This is Russia in a Nutshell… (Videos)

This video is Russia! I see this kind of way of life, everyday that I am here. Life in Russia is a “Bowel of Cherries” and no one cares about the pits. Or better yet, “This is Russia in a Nutshell!”

Lets salt the sidewalks and lets do it from the street and lets salt about 50% of the sidewalk and the cars…

I had to add this video (below) after the effect. I have seen them do things like this a hundred times here…

Now I know Russians and they would just take all this with a grain of salt (so to speak) and tell you, “It is a miracle that they are salting the sidewalks!” or they would say, “Good! Don’t need a stoplight there anyway!”

You know! They are right!

That is why I love Russia…

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Coffee Time and get healthy doing it…

coffee

I really do not care how true these 10 statements all are below, just as I do not care that others keep telling me that coffee is terrible for you. So I am going to spout some good facts for coffee that are all over the internet. When I am done, you may just decide a cup of coffee a day is good for you. Or maybe two, three, four or more cups a day are better…

I figured that since coffee is one of the biggest search words that Windows to Russia has. I would actually write an article about coffee and what good it does. I have tried to kick the habit of sipping coffee everyday, but it is just too good and really seems to be good for me. As I only drink it in moderation, two cups a day whether I need it or not…

Coffee:

1. Possibly prevents Parkinson’s Disease…

2. Give dental cavities a kick in the mouth…

3. Headaches say goodby…

4. Workout Pain is lessened when drank about an hour before a workout…

5. Makes your skin health, wealthy and wise…

6. Vascular Health with lowering blood pressure…

7. Cholesterol levels, like tea, coffee contains a lot of antioxidants…

8. Increase that reaction time. If you are a gunfighter like in the wild west. Coffee gives that edge…

9. Risk of Liver Cancer and Cirrhosis is knocked down a notch…

10. Controlling Type II Diabetes is given a big boost of help by coffee and its chemical makeup…

As with anything coffee is the same and should be dealt with in moderation. If you think it is helping you, then do not get the notion that 10 cups of coffee a day will help you more…

I always look at our vices this way…

Way back in the old days we used saccharine in lots of stuff we ate or drank. Then some smart intelligent people experimented with mice. The researchers fed laboratory mice sweetened water that was equivalent to 800 cans of saccharin/cyclamate every day from birth until death. They came to the conclusion after stuffing enough saccharine in a mouse to kill it a hundred times over, that saccharine causes cancer… (Tidbit of information: saccharin and aspartame are and were owned and marketed by the same company- Monsanto. :()

So since I can not believe anything that is said by anyone called important. I ignore all that they say and then post and believe what I want to. That would be a good thing for you to follow also…

Coffee is good for you!

Oh! Tea is good for you also…

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

One Step at a time: Extension of function equality…

The only reason why the US is able to finance its debt is because it prints enough US Dollars to finance that debt. The only reason why its able to print as many US dollars as is necessary, is because many of those dollars aren’t in circulation, but in reserve in foreign nations. When one of these countries starts spending those dollars into circulation for whatever reason, either hugely high interest rates, hugely high inflation, or both, will begin to occur…

“It’s no longer in China’s favor to accumulate foreign-exchange reserves!” Yi Gang, a deputy governor at the central bank, said in a speech organized by China Economists 50 Forum…

This is important and why? Because its dangerous to the American way of life. What do you think will happen if other countries join in on China’s ideas? Suddenly nobody wants anything to do with US treasury bonds and the dollar is not in anyone’s interest. I think many Americans will do wisely in quietly leaving this sinking ship before the government loses all control and goes berserk…

Extension of function equality:

A_union_BIn mathematics, extension means that the A set that includes a given and with similar set such as a subset B. Hence sets A and B are equal if and only if they have precisely the same elements. Thus China is creating as the years go by a equal subset to the A set that we see in America. This explains why China extends the inevitable and it also plainly labels what will happen after the equality is met. The dollar is no longer necessary and will be replaced due to the fact that you have a new set of A. For the dollar will have become a subset in the process…

I find it very fascinating that this isn’t a bigger story in the main stream news. This could be the beginning of the end. Especially if it turns out that the major buyer in operation twist was china. I say that because as the US was selling short term debt for long term debt, the Chinese could have been rolling over longer term debt into short term. If that’s the case, the Chinese would never have to sell their debt, they could just wait for it to mature. Collect their devalued dollars, and purchase American assets. Most especially agriculture. (Which they are doing by the way!) The Chinese have said repeatedly that they were ready to allow market forces to raise the RMB. I also think this will be a catalyst for other emerging markets, awash in American exported inflation, to follow suit.Such as Russia, India, Brazil and many others. No matter how small the amount that a certain country has accumulated of US dollars, the end result of everyone cash the chips in, is a devastation…

Who is going to finance American debt in the future?

For we can not and should not be financing ourselves! That is what we are doing and if you as an individual tried the same. Jail would be your new home…

The bottom line:

This way of doing business by the USA is a time bomb. Our currency’s value is maintained by the fact that most countries have huge currency reserves of US dollars in their coffers. No country wants to acknowledge the value of US currency going down because in doing so, their own treasuries (that which is held in US securities) goes down in value. At the same time, its a “hot potato” to hold onto, because as we inflate our currency, we are essentially taxing these reserves held by other nations. This move shifts the balancing act, as the foreign holdings of US dollars diminishes, these countries are not given any incentive to continue to prop up the dollar. The end result of this will be the value of our currency will drop, and trigger stronger inflation. If other countries follow suit, it could quickly trigger runaway inflation and they will run to the next world currency with open arms…

That then will start the processes all over again…

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Thanksgiving 2013 in Russia and a Great Cup of Coffee…

thanksgiving

I have a lot to be thankful for! That is what I am thinking over a great cup of coffee this morning, as the snow falls. We have about 6 inches of snow/sleet and more to come, or at least that is how it looks out the window this winter day. I have to stay inside mainly today, as yesterday I ran a 39 degree Celsius temperature and really did not feel very good… (102.2 F.)

Coffee-iconSo today I am thinking about Thanksgiving and since I have gone into details in the past years on this blog about Thanksgiving in Russia. I will just tell you what we have planned for this year and not explain that Thanksgiving is not really a holiday except in America…

It started with: Sveta bought a small pumpkin and looked at me with her “Doe Eyes” and said, “Is the pumpkin good enough to make a pumpkin pie from?”

I said, “Well it really is not a pumpkin, but yes I can make a pumpkin pie out of it!’ (Any squash will do! :))

Then she smiled that huge beautiful smile that Sveta uses when she senses that she has done good and good things to eat are coming our way…

Then I realized that I better get to the store and get some goodies to fix a turkey dinner. My little Russian Sweety has thoughts of a huge Thanksgiving dinner and that includes (as I made last year): Turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. Plus a green vegetable of some type…

That means that I have to sneak outside sometime today and gather supplies. I have been so busy and ignoring the time frames, that I forgot it was Turkey Day tomorrow. I have not bought a single thing to eat for tomorrow, but as you have just heard, Sveta is thinking about it and bought a pumpkin, to at least have fresh homemade Pumpkin Pie…

I guess what I am saying with all this dribble is:

Have a great Thanksgiving, no matter what part of the world you are from. For any day of the year, we should be thankful for what we have. Many of us have way too much and could do happily fine with sharing a little more. For while lots of us have plentiful, there are still many that could use just the basics of life and they would be thankful just to have a big loaf of bread everyday to eat…

Have a good Thanksgiving of the year 2013…

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Putin and Claude Van Damme at the local Fights: Video…

[jwplayer mediaid=”44519″]

I really liked this video and it just strikes me as a why Putin really is okay! Everyone either hates Putin or likes him. It seems that in between is not an option. The word that comes to mind as I see Putin run Russia: Stability…

Stability is what Russians like and I myself like the same. I grew up in a country that seemed to be politically unstable and the last 10 years have proven that the US is just that, unstable. Politically, internationally, financially, morally and a dozen other LY’s. It seems that America is nothing but a crises everyday, every week, every month and every year. Nothing is stable and nothing is peaceful

I enjoyed the short video and it just made me wonder why we in America do not have a President that just seems like a “good ol’ boy…”

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Recipe from Russia: Cauliflower With Potatoes…

cauliflower-potatoesOnce again this is a great recipe for the upcoming holidays. Russians grow lots of potatoes and cauliflower, so it is a natural to mix the two together. Much of the winter food in Russia is high in starches and carbohydrates. The winters are long and hard, so you need energy to survive. Besides these foods like this recipe are full of vitamins and minerals…

Lets make Cauliflower with Potatoes…

Ingredients:
1 ea whole cauliflower head, cut and boil first until tender
1 lb boiled potatoes peeled or not, your choice
1 ea big onion, yes big and chop it up into tiny pieces
2 ea eggs
3 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
parsley greens as decoration

Lets make:
Fry the already boiled and cut up cauliflower in a skillet, with the finely chopped onion. Once the onion is translucent, put cauliflower parts with onions, thin sliced raw potatoes in a greased glass baking dish. Then pour over eggs after being beaten, with the flour and salt/pepper mixed in as you beat the eggs.  Then bake in the top of the oven oven, which is preheated to 325 F. I lower the temperature to 300 F, and turn the oven to bottom heat only. Then bake at least 30 minutes and check until done. Takes about 45 minutes total. The top should be brown, not burned and serve hot with parsley greens as a decoration…

The purpose is to have cauliflower cooked to death and potatoes still holding their shape. ..

This is really yummy…

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Konka W880 Rough and Tough Smartphone has arrived…

I talked about ordering a new smartphone from China, a few weeks back. In fact here is the article:

Konka W880 A Tough Phone…

Now I wrote the first article around the time I ordered it. To say the least, I am shocked! The phone is here and it came by snail mail and it got through the Russian customs in just a day. Then the same day the Russian postal service delivered it. Now I do believe in miracles, as the Russian post office has lost, destroyed and delivered to the wrong address almost a 100% of the time packages to me. This delivery has renewed my faith, but as real life dictates, it will most likely never happen again. Knock on wood, please…

Here are some pictures of the phone in a gallery:

The phone is all that I was hoping and much more. It really has a steal frame, it really has extra thick Gorilla Glass, it really looks like the pictures and it really works. Works very well, to be honest! This definitely blows the hate China for products out the window and the phone is much higher quality than all the Samsung’s that I have owned and still own…

This is the link to Konka Mobile: http://www.konka-mobile.com/

This is the link to my phone and where I originally found the details: http://www.konka-mobile.com/proShow.asp?ID=84

Konka is a company that I studied for almost a year and it seems to be a very well run company. The products are top notch and quality. Not always the latest OS and hardware, but they build with quality and that wins in my book every time…

Have you ever panicked when you had a cell phone near a lake or ocean? Well I have and now I do not have to worry any more…

Well I did not expect it for at least another month, as it is my Christmas, New Year and Birthday present. I sure had fun this weekend… 🙂

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Obama’s Web Portal Contractor Runs Army Human Terrain System: CGI Federal Everywhere by John Stanton…

hot-cup-of-coffeeWho knew?

President Obama should have made sure that his staff checked out the performance credentials of CGI Federal before awarding it millions of dollars to push out a key element of the President’s signature healthcare initiative. The Washington Post, Daily Caller, New York Times, Probublica, Wall Street Journal and, well, hell!, all of the legacy and non-legacy media, have now reported widely on the flaky technical work of CGI Federal and the journey that led to the healthcare’s website flop. That of course refers to the debacle that is Obama’s Affordable Care Act web portal which was to have allowed hundreds of thousands of Americans to register for various health care plans.

CGI Federal has a bumpy performance track record that also includes US Army Human Terrain System (HTS) which remains a controversial and troubled program with ongoing allegations of time card fraud and employee harassment.

PolicMic has listed the US Army’s HTS program as number four in its top five list of most wasteful government programs. One of the comments attached to that piece by “Beau” implies that the HTS troubles date only to the launch of the that program and a year or so after that. That is wildly incorrect as articles reporting on the continued woes of the Human Terrain program—as late as 2013—have appeared in publications in the United States and abroad.

In an intriguing twist it seems that the Affordable Care Act web portal and the Army Human Terrain System were awarded to CGI Federal based, in large part, on having friends in high places. According to the The Daily Caller, “Toni Townes-Whitley, who worked alongside her classmate Michelle Obama in multiple Princeton University student groups, became senior vice president of CGI Federal in May 2010. CGI was the only eligible company considered for the contract to build the disastrous HealthCare.gov Obamacare enrollment site.

Over at the Army’s HTS, there is a nagging belief that CGI Federal received the HTS award largely thanks to a friendship between former HTS head Colonel Sharon Hamilton, USA (Ret.) and one of the founders of Oberon Associates, a subsidiary of CGI Federal (earlier Oberon was a division of Stanley which itself was purchased by CGI). Some also hold the view that some personnel in BAE (former HTS contractor) conspired to steer the contract towards CGI.

The saddest element in both these cases is that the personnel who work in the weeds each and every day–and those citizens/foreigners who are suppose to be the beneficiaries of these efforts—get screwed: there is no polite way to put it. The exact same thing is happening over at the US Army’s Center for Substance Abuse Programs. And these days, no one in these programs dare speak out about corruption or program flaws as that is now treated as a security breach.

John Stanton is a Virginia based writer. Reach him at captainkong22@gmail.com

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Recipe From Russia: Horseradish Soup Recipe…

horseradish-soupFor those bitter cold days and you are wondering what to make everyone to warm them up? Well you know that root of horseradish that you have laying around? Lets make a soup from it and if you are skittish about it being too spicy hot, decrease the horseradish amount…

I grew up on this soup and was very surprised to see Russians who normally have an aversion to spicy food eating this soup. Russians do grow horseradish (?) and for a Russian who likes spicy foods, then I have noticed that horseradish is the spiciness of choice. Be it in a mustard or other kind of sauce..

Lets make Horseradish Soup…

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons ground fresh horseradish
1 cup vegetable stock (I buy a packet of cubes and dissolve it!)
6 tablespoons real cream
1 tbsp sour cream (thick)
salt and pepper as needed
chopped parsley for decoration

Make:
Fry the horseradish in a little butter (better yet Pam spray) in a skillet and add the vegetable bouillon after the horseradish is browned slightly. This is a skillet soup so do not even get out the sauce pans. Cook it up in the skillet and then add the cream and season it with salt and and pepper. Once just ready to boil, remember do not boil, or the cream will separate. Then ladle steaming hot into a bowl, then blob the sour cream on the edge in a pile. Decorate with chopped parsley if desired…

Yummy for the Tummies…

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Recipe From Russia: Apple salad with eggs recipe…

apple-salad-eggRussians have a lot of apples and due to the fact that Russians love to keep chickens, they have lots and lots of eggs. Also mayonnaise is the only dressing worth eating to a Russian, plus once again, peas are plentiful also. Put them all together and you have a salad that is cheap, wholesome and everyone will love. This salad is available year around as all the ingredients are always available. Russians like to use a variety of grasses or greens as some call them. Use anything from a mint, fennel or even lemon grass will make the treat even better…

Lets make Apple Salad with Eggs and this salad would be great with holiday dinners…

Ingredients:
4 apples cored and peeled… (Unpeeled for that more roughage look!)
3 tablespoons green peas…
2 eggs hard boiled and peeled…
5 tablespoons of mayonnaise…
greens or grasses as Russians call them… (Parsley will do.)

Make:

Cut apples into small cubes. Chop eggs finely. Add peas, mayonnaise (No not salad dressing, like Miracle Whip! No!) and stir thoroughly. Make sure apples are covered well and then they will not turn brown from oxidation. Decorate with greens if desired (I like lemon grass.) Then I prefer to chill for two hour, but a Russian will want to serve it at room temperature. It is fine either way…

Yummy for our Tummies…

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…