Windows to Russia

Looks like I am going to be in Kiev until about Tuesday of Next week. Svet has gone home to Moscow for a funeral. Her Aunt died this week and the Funeral is not until Saturday. I will finish up and when Svet shows up Sunday we will tie up all the loose ends and I get to go home, hopefully by Tuesday.

So I am hanging around Kiev. I am waiting for a paper to be telexed from Moscow but like all things in Russia next day is next week. 🙂 Svet is trying to hurry the Russian side up but the Death of her Aunt has slowed things down.

This is all OK but sometimes I just miss my Sweetie and Boza. So I am going to post some articles in the next few days. I am going to take a walk and see what trouble I can get into and take pictures. I think I will do that tomorrow. The river here is frozen very hard and I thought I would check that out. I saw a nut case driving his car last night on the river and the cops were trying to get him off the river before he broke through the ice. The darkness kept me from getting pictures. (Yes – I tried)

Well that is all for now and I will not bore you any longer…

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

• The Next Visa To Russia… (windowstorussia.com)
• I want to go to a Russian Village! (windowstorussia.com)
• Boza and I Bachelors This Weekend… (windowstorussia.com)
• Russia: Would You Put or Want The Sign of the Devil on Your License Plate? (windowstorussia.com)
• Are The Russians Going to Get Fat… (windowstorussia.com)
• Boza and I Take a Walk and Find Cool Spots to Wander in… (windowstorussia.com)
• Kiev, Ukraine – Depression is Leaving… (windowstorussia.com)
• From Russia: Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko will save Moldova and Bulgaria from Russian Evil! (windowstorussia.com)
• Russia Has a High Speed Train Now! (windowstorussia.com)

This article about Litvinenko is worth reading and this video is worth watching. I realize that almost everyone in the world is convinced that Russia killed the man…

RussiaToday:

It’s a year since Moscow ruled out extraditing Britain’s main suspect in the murder of Aleksandr Litvinenko. No evidence has been produced by the British, which has led to a surge in conspiracy theories.

Litvinenko, a former Russian security officer, died of poisoning in London on November 1st 2006.

Veteran US investigative journalist, Edward Jay Epstein, has probed the story. He believes it could be a case of nuclear smuggling gone wrong.

“What I personally believe is that the polonium-210 was smuggled into England for the purpose other than killing anyone. Those were just accidental contaminations. That is what happened, like the spreading of a virus. That may prove to be wrong but that is the theory I think is the simplest and most consistent,” Epstein says.

In an exclusive interview to RT, he said too many questions remain unanswered, and he has had to come as far as Moscow in search of answers.

At first the Russian authorities were reluctant to give Epstein access to the files, but eventually he was allowed to see the extradition papers submitted by the British for their chief suspect, Andrey Lugovoy – documents no one else in Britain has seen.

”I saw the actual material in which they accuse Mr Lugovoy of being the assassin. It is not conventional evidence: first you show someone has a motive, there is not a word that goes to motive then you may have witnesses that saw something or video cameras” adds Epstein.

What struck the American journalist most was the flimsiness of the British case. There was no post-mortem report – something that one British journalist also finds suspicious.

“We believe that the British held a post-mortem examination, the details of which according to the American journalist Edward Epstein have not been given to the Russians. This of course casts doubt on all the information we’ve had about how and why Litvinenko died,” Mary Dejevsky from The Independent, says.

Dejevsky argues that the more you look at the case the more holes there are and the more superficial it seems to be.

”I do not think that the British public know any more today than they did immediately after Litvinenko died,” Dejevsky says.

The case is still in limbo with the extradition request for Lugovoy not helping to improve relations between Moscow and London.

One theory has it that the British request for extradition was made in the full knowledge that the extradition would be refused under the Russian constitution. They did this, the theory goes, because they actually did not want Lugovoy in London with his detailed account of how he was approached by MI6 – who allegedly tried to recruit him.

Our Links to articles:
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/05/russia-says-lets-work-together-on.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/03/could-litvinenko-have-poison-himself.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/01/no-one-knows-who-killed-alexander.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/07/russia-united-kingdom.html

I still think that Britain is hiding information because it also could be very incriminating to Britain……

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

• London rejects BBC: Litvinenko allegations? (windowstorussia.com)
• Deep Purple To Rock and Roll – Moscow, Russia! (windowstorussia.com)
• Fires are Dwindling – Our Village Here We Come… (windowstorussia.com)
• Windows To Russia: 500 Posts! (windowstorussia.com)
• Russia: Sunrise to Freedom, leaving us one person at a time! (windowstorussia.com)

The debt of $34 million is to be paid to the London Club of Creditors before the end of the current fiscal year. This debt is a hold over of the collapse of the former Soviet Union. According to public records Russian public debt reached its peak in 1998 just short of 150% of GDP. As of January 2000, Russia’s foreign debt totaled $158.7 billion. This debt has been paid and in comparison now Russia holds 2.5% of Americas debt, the 8th largest holder of American debt.

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

• PROFILE-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (reuters.com)
• Jailed Russian tycoon’s mother asks West for help (reuters.com)
• Rally in Kaliningrad enclave demands Putin resign (reuters.com)
• You: Putin ‘sings songs’ with deported Russian spies (france24.com)
• Kremlin critic Nemtsov detained at Russia rally (reuters.com)

Today the temperature dropped to +8 degrees Celsius. Moscow is running around in coats, sweaters and hats…

24 hours ago it was at +32 Celsius. I remember thinking that darn, the heat was not over yet. Boy was I wrong, looks like the worst is over…

That cup of coffee was extra special this morning and warmed the old bones today. My thoughts while drinking that cup of coffee were on how poorly the Western press is on reporting about Russia and her fires…

I shake my head at the doom, destruction and trivial trash being dribbled out of Moscow from the Western press association located in downtown Moscow…

I like it when one of the great Western press news articles states that they talked to Russians and that the situation is dire. That the Kremlin may be on her last leg and that 30,000,000 people have died from the smoke alone not including the terrible heat…

Let me express something about Russians! Never ask a Russia “Is Everything OK?” nor ask a Russia “How are you doing?” Because the answer will be long and detailed…

I had to learn about this the hard way at times. Being from America it is common to ask people about how they are doing. The answer most of the time is short and sweet. This is all part of being polite…

In Russia it is considered bad to answer with positive tones about how everything is. You must not bring bad luck upon yourself by telling anyone that you are doing great! You never tell anyone that you are doing even, OK…

Because to tell and be positive has tendencies to bring on bad luck and the evil eye, as Sveta tells me… 🙂

Russians are very superstitious and they carry through their lives everyday with these superstitions. So just as they do not shake hands across a door frame you never tell anyone that all is good. Because you will bring the devil down up on you…

So I watch the Western press and they report upon the information that a babushka gives after they ask the famous, “Is everything OK?” – Of course it is not OK and if you are dumb enough to ask such a loaded question you are gonna get how terrible Russia is and that the “sky is falling”…

Because to express anything else is detrimental to life…

It really looks like they have a little bit of gypsy in them all…

That is what I love about Russia!

Windows to Russia!

• There is no “Geophysical Weapon” Trying to Destroy Russia… (windowstorussia.com)
• Are The Russians Going to Get Fat… (windowstorussia.com)
• Cup of Coffee Today Was Delicious and Other Thoughts… (windowstorussia.com)
• Russia To Make Decision On American Chicken… (windowstorussia.com)
• Bad Move – Russia Lifts Chicken Ban on America… (windowstorussia.com)

This Saturday the Iran Bushehr nuclear plant will be started. They say that the fuel rods are being inserted in place today. They also say that in one month this plant will be fully operational…

There has been a lot of worry in Russia because America has been flagrantly spouting about how there is only a few days to stop this nuclear plant or else it is too late. The idea of attacking the plants has been all over the Western news…

The thought of Israel attacking the Bushehr Plant has dominated the news at times. In fact it was too the point of being damn rude…

Russia has a lot of people in Iran working on this nuclear plant and an attack would be against Russia as well as Iran…

There is a Russian village in Bushehr, Iran that is cut off from the whole world by a wall. It is guarded day and night by Iranian police. The Russian women are required to observe complete Muslim dress code. The Russian men have to forget about alcohol and for the Russian teenagers life feels very closed in.

The construction of the Bushehr plant has always been slammed in international politics, but for thousands of men and women from Russia it has meant years away from home building the first nuclear plant in the Middle East. That has been a formidable task and against many and all odds…

Windows to Russia!

• America Crys Foul but Russia Will Start Irans Nuclear Plant… (windowstorussia.com)
• Head of Russia’s Atomic Agency Due in Tehran Friday… (windowstorussia.com)
• Factbox: Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant (reuters.com)
• Should Israel Bomb Iran’s Nuclear Reactor in Bushehr? (theospark.net)
• Israel has ‘8 days’ to hit Iran nuclear site: Bolton (alternet.org)
• Bomb Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Reactor? (weeklystandard.com)
• CIA forms new center to combat nukes, WMDs (msnbc.msn.com)

RBC, 02.09.2008, Tashkent 18:48:16.It will not be critical for Russia, if other countries do not recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told journalists in Tashkent today. He believes that at the most important thing is that Russia’s actions on the territories of the republics would now be legitimate. Putin stressed that Russia would cooperate with South Ossetia and Abkhazia as it does with any other independent state. The official also noted that the recognition of their independence depended on their own actions, indicating that the republics had to form their own foreign policies.

RBC, 02.09.2008, Istanbul 18:30:00.Russia looks to the European Union to support its proposal to deploy international police forces in the Georgian-South Ossetian buffer zone, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated after his talks with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan. Russia expects the EU to send its representatives to the international OSCE observer mission and, possibly, to the international police, the Russian Minister added. He stressed that Russia was willing to enlarge the international observer mission in the region, and was considering other international steps to show that the buffer zones organized by Russia in Georgia were safe and demilitarized, and “free from any movements and preparations”.

RBC, 02.09.2008, Tashkent 18:02:58.Russia is not satisfied that Georgia’s aggression against South Ossetia is not mentioned in an EU statement following the bloc’s summit on Monday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told journalists in Tashkent today. Putin also regretted that the document mentioned Russia’s allegedly inadequate and disproportionate response to Georgia’s actions, while not specifying that those actions were pure acts of aggression. There are no words of sympathy for South Ossetians, the victims of the conflict, in the document either, the PM noted. He also added that Mikhail Saakashvili‘s Georgia was not a democratic state.

RBC, 02.09.2008, Moscow 17:43:13.Speaker of the Russian Federation Council Sergei Mironov has expressed assurance that Russia and the EU would be able to become normal once again. He made this statement, commenting on the results of the EU summit.

RBC, 02.09.2008, Moscow 17:07:20.Russia has not received official documents on the end of diplomatic relations with Georgia, spokesman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry Andrei Nesterenko told journalists toady. He pointed out that Georgia’s Ambassador to Russia had originally announced Tbilisi’s decision to this effect. However, experts believe that Georgia is not going through with the decision because of the potential negative effect it may have on Georgia’s citizens living in Russia. Nesterenko also indicated that the official end of diplomatic relations between the two countries would not promote a dialog between Moscow and Tbilisi on the settlement of existing conflict.

RBC, 02.09.2008, Moscow 16:17:57.Georgian troops are gathering in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone, spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Andrei Nesterenko told a press conference in Moscow today. He pointed out that he had received data to this effect from Russia’s General Staff, adding that Georgian armed forces were restoring their fighting efficiency in the security zone and near check points. Nesterenko noted that a series of demonstrations against Russian military took place in the town of Koraleti. He also indicated that, according to various data, the demonstrations were instigated by respective Georgian authorities.

RBC, 02.09.2008, Tashkent 14:38:48.Moscow and Tashkent have agreed on the gas price formula for Uzbek gas purchased by Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced following talks with Uzbek President Islom Karimov. Putin pointed out that from now on the two countries would use the European formula for price calculation.

RBC, 02.09.2008, Tiraspol 10:34:37.Transnistria wants the Russian peacekeeping contingent on the Dniester to be increased to 3,000 people, and a new agreement guaranteeing peace, security and stability in the region to be signed. The statement to this effect has been made by the republic’s President Igor Smirnov at a meeting held to mark Transnistria’s 18th anniversary. According to Smirnov, the measures are needed in view of the recent dramatic developments in South Ossetia. He pinned all hopes for peace, security and stability on Russia, as its government was able to raise peacekeeping forces to 3,000 people as provided for by an agreement of July 21, 1992.

Windows to Russia!

• Common Fascism (windowstorussia.com)
• Putin Responds to Clinton’s Repeat Performance… (windowstorussia.com)

Belka and Strelka were two dogs who were onboard the Sputnik-5 spacecraft when it entered into orbit on August 19, 1960. They circled the Earth 17 times and then returned home.

Accompanying them were two rats and forty mice…

These furry little creatures are heroes in Russia…

It has been exactly 50 years since this happened. So watch the movie and learn a little bit about Soviet History!

Earlier in March, Sveta and I watched the movie that came to the big screen in Russia’s first 3D computer-animated movie, “Belka and Strelka: Star Dogs”

We liked it and was very cute..

Windows to Russia!

• Russia marks 50th anniversary of 1st flight of space dogs Belka and Strelka (foxnews.com)
• Russia marks 50th anniversary of space dogs flight (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• The Soviet Union’s first space survivors (rt.com)
• The adorable kitsch of the USSR’s dog astronauts [Cute Overload] (io9.com)

In what Sveta and I consider a bad move on the part of the Kremlin. Russia made a decision that lifted a trade ban on poultry imports of 71 U.S. company‘s on Thursday.  Russia will retain the ban on the remaining 16 companies that do not want to meet the country’s sanitation requirements.

Russia banned imports of U.S. chlorine-treated poultry as of January 1 2010, citing new safety requirements. U.S. poultry has traditionally accounted for almost 80% of Russia’s total poultry imports.

This is not a necessarily a good thing for Russians to do. But it looks like from local sources, that lots of money has exchanged hands in getting American chicken back into Russia. The American chicken farms had a huge hurt put on them and they need to get back in the Russian market. At any cost…

It is a shame because Russian farmers proved that they could keep up with the demand of chicken.

The American chicken as per a good reader and friend named Blackseabrew who is in the business of farming in America says:

” ‘Modern’ poultry production condemns the poor chickens to living in their own filth leading to all kinds of problems from breathing in the fecal dust and excess ammonia. This produces a meat that is less than firm and very absorbent. This absorbency is terrible for us because of what happens when the chicken is cleaned. Because processing is highly mechanized…and frankly not practical for cleaning chickens….many intestines are torn during evisceration thereby soiling many of the carcasses, which are then ‘sterilized’ in a chlorine bath(better known as a fecal bath) which the absorbent meat sponges up for us to later eat. I believe up to 5% of the carcass weight is usually this chlorinated water. Yuck again. Just read what Joel Salatin has published about this.

Russia should not trust American chicken from the big producers. They have not changed anything in their production methods. Only the wording on the package.

Kyle, I’d be more than happy to send you some of my next batch of pastured poultry.

Below is a link to a video I shot of my automated chicken plucker I built a couple of years ago. It’s quite entertaining.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wuD_AJHKu0 “

That was a great video by the way. If you are a little squeamish do not watch it because it is a fact from a real farm. I was impressed with the chicken plucking device. Sure beats doing it by hand like I grew up doing…

We will eat only Russian chicken by the way. Unless we could take Blackseabrew up on his true farm raised chicken from America… 🙂

Windows to Russia!

• Russia To Make Decision On American Chicken… (windowstorussia.com)
• UPDATE 4-Russia to partly lift chicken ban; US wants more (reuters.com)
• Are The Russians Going to Get Fat… (windowstorussia.com)
• Chickens Ready to Fly the Coop in Russia (fool.com)
• Russia concerned over U.S. “non-compliance” on poultry (reuters.com)
• US blasts Russia over poultry trade snag (alternet.org)
• Russia to Lift Ban on U.S. Chicken Meat, Obama Says (Update1) (businessweek.com)
• From Bush Legs to Bad Business Practices – It’s Been a Busy Week for Poultry (ecocentrism.org)
• Cup of Coffee Today Was Delicious and Other Thoughts… (windowstorussia.com)
• Pilgrim’s Pride gets OK to pack chicken for Russia (sfgate.com)
• Medvedev Is Very Correct About the Russian Customs Border… (windowstorussia.com)

Police in Moscow have arrested nearly 700 football fans during a game between Moscow Spartak and Zenit St Petersburg.

The violence at Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium happened at the start of the country’s Premier League.

More than 500 of those detained were Zenit fans, after they threw seats at Spartak supporters.

Fireworks and smoke cartridges were also set off among the 52,000 spectators. Around 3,000 police officers were on duty.

Heck, in America football the players are always fighting. In European football the fans are always fighting. Jails are full tonight in Moscow, Russia.

I think I am starting to like European Football better. (soccer) 🙂

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.