference and non-use of force. China supported this wording. As for the western partners, they disagree on these two points and this cannot but cause concern.

In addition, Russia will be working to secure a diplomatic solution for the conflict involving Iran and will do whatever it can to settle it through negotiations. Sergei Lavrov had this to say.

“New unilateral sanctions against Iran are designed to stifle the Iranian economy and sow discontent among the Iranian people. Russia is confident that the chances for the talks between the six mediator countries and Iran to resume are quite good.”

Even though Tehran is not easy to deal with, it is willing to embark on a dialogue with the IAEA and allow inspections of its nuclear facilities. But the West itself isn’t always helpful at promoting such a dialogue. For example, the US and Iran have had no diplomatic relations for 30 years as Washington continues to insist that Iran is posing a major threat to global security.

When asked about Russia’s relations with the US, Sergei Lavrov said that they were of primary importance. Even though Moscow and Washington have established a successful partnership in global security, the differences between them are still there crying out for solution. The US’ plans to create a global missile defense system have been a stumbling block in bilateral relations for years. Sergei Lavrov expressed hope that Washington would opt in favor of joining international forces in the face of new challenges.

“The logic behind Russia’s stance is crystal clear. Russia will respond in an appropriate way if someone dares deploy weapons which pose a threat to its national security near its borders. As for our US partners, their motives are hard to grasp. On the one hand, they are saying that their missile defense plans are not aimed at breaking the nuclear balance. They argue that the missile defense shield is needed to guarantee them protection against missiles which could appear in countries outside Europe. On the other hand, they reject our offer to create a joint missile defense system which would pursue these very purposes.”

At present, however, there are no reasons to expect either a confrontation or a new arms race, Lavrov said.

The Russian Foreign Minister assured those present at the press conference that Russia’s foreign policy would undergo no changes in 2012. Russia will continue to seek to ensure favorable conditions for the country’s modernization, make every effort to ensure international stability, and continue to insist on collective decision-making in crisis situations.

Article Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/01/21/64323896.html

*** As I have said before. Lavrov starts the information flowing and then it expands exponentially to the president of Russia. Russia is making clear that peace is the solution but Russia will not stand idly by any more and watch the abuse that is happening within her realm of influence. Syria and Iran are in her area…

Windows to Russia!

I was thinking this morning over that cup of coffee that I would update what is happening on Windows to Russia and sub-domains. Yesterday was the first full day of smooth running, at least what was presented to the world as visible. It was a relief to my heart condition, I will tell you that. I have not been getting enough sleep and it was showing on me…

I am going to show you a section of a picture that Sveta took as a screen shot. We were hit yesterday by a huge “Brute Force Attack” behind the scenes  that lasted for hours. I finally discovered something to shut them down from now on after 5 attempts to force entry and it will block them for an hour, before they can even attempt an entry again. Then I can take their IP’s and enter it into my server and remove them forever from attacking me. I also traced routed these IP’s and followed them to the originating source. It took awhile because they are tricky and use proxies and bounce off other IP’s…

There was 10’s of thousands of attempts by a auto.js that attempted to break into our site through the login.php by brute force. I finally got in its way and diverted it, but who knows how long it would have run if I was not monitoring it? Now my system will stop it automatically…

The IP 85.222.75.110 takes us on a trip to Poland, Germany, the Middle East, Mexico, South America and finally after a few more switches and reroutes it ends up smack in the middle of Washington DC. DC is the end of the line. On its way it changes numbers multiples of time and becomes pretty obscure at times but they always left a path to follow, even though they tried to cover the holes up…

It is not the 30,000 to 40,000 legit hits we get a day that make the site go down. It is the hundreds of thousands of hits behind the scene from attacks that take the site down. Shear volume will do it every time…

The last big attempt several days ago, came out of Houston, Texas and they used a route through China to make it look like someone else was doing the dirty work. They hit us while we were trying to switch to our new server and really messed things up… 🙁

So today I am just enjoying that cup of chicory, *defrosting the refrigerator and writing this article…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

PS: Yes we have to defrost out refrigerator. It is about 60 years old and was made before the era of frost free…

PPS: I also have installed what is called VSF Simple Stats. It gives me a real-time look at what is hitting the server at that given second. It can store as much data as I have room for and it will give me a very good look at who and what is messing with the sites. From: you while you read the article, to Google as she spyders the site…

MOSCOW, January 20 (Itar-Tass) — No Internet censorship will be imposed in Russia, Communications Minister Igor Shchyogolev assured in his article published in the Vedomosti newspaper site on Friday. In the article, he commented on the scandal bill under consideration in the United States on protection of intellectual property in the Internet (SOPA).

Major Internet representatives Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter, Mozilla and eBay oppose the bill, according to which, any participant in Internet activities, from providers to searchers and even advertisers, at any request of the right possessor, must stop cooperation and not to provide services for the resource accused of piracy. Moreover, the draft law allows blocking sites in the United States and any resources to which the country’s citizens have access. It is 99 percent of the entire Internet.

The SOPA adoption will not only have a negative effect on the development of the Internet as a business space, but in fact can become an instrument of censorship, which is contrary to democratic principles, Shchyogolev noted.

All proposals on the on-line space, protection of the interests of right possessors or fight against children pornography are discusses with Internet experts, he said. It is impossible to block or censor the Internet, otherwise it will lose its essence, he noted.

The Internet is freer in Russia than in the West, the minister believes.

There is a view that the Russian government allegedly seeks to have more state control over the Internet. But the possibility to block the access to Twitter or Facebook in case of social unrest is even not considered in the country, while some European countries have openly said they will use the measure.

All states together should regulate the global network, Shchyogolev said. Not all countries are ready to sign such a convention on the Internet space as a legally-binding document.

States that will join the code of behavior will assume obligations to cooperate in the fight against criminal and terrorist activities with the use of informational telecommunication technologies, including networks, the minister said.

Source: http://www.itar-tass.com/c1/320883.html

Windows to Russia!

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & thinking about how Russia is trying to change, but change is hard in the Russia that I have come to know…

I was remembering that my wife had come home the years ago and said that the latest talk around her work was about how the Road police are going to give out tickets for “Driving on the sidewalks”. She also said that we are suppose to wear seat belts. This is nothing new to me, being from America! But to Russians the idea of not driving or parking on the sidewalk was a very new concept. That concept is still very new to Russians even years later…

Sveta and I wear our seat belts and we do not park or drive on the sidewalks! (At least anymore! :))

Normal is: When you walk down the sidewalk of a busy street in Moscow, you have to be ready to quickly jump out of the way of speeding cars. Yes I said: You have to get out of the way of cars! (Strange habit Russians have when traffic is backed up, they drive down the side walk to try to get around cars.)

Here is the situation: You are out for a nice stroll with your wife, you are talking about the future and enjoying life. You are strolling down a sidewalk that mothers are pushing their babies in strollers & kids are riding their bikes on! Then all happiness is shattered; There is a car behind you honking at everyone to get off the sidewalk. So that he can speed down it to get to the next corner & beat traffic! This happens all the time in Moscow. I also see it happening all over Russia when we travel…

Another example; I wait for my sweetie at the bus stop and almost every time I have to move out of the way, because a driver jumps the curb and weaves among pedestrians honking his horn & flashing his lights. He drives a hundred meters like this & drives back into the street ahead of maybe, only 2-3 cars… (Can we say “total stupid maniac”?)

I have also noticed that metal poles are being driven in the ground or huge concrete flower pits are being placed to stop drivers from driving down sidewalks. You have to do what you gotta do…

I hope that the Road Police really do give and start to give out tickets for driving on the sidewalk. I always tell Sveta that Russian government would be a wealthy government, if they gave out tickets for all the illegal parking and driving issues everywhere/ Then people made to pay the fine…

I have to say that parking is a problem, but to be realistic! The people are just spoiled and lazy, they do not want to walk an extra 100 meters to get to where they are going to shop or eat. So they park illegally because they realize that the punishment is worth doing the crime…

I say: “Sidewalks are for people not cars!”

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

Yesterday was a ride and a half. This time our site was down but not because anyone was after Windows to Russia for once. This time it was the reverse effect and what an effect it had. I felt sorry for our host after I realized what was happening. It was not their fault that huge American companies use them as an offshore hosting to try to get around the USA censorship…

But lets get to the real story:

Federal agents executed a crackdown on the files sharing website Megaupload on Thursday. The response, you could say, was not minor.

Authorities attest that Megaupload, at one point the fifteenth most popular site on the Web, was guilty of costing copyright holders upwards of $500 million in lost revenues because users of the service can easily and freely upload and distribute pirated material. Four people were arrested in New Zealand Thursday as part of the sting, which also yielded the site going offline.

Given that Megaupload boasts an audience of 500 million users daily, a reaction was expected. Only minutes after the Web began digesting the news, that response came by way of thousands of upset users, many aligned to the online collective Anonymous.

The attack started swift and strong and only grew. First fell the website the US Department of Justice, justice.gov. Next was the site for Universal Music Group, a SOPA supporter and the largest record label in America.

Over the course of a few hours, hacktivists involved with the loose knit group Anonymous waged attacks on site after site, and before long the web presence for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Broadcast Music, Inc., or BMI, and finally FBI were down.

Anonymous calls it the single largest Internet attack in its history, and it crippled the biggest sites for the US government and entertainment industry.

To those close to Thursday’s campaign, it not only was a necessity but it was only the first step in a battle that’ll continue for a while to come.

“Obviously, this couldn’t have come at a worse time in terms of the government’s standpoint,” Barrett Brown says calmly from Texas. Speaking to RT from Dallas, the founder of Project PM and frequent Anonymous collaborator says that it is a terrible case of happenstance that federal agents went after Megaupload only hours after the thousands of sites protesting in an anti-SOPA blackout went back online. Web surfers were by-and-far ready to defend an open Internet, and Brown says that the feds “could not have chosen a worst time to take down Megaupload.”

“It was in retaliation for Megaupload,” he says of the attack, which involved thousands of operatives going after numerous sites linked to both the federal government and entertainment industry.

“There are a number of targets, high profile targets, that were taken down,” says Brown. In addition to the sites for the FBI, RIAA, the DoJ and BMI, other assaults were launched against the official site for the White House.

Brown says that the assault will continue though, regardless of the outcome that will befall on SOPA and PIPA in Congress. Speaking of the raid on Megaupload, he tells RT that it illustrates that, “Even without SOPA having been passed yet, the federal government always had tremendous power to do some of the things that they want to do. So if this is what can occur without SOPA being passed, imagine what can occur after SOPA is passed,” he asks.

Brown says that Congress and the feds are not going to give up anytime soon, but their opponents, Anonymous and others, are even more ready for battle.

“This is a war they plan on fighting until the end and so do we,” says Brown.

And according to him, it will only get messier.

“We can expect a great deal of havoc of the sort we saw today. We’re going to see it in a stepped up fashion,” he says. Brown tells RT that it only took 70 minutes for the #OpMegaupload campaign to take hold online and take down the website for the DoJ. As more realize that the fight against SOPA and similar legislation is a fight worth taking sides for, he thinks it will only grow in intensity.

Eventually, says Brown, those advocating for a free Internet will come out on top. Victory, he says, will be an end to any bills in the Senate that have the intent of restricting Web use. “There will be new bills,” says Brown, “that will specifically seek to stop these sorts of things.”

“It’s going to be impossible for us, within just a few weeks, a few days, to prevent any more of these bills to go forward and to prevent things like Megaupload from being raided,” says Brown, “but we can get to that point and it’s a number of steps.”

Those steps, he adds, will lay the groundwork for another mission, an operation going under the banner of #OpDonkeyPunch. With that initiative, says Brown, the Congressman that think that they can support SOPA and keep the dirty industry money handed over by lobbyists will be made an example of.

“Their standpoint is that they’re’ not going to get any retaliation…Now we stand to change that,” says Brown.

*** Remember that car company I told you was on our server also? The big car company? Well our whole hosting company was crashed because of hosting several big American companies websites. This is going to get serious and I am for what is right and the government is not the one that is right…

I will be glad to be knocked off line for a good reason and it was a good reason…

Windows to Russia!

A U.S. court has issued a summons to the woman who adopted a seven-year-old Russian boy and later put him on a plane back to Moscow with a note saying that she didn’t want him anymore. The woman who is Tory-Ann Hansen, has been ordered to appear at a child support hearing…

Hansen has refused to settle in any manner and has refused to acknowledge any facts about the case. In fact she has acted like she has done nothing wrong by dumping Artyom. In fact the legal system in America has nothing to handle such a case in a court of law. So in December 2011, her legal counsel filed a motion to dismiss child support claims made by the adoption agency, the World Association for Children and Parents (WACAP). This seems to be the only legal way to force Hansen to accept the situation and understand how terrible of an act that she did to a wonderful little boy…

This is another article that I have followed for a long time. See links below:

http://windowstorussia.com/artyom-savelyev-court-case-is-beginning-in-the-us.html
http://windowstorussia.com/mother-in-adoption-scandal-was-trying.html
http://windowstorussia.com/one-little-boy-brings-america-to-her.html
http://windowstorussia.com/artyem-artem-justin-hansen-someone-did.html
http://windowstorussia.com/artyem-artem-justin-hansen-story.html
http://windowstorussia.com/lets-meet-man-that-picked-artem-justin.html
http://windowstorussia.com/american-parents-just-shipped-adopted.html

These are just a few of the articles that I have…

Artyom (Artem) is doing great at the orphanage and will most likely stay there until he is 18. Many Russians have asked to adopt Artyom but with the psychological stress that Hansen applied to him. The Russian government has felt that he needs to stay where he is at due to the fact that he is happy and content at the orphanage…

She needs to pay child support because you just do not toss a kid away like a bad apple…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

Sveta and I have been busy. Very busy! Windows to Russia resides on a VPS server now located in downtown Moscow, Russia. What is a VPS server? Glad you asked: A virtual private server (VPS) is a term used by Internet hosting services to refer to a virtual machine. The term is used for emphasizing that the virtual machine, although running in software on the same physical computer as other customers’ virtual machines, is functionally equivalent to a separate physical computer, is dedicated to the individual customer’s needs, has the privacy of a separate physical computer, and can be configured to run as a server computer (i.e. to run server software). (Link to Wikipedia)

So we are almost on a dedicated server and as I write this we share a server with one other company and they sell cars from America. Yes – a big car company from America on a Russian server. I will not tell you who they are. If I did you would be surprised, but I like my privacy and I respect theirs also. With the size of that car company, I would say that we will be the only two ever on our main physical server… 🙂

Sveta and I are building a server of our own and we will be setting up a mirror system in that. We also have another shared host that will be the third backup to the system. A dedicated server became just too much of a financial burden to contemplate and so I have been studying about VPS servers. We found a company in Russia that just fit the bill and they have been fantastic to work with. But do not walk into a VPS server and think that you are on a shared hosting. VPS is your baby and what goes wrong is your issue…

We have already experience that problem: We thought that we had everything perfect and then our server kept crashing. We would reboot and crash. Reboot and crash. I thought to myself that this may be a bad idea! We finally pegged it to a corrupt database on Windows to Russia. One little speck of data wrong and boom – offline. Rebuild the database and it works wonderful and handles the load really good. Windows to Russia had simply outgrown a shared hosting plan…

Sveta an I are like the perfect team when it comes to computers and even life. Sveta is a wonderful programer and a perfectionist at doing things to perfection. Then there is me, the if he can do I can do it also person. I will tackle anything and make it work. I am persistent. Sveta is perfection and I am persistence and the two intertwined, overcome obstacles…

Sveta says that I am what motivates a person like her to do her best. I fearlessly jump off the cliff while holding her hand and together we deal with what may come… 🙂

The company is Hostkey in Moscow. They have fantastic pricing for VPS and they do not do any shared hosting. They have servers in the Netherlands or Russia. They also will set you up a dedicated server if you desire. But money is the issue for a dedicated server. Hundreds of dollars a month does not fit our budget, but $10 to $15 a month for a VPS does fit the budget and yes they have English speaking people working for them…

Now I will not say that this will solve all problems because, well it seems that as I solve one issue another pops up. So all I will really say is that we are trying hard to keep Windows to Russia online and consistent. What that means is that we have had to pull a step at a time out of America’s grasp. I can not trust the American system anymore. We have been blocked, threatened, attacked, overloaded, abused and illegally manipulated…

As you can see we have the site back to normal and even have been able to install the comment section. If you ever see a stripped down template again then you know that we are on a backup server…

Have a nice day and it has been a pleasure to just post today…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

PS: Watch – Everything will crash and make a liar out of me! But I will say that Sveta and I have learned a whole bunch about servers after all this…

Russia can export up to 250,000 tons of poultry meat on foreign markets in 2012 and Russia is planning to bring this figure to 400,000 tonnes by 2015. All the while keeping the domestic market saturated at the same time with home grown chicken…

This is a bold statement from a country just a few years ago that had to import chicken by the tons to met demand. But as I have said in several articles. Sveta and I have seen huge chicken farms springing up all over the place as we travel Russia to our village…

As with the influx of money into the grain business in Russia, so has money been imputed in vast amounts in the poultry industry. It has paid off and it looks like Russia has become self sufficient in Poultry now. That is going to make America cry because the American poultry industry has dumped poor quality chicken on Russia for many years…

I find at the stores in Moscow, that you do not see the famous fat huge American chickens hardly anymore. The Russian chicken tastes better and cooks up so much leaner. That makes a difference…

Try these past articles:
http://windowstorussia.com/the-chicken-never-leaves-the-news-in-russia.html
http://windowstorussia.com/no-frozen-chicken-says-russia.html
http://windowstorussia.com/putin-talks-chicken.html
http://windowstorussia.com/first-russia-and-now-china-giving-the-us-chicken-woes.html
http://windowstorussia.com/bad-move-russia-lifts-chicken-ban-on-america.html
http://windowstorussia.com/once-again-russia-and-america-play.html

So Russia has gone from one of the largest poultry importers in the world to a poultry exporter. That is what I like about Russia…

As you can see this is a subject that I follow on Windows to Russia. So it should be no surprise when I say: “Russia does not need that disgusting, fat, bad for you and antibiotic fed chicken from America…”

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

PS: I know chicken is dropping in price now. I just paid 75 rubles total price for a whole bird and it weighed over 1.25 kilos. That is lots of good eating…

Russia’s tiny but vocal Pirate Party joined on Wednesday in the global campaign against anti-piracy bills in the U.S. Congress that it says will jeopardize Russia’s emerging internet-dependent democracy and infringe on internet freedom…

“If these bills are adopted, U.S. judges would get the legal right to block the Russian social network Vkontakte as internet pirate №1, as well as Twitter and Facebook,” Pirate Party member Sergei Kolennik, 26, said…

A dozen party members attempted to stage a rally near the U.S. embassy in Moscow but were prevented by police, who detained two. However, the activists managed to pass a petition to U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul through the embassy’s post office…

“We ask you not to remain indifferent but to convey to the U.S. public and government how important it is for the democratic future of Russia to save the freedom of internet,” the petition said…

It also cited the case of the Lopukhovs, who in 2007 set up the torrent tracker interfilm.ru to share movies and music. The couple is now facing a six-year prison term and the Russian Anti-Piracy Society (RAPO) has estimated the damage caused by their actions to film companies at $1 billion…

Hundreds of web resources all over the world, including English-language Wikipedia, blog-hosting site WordPress, social-media news site Reddit and the web page of the Pirate Party of Russia went dark on Wednesday in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) which are currently under discussion in the U.S. Congress…

The U.S. bills are intended to crack down on online movie and music piracy by blocking access to web resources thought to contain unauthorized copyright material and have already stirred serious discontent from web giants and internet users…

The music and film industries have backed the controversial bills, but Google, Facebook and Twitter have said the proposed measures represent a serious threat to innovations in the web industry…

A prominent Russian intellectual property lawyer Svetlana Kokina said that even if SOPA and PIPA are adopted, this will not strongly impede internet piracy…

“In my view, it’s impossible to tackle internet piracy; several attempts have already been made and they failed,” she said, adding that governments should rather come up with a legal framework to regulate internet piracy, as has been done with prostitution in several countries…

Windows to Russia!