Category: Russia

Russian needs to Protect Her National Interests…


As of right now, Visa and MasterCard type card companies transfer data oversees in order to process and approve transactions made in Russia…

This data transfer is not going over well with the Russian side. So Russia is in the works to do her own transaction approval and processing. It will cost millions of dollars to set up the system, but will stop a huge data flow leak to the West and keep billions of dollars in fees, (120 billion rubles ($4 billion) annually) in Russia…

This has not gone over well with the Western world and in fact as we read this, special interest groups in the West have made it clear that they consider the fact that Russia would want to keep her data safe is a threat to Russia’s reputation and will hurt business with the Western world (because as you know we don’t trust Russia now, much less if Russia hides all their credit card data. Hummm…) and all those fees would stay in Russia. In fact it seems that lobbyist have been poring into Russia over the last few months and wheeling and dealing is going on to try to stop Russia from severing the ties… 🙂

I have to smile at the audacity of the West…

How would you like it if your credit card transaction (with all your data, fees and information) had to be sent to Russia or China for approval before you could do a transaction…

It just makes sense in the long run for Russia to be self sufficient…

Windows to Russia!

Russia’s Envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin Says The West Playing Libyan Games for its Own Consumption…


Windows to Russia...

Dmitry Rogozin...

Interview by RT with Russia’s Envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin expresses concern over NATO’s plans for military intervention in the country…

He tells RT that certain countries are pushing to get involved in Libya because they are reliant on its oil resources.

RT: Do you support NATO and EU backing for Libya’s rebels?

Dmitriy Rogozin: In principle, what usually happens is this: in order to start military operations, you have to ask someone to invite you. So, it’s not proper to come in uninvited. There should be a side doing the inviting. For this side to look presentable, it has to be legitimized.

What is now happening with the Libyan opposition is approximately the same thing. The problem lies elsewhere. No one knows who those people are. In reality we know just one person who formerly worked as part of Mr. Gaddafi’s entourage.

But all others are total strangers. More than that, there is no information regarding the degree of consolidation of the Libyan opposition. The case in point, quite likely, is different centers in different provinces of that country. This is why, in my view, the fact that separate European countries, like France, for example, or the UK did legitimize the opposition may lead to Europe or the West as a whole being involved, even against its own will, into someone else’s civil conflict. It’s a big problem. It must be said, incidentally, that the latest events in Libya indicate that Mr. Gaddafi is not going to surrender quickly.

There are loyalty problems in his armed forces and the police force, but as long as the Libyan army retains its positions in Libya and wins victories over the Libyan opposition, it is a mistake to say that the collapse of the Gaddafi regime is just round the corner. This is why, to my mind, the West so far has been playing games for its own consumption. They hold meetings with all sorts of people, trying to invest in their powers, but that has nothing to do with the agenda of stabilizing the situation in that North African country.

I think no one knows today what scenario is the optimal one. The problem is, we don’t have the facts or enough information. The conflict inside Libya has become protracted.

Many Arab leaders say as much. Even though the attitude to Mr. Gaddafi in the Arab world has always been highly complex, and despite the pressure that France and the UK are bringing to bear on the Arab League, we cannot say that everyone would be wildly enthusiastic to see a Western invasion in Libya. There is yet another important aspect that Arab analysts are warning about. They say that Mr. Gaddafi, if faced with foreign intervention, will immediately become a martyr, a victim in the eyes of the whole Arab world and a very popular person. And no one in fact wants this to happen.

RT: Are you concerned by France’s call for aerial bombardment of the country?

DR: It’s a big problem how to do it. From the technical military point of view, NATO doesn’t have a clear idea about the level of training and quality of Libya’s air defenses. Let’s assume that a country which begins military intervention by launching an air attack will lose several combat aircraft. Libya possesses some sufficiently modern, including portable, anti-aircraft missile systems. Who will bear responsibility for the first air casualties? No one. This is why, I believe, two processes are currently in progress.

On the one hand, aggressive rhetoric is used and political consultations are held inside the Western states and in the UN Security Council. Work is under way to identify reputable opposition figures.

On the other, military planning is in progress that considers very different options.

AWACS planes are in the air; space reconnaissance systems and naval reconnaissance are fully operational as well, trying to reveal the real situation in Libya, the organization and strength of the Libyan armed forces, and the situation within the framework of regional, provincial conflicts. The info is fed to NATO’s relevant military structures but its readiness for action is equal to zero.

RT: Libya is rich in oil. Is that why the US is so interested in the country?

DR: Everyone says so. I think if Libya were just a banana-growing country, there wouldn’t be so much interest in its domestic situation, including in the humanitarian sphere.

Of course, Libya is a big enough energy supplier to Europe. Certain countries, like Italy, for example, are heavily dependent on Libyan deliveries. Others are not so much dependent, but either way, Libya’s share is considerable. We know that NATO, for example, puts energy security matters at the top of its main agenda.

For this reason I think that this factor has a most direct bearing on the speed of the West’s decision-making regarding Libya. No one wants to let this conflict become protracted. All of them want it to be over as quickly as possible so as to be reassured about guarantees of energy supplies to Europe. I think it’s a very important problem.

Aside from that, there is yet another factor. Some major Western oil companies with an axe to grind, where their concessions and oil development projects in Libya are concerned, are quite likely to be pushing certain Western countries towards hasty decisions with regard to an intervention in Libya.

They think they’ll be able to follow the military and thus get unique access to Libya’s oil riches. So this factor is also taken into account and discussed.

RT: Would unilateral invasion by NATO be a war crime?

DR: Of course. Any invasion would, be it an initiative of NATO as a whole, or of any NATO member state. If an action is not authorized by the UN, it is an illegal intervention.

What I am saying now is not a warning. It is just a statement of fact. As a matter of fact, many people inside NATO agree with Russia. Note the position of the US on the situation in Libya – Washington is being very restrained, if not passive, here. Some are laughing at the overly-zealous France and the UK, saying that those two are running ahead of Uncle Sam. Nobody knows why this is happening and whether there is some common scenario in place.

I think that the US administration would not like to take any hasty actions against Libya now. Most likely, they are monitoring the situation closely, and preparations to possible military engagement are perhaps in progress, but a new war is dangerous for the US now. Especially now, with presidential elections looming ahead.

RT: Are there any conditions under which you would support foreign military intervention in Libya?

DR: Facts, that’s all. Only facts on the table of the UN Security Council saying that weapons were used against peaceful civilians in Libya, or heavy military machinery was used against humanitarian targets, may force the Security Council to consider measures more substantial than political sanctions against the regime.

The thing is, we don’t have any facts. We only have reports from BBC, CNN, and other media, featuring some machine gunner firing his machine gun in the air. At the same time, we don’t see any aircraft attacking; instead, we see people applauding the gunner for looking so cool. If there were a real aircraft attack in progress, they wouldn’t be applauding there.

The footage we see on American and British channels looks fake. They create an illusion of military action. Where are the aircraft? Where are the bomb raids? Where are the destruction and casualties we hear so much about? If all that it true, evidence should be now on the table of the Security Council.

Doing that requires carrying out the decisions already passed by the Council, including the creation of special committees that should establish the facts. Unless the facts are established, the Council cannot take the responsibility of judging something that doesn’t exist.

RT: How are the rebels holding out against Gaddafi’s regular army? Are they already being aided by the West?

DR: We assume that something is being done by the rebels and by the opposition and that the Special Forces that were used to evacuate citizens of Western countries from Libya have most likely remained there. There have been instances of the rebels themselves detaining members of Special Forces combat groups from the West.

We are not naïve and are well aware that some parts of special operations have long been done in Libya, on the side of the opposition.

Otherwise, Gaddafi, to whom most of the army and police forces are loyal, could long have clamped down on the opposition. Since he has not done so as yet, it is a question of secret and illegal military backing by Special Forces. This is my personal opinion. I have no facts yet, but I have experience and I can analyze the situation.

I can’t confirm this, but I think it’s true.

RT: In an ideal world, how integrated would NATO’s missile defense be integrated with Russia’s.

DR: What is missile interception? It’s to see the attack on you, to track it and then to shoot. What stage does the co-operation occur at? At the stage of exchanging information on transforming the risks into threats; then at the stage of detecting by the tracking stations of started the attack started; thirdly, at the stage of identification of the target – this attack may be across Russia towards Europe, or US bases, or across Europe on Russia.

So, tracking the identification of the targeting is the third task.

And the fourth task is to destroy the target jointly.

Some NATO skeptics tell us that, or Russo-skeptics, rather, tell us that NATO can’t be involved in the outsourcing of security for Europe. Well, it’s stupid, because Russia also means Europe. Russia is Europe and not only up to the Urals. In a political sense, it’s as far as the Far East.

Therefore, I do believe it’s our common European cause, and we should think strategy-wise about the people’s, but not our own egoistic, interests. Not to dabble in politics, but be politicians. This kind of system should be created in such a way so it could equally guarantee security both to Russia, on the one hand, and to its partners on the European continent, on the other.

And we still have time for that, let me emphasize this.

Source: Russia Today >>>

Windows to Russia!

Japan declares Nuclear Emergency as Russia Mulls Remembrance of Chernobyl…


Japan has declared a nuclear power emergency after the cooling system failed at a nuclear power plant at Fukushima following the earthquake in the northeast. The area around the plant has been evacuated.

­There have been recent reports of a possible radiation leak at the power plant. Radiation levels are rising at the Fukushima nuclear plant after a cooling system failed following the earthquake.

As of now, authorities say the reactor is not leaking radiation and there is no immediate danger to the public.

However, experts say there is a risk of a leak if the situation is not resolved in the next few hours.

Alarmingly, the situation bears striking similarities to the build up ahead of the worst nuclear disaster in history — at Chernobyl.

However, although these two situations may seem similar, RT’s correspondent and expert on the Chernobyl disaster, Aleksey Yaroshevsky, believes that, in reality, they are quite different.

First of all, what is happening in Japan is an aftermath of a natural disaster, and not a man-made one, like Chernobyl.

Besides, the Japanese reactor is one hundred times more powerful than the one in the fourth block of the Chernobyl power plant, which exploded in 1986. In fact, the two stations in the Fukushima region produce the world’s largest joint amount of energy.

The security systems at Japanese nuclear power plants have been designed in a way that should an incident occur, a certain dome will cover the station, preventing any leaks in the atmosphere.

Obviously, such system could not exist in the Soviet times, that’s why the whole European continent suffered from the Chernobyl disaster.

However, what happened on Friday in Japan is that the automated security systems went on after the earthquake at most of the nuclear stations except for Fukushima. At the moment it remains unknown whether the security system will work there in case of any leak.

Experts say that should any explosion or leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant occur, this may lead to a much worse contamination of the atmosphere than the one that was caused by the Chernobyl disaster.

The possibility of radiation emission in Fukushima puts in danger not only Japan, but the whole Russian Far East, large areas of China and the Korean peninsula.

However, American scientists report that, at the moment, the wind is blowing eastward from Japan, so if any accident happens in Fukushima, all of the radioactive material will be taken to the middle of the Pacific, far away from the populated areas.

Obviously, though, the wind may change any moment, and if anything happens at the station, the consequences may be much more serious than those of the Chernobyl disaster.

Kate Hudson, head of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in London, says building nuclear plants on the shore line, like Japan or Britain do, because of the need for water passing through the station for cooling purposes, may lead to a very dangerous situation in case of a natural disaster like tsunami or a rising water level.

“That situation in Japan, as I understand from nuclear activists there, is actually extremely dangerous. If they cannot cool the radioactive core of that reactor, then you run the risk of a meltdown, and then you run the risk of fire, massive radioactive release and a situation like Chernobyl or worse,” says Hudson.

­However, Dr Richard Philips from the School of Earth and Environment at Britain’s University of Leeds, says Japanese nuclear facilities are very well prepared for any natural disasters and the catastrophe is unlikely to happen.

“They are very well prepared for earthquakes in terms of their nuclear facilities, and this is one of their core energy supplies.Their buildings are incredibly robust, they have done many tests, gone through lots of scenarios similar to what they are experiencing now. I’ll be surprised if we do see any serious leakage from the Fukushima plant,” said Philips.

Information provided by rt.com
http://www.rt.com

UPDATE: MSNBC—March 12, 2011– http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42044156/ns/world_news-asiapacific/ Japanese authorities confirmed Saturday that radiation had leaked from a quake-hit nuclear plant after an explosion destroyed a building at the site. The blast at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility occurred just hours after officials said they feared the reactor could melt down. Footage on Japanese TV showed that the walls of one building had crumbled, leaving only a skeletal metal frame standing. Its roof had also been blown off. Plumes of smoke spewed out of the plant, 20 miles from Iwaki…

Windows to Russia!

A Fracture Has Developed Between East and West Over Libya…


I will be real simple and straight forward…

It is real obvious after seeing the East and West news reports that a fracture has developed between the East and West over Libya. A fracture starts small but grows as added issues cause it to become a rift. Or many fractures…

China and Russia have called for talks and working together from day one. They have called for the world to work together on the Libya issue. They agreed with Venezuela about the need for talks. The East has said calm down and stay out of it with your big mouths and big guns. The East in a general sense has called it correct from the start…

The West simply open mouth and inserted foot and crossed the Rubicon River. They jumped up and down like children in a tantrum. They threatened and threatened and threatened some more. They refused to acknowledge talks. They bad mouthed Venezuela. They kissed up to the opposition in Libya. They accepted al Qaeda interfering in Libya. They underestimated Qaddafi. They ignored the two week period that Qaddafi gave for talks. They turned their backs on Qaddafi. They beat drums until the Western countries crossed the Rubicon River and then they looked around and they backpedaled at the last second (First Germany then America) but it was too late they had gone too far. They had crossed the line with all the threats and accusations. Now they look for a way to save face and not get themselves in to another war and billions and billions of dollars they do not have. They played a real bad game in Libya and lost the dice roll. Qaddafi called their bluff…

Qaddafi’s eldest most powerful son is right:

“One month ago [Western countries] were sooo nice, so nice like pussycats,” Saif says in a contemptuous sing-song tone. “Now they want to be really aggressive like tigers. [But] soon they will come back, and cut oil deals, contracts. We know this game.” (Link) From Saif al-Islam

“Now the West looks like they orchestrated all that happened?” That is what Sveta said to me this morning and you know what?

She is right…

The question now is: Will the West interfere some more trying to save face or not?

Windows to Russia!

Russia Says Stay Out of Libya…


RIA NovostiRussia opposes foreign military intervention in Libya:
“Foreign military intervention should be ruled out,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said…Read More >>>

Windows to Russia!

Japan: Over a 1000 have died and now a Nuclear Reactor in Trouble…


Today at 12:43 | Reuters

SINGAPORE, March 12 (Reuters) – An explosion blew the roof off an unstable nuclear reactor north of Tokyo on Saturday and a government official confirmed a radiation leak had occurred at the plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) , following an earthquake.

The number of those who died following yesterday’s powerful earthquake and the quake-generated tidal wave has exceeded 1,000. But no foreign nationals died in the disaster, the Foreign Ministry says in a statement in Tokyo. Other almost 2,000 people have been listed as missing…
They are saying that this could be very serious. Lets hope not…
Windows to Russia!

Now We have “The Sky is Falling News” Over Oil…


One thing that Russia does not like is the exceedingly high oil price that is happening lately. They like that 80 to 100 dollar range. But it seems to be happening whether we have a lack of oil or not. I hear reports of oil just sitting in tankers floating on the ocean waiting to be unloaded and the price sky rockets at the drop of a pin. But for every tanker that is full of oil, you have a rumor to make its cargo worth more. Now with a strong worded warning from a Merrill Lynch analyst. Russia cringes at the resultant repercussions of what the global economy might do…

Crude price expected to jump to 150 dollars a barrel:
The reported fire at the Libyan oil storage facility may raise the price of oil to 150 dollars a barrel, warn experts at the Merrill Lynch Investment bank. Merrill Lynch analysts fear that “If the price of crude exceeds the historic mark of 150 dollars per barrel and remains permanent, the risk of a global recession would become real”. Some experts share the prediction and they calculate that an increase of 10 dollars a barrel on the average per year, would consume 0.5 per cent of the increase in the global economy. Listen to what Yaroslav Lisovolik, Chief Economist of Deutsche bank in Russia had to say on the point.
Read More >>>
Source: Voice of Russia.

I hear the words, “Why can it (oil) not just stay stable in price?” That is a good question and I ask it also. It really makes no sense to me. When you have plenty it should be reasonably priced. I always thought it was “supply and demand”. But sometimes it seems that with somethings in the world that does not hold true…

Maybe we need a revamp of the oil pricing system…

Windows to Russia!

Fluorescent Bulbs Hit a Wall of Grouchy People in Russia…


It seems that Russia had plans just like the rest of the world. Of phasing out incandescent bulbs. I remember in 2009 hearing about said plans. They went something like…

* Three-step plan to phase out standard bulbs… (I have heard that things have been pushed back to 2012?)
* Ban on 100-watt bulbs from 2011, 70-watt from 2013. rest by 2014…
* Designed to save energy… (But your eyesight goes to hell!)
* Mirrors European Union plan… (Whoopee – that makes it alright!)

Well it seems that the best laid plans of “mice and men” had issues with the fact that they want to tell people to buy 150+ ruble price light bulbs when you can get them for 2 or 3 rubles each. People in Russia wanted to step on the “mice” in charge of said bulb conversion…

Now to be fair the Fluorescent Bulb does last longer and is more energy efficent. But they just plain suck in all other aspects. From light quality to serious danger when broken…

So at the French store Auchan. the Walmart equivalent for Russia. Incandescent bulbs can be bought for around 2.5 rubles each, I bought 20 bulbs last time I was there and realized now that I should have bought a truck load of them. I think next time I am there, I will buy about 100,000 of them and store them… 🙂

Then when Russia decides to do something really stupid (As Russia will given the time!) and go against the people wishes. (By removing the cheap bulb from the country.) I will be rich because I can sell them all at a higher price. I just have to be willing to sit on them for a few years because Russia will do the “stupid” thing…

Now don’t get me wrong. I am a believer in fluorescent tubes in mass quantities all over the ceiling. They have always given me headaches but I live with it due to longevity. Being in corporate business and food service you get to change a lot of these type of bulbs. But I will say that disposal makes the usage very border line for normal households. Fun is the word, in breaking any fluorescent bulb and that leads to big issues…

Now: The world needs to get off this “high horse” of, telling the people what they should buy and not buy! Why do we not just have them both and let the people decide what they want through natural procession. Is that so hard to do? Or can the people not be trusted to do what is wanted in the eyes of the controllers?

Hear that Russia?

Windows to Russia!

Japan Got Rocked: Russia Sends Aid…


Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered that assistance be provided for Japan, which has suffered from the most powerful earthquake in the country’s history.Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu has been instructed to come up with specific proposals within the shortest time possible.Read More >>>
Source: Voice of Russia.

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