Windows to Russia

I am still in pain from having dental work done, so I will write a short article about the snow that never ends in our part of Russia. I will write an article about all the dental work that I have had done and about the costs. I am very pleased, but as always I really dislike dental work and nothing has changed on that part in my life. So lets talk about a Russian Winter and yes I know it is spring, but you would never know that from what we are seeing…

There are three reasons for becoming a writer: the first is that you need the money; the second that you have something to say that you think the world should know; the third is that you can’t think what to do with the long winter evenings: Quentin Crisp…

Oh how true that quote is (Except the money part!) and hence writing in Russia has just been normal and come naturally. For the Russian winter is the longest winter I have ever endured or seen in my life…

Out come the kids! In about a half hour from this image, from when it was taken, this playground will be full of kids, moms and babushkas. It is snowing like crazy and it is -12 C as I write this post. I said the other day that no matter what the conditions are, the little ones are taken outside and they play for hours. It does not matter what is going on in the world…

The first photo does not make you understand what it is like here. I am shooting the picture from our balcony and I am much higher looking down on the world. The second picture is what you see as you walk around. You walk below the snow level and we are definitely running out of room to put the snow…

Moscow as I have said before, melts the snow from the roads,  but most people in Moscow walk and this is what they see. They see a city that is strangling from too much snow. I have watched it snow for two days straight and it looks like a few more days are on its way…

To put it in perspective. The car that you see in the first photo all most buried, in the middle bottom. That car is siting on about a meter packed ice and again the car is disappearing from sight. By tomorrow you most likely will not see the car until spring! Oh wait – it is spring… 🙂

The train in the playground amazes me! It is not attached to the ground and it seems to float on the snow. It always looks like it will be buried and the next day, like a boat in the water it just seems to appear back from drowning in the snow. But notice the swing sets! They use to be taller than I am by a lot, but now I tower over the top bar. They have huge holes under them as the kids swing and cut a path out in the snow. Like I said, “Russians play outdoors in all weather!”

Oh by the way! The snow from the very first snow in our winter is still here. That is the interesting thing in Moscow. The stuff never melts for months and months…

I just love Russia…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Construction workers with jackhammers broke through the wall of a new tunnel 84 meters below the surface in order to connect two lines under construction: Kalininsko-Solntsevskaya and Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya…

This is a cool video and shows what happens below the city deep in the ground. The Moscow Metro is most likely one of the deepest metros in the world and work being done on it is never ending. For you can never stop working on one of the busiest metro’s in the world..

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

I touched on this several times and now it is becoming clearer than mud now. The BRICS will develop their own spot in the world and “damn to be” to the western world and her jealous tendencies. The BRICS will be setting up a banking system of their own…

I see the things that made life good in the past developing in the attitudes of the BRICS and that is a good thing for a better world. The world has become lopsided and unsteady as it is being pushed and pulled by a few strings and those strings are going to break sooner than later…

BRICS is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and the strong rumor has it that BRIICS could be soon to happen, with the addition of Iran and or it could become BRIIICS with the addition of Indonesia. Now I think that they need to come up with a better name as it seems to be growing at a exponential rate. Besides this name was given by the western worlds – Goldman Sachs. So it could be expounded on and made better…

So many things are happening around the world, as countries aggregate towards other countries, in an attempt to become more self-reliant against the impending downfall of the Western Empire as it does a death spiral into the black hole of debt…

I feel that the new BRICS banks are set up based on gold? Or similar backings… (Oil, Gas, etc, etc and etc!)

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Russia’s Rosneft Surpasses ExxonMobil To Become World’s Biggest Oil Co…

I am sure that I am not the only one in Russia who is reading the western press right now and I am sure that I am not the only one laughing at the folly that is dancing on the pages of western media. Here is what I read as it is coming from the west amidst the cries of anguish and misery…

Heaven help us and how in the Hell did that happen? OMG the sky is falling and we never knew it was happening, or at the very least we tried to ignore it happening and that always works: You Know! Right?

How silent we stayed, as we hoped it would never happen and how much we wished that God would strike Russia dead and bury her in a pile of rubble! As she thwarted our efforts to stop the deal of a lifetime that would put Rosneft on top of the world of energy…

But now that the silence we enveloped the whole world in about this deal, to cover our underhanded dealings to cause it to fail. That silence is no longer necessary, as we lost. We will now moan and groan and bemoan and wrench our hearts in hate, dislike, spitefulness and now we will tell the world about how bad Russia is and how bad things will get in Russia and why, oh why, Russia is doomed to fail as a country, just because they are who they are! They are Russia and that is evil…

My God! Did you not know that Putin is the “god” in charge of Rosneft? My God in Heaven! Did you not know that now the world will be held under an umbrella of evil that extends from Moscow and eats at the very fabric of western goodness and perfectness that has been won only by hard and honest work, by democracies just trying to make a better world…

Do you understand that Russia is a failed country and is only held up by the fact it has oil and gas in such plentiful amounts, that countries like America and Britain are forced to deal with the hated Russia for pathetic resources that mean nothing in the long term of life. We just want you to understand that without the west, Russia would collapse into a pile of dung and rot in the sun at any given second…

Do you understand that it was nothing that we did to cause this shift in oil power on the planet? The fact that we pushed TNK-BP into a corner, through lawsuits, fines and games of blame over the Gulf Oil Spill in 2010. Have nothing to do with this whole happening’s! For someone had to take the blame for our shortcomings and political issues of incompetence. TNK-BP had the extra money and we are taking it as is our right to do, whenever we feel like it…

Why should that issue create a condition, that allows Rosneft – TNK-BP – Putin – Russia – Evil – Chicken Little, to all get together at the same time and cause the poor west to have issues of decadence…

Besides: Vladimir Putin Is The New Shah Of Oil and how much more terrible could it be then that in the world? Right?

Now that is what I am hearing by the western media and it is a true sign of decay in the consortium we call the west…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

This is simple and very normal. You push on someone too much and they will hold hands with someone to overcome the crap, being shoved at them…

Russia and China will coordinate their reactions to US plans to boost its missile defense in the Asia-Pacific region and they will do what it takes to effectively null and void US game playing in the eastern part of the world…

I have on good word that this partnership extends to all aspects of the military and is in the future, going to be part of a military pact for the continuity of countries on this side of the world to protect themselves from the western games…

I am going to make it short and sweet!

America (USA) needs to go home and play in her own backyard. People in the world are getting real tired of the bully going to other playgrounds and trying to pick fights. We all have known a bully and we all have seen a bully get his comeuppance…

Is that what we want as Americans? Is that what we desire? Do we want to be a bully? Do we want to get what a bully always gets in the end? Are you proud to be a bully?

That mirror you look in talks to you everyday as you brush your teeth and comb your hair. Are you listening?

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

This week, Russian Orthodox believers began observing the seven-week Lent and will abstain from meat, fish, eggs, dairy products and alcohol until Easter is celebrated on May 5, 2013…

Lent, is the 40 day period of fasting and prayer before Easter. The 40 days represents the time Jesus spent in the desert overcoming temptation by Satan. The period of Lent is preparation for the annual commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus, celebrated during Holy Week…

2013 Orthodox Calendar…

Notes

1. Easter is calculated using Gauss formula.

2. Feasts are set off with red color.

3. Days of the remembrance of the departed are set off in back color.

4. Fast days are set off in background colors on calendar….

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

I have mentioned many things over the years and many things that I have mentioned are about the strange ways that Russians do things. I thought that today I would talk about these things, that even after 7 full years, I still find it strange, but I would never want it to change. For all the strange things Russians do are what makes me love Russia…

1. You walk/drive in Russia! You will find that hardly anyone looks at you. They know you are there and they try to watch with their head down and determine your path. They very rarely look you in the eyes. I find by this action alone, that Russians are introverts and they make me a extrovert in comparison. Even though in America I am a introvert, that is not true in Russia. I look at peoples eyes (Or try to!) as I walk and I drive. It is a known fact to me, that Russians try to drive the way they walk and I set that as an example to why Russians are terrible drivers…

2. A Russian and their shopping cart! I have never seen the likes of how dangerous a Russian is pushing a shopping cart. They are totally dissociated with the fact that their shopping cart is a solid object and it will hurt or maim people as they ram it through the isles of a big store. It would be hilarious if I was not the one to be attacked all the time, but I am it seems to be forever slammed in the ankles with a shopping cart. They never run into Sveta and she does not understand why I get testy with Russians as they run over me with those damn shopping carts from hell. This is another case of a perfect example about how they drive their cars and walk…

3. That cashier at the store! I have no issues with this type of way to handle business. I know how to make sure that they will deal with me and that frown and hateful expression that is there anyway, will be accurate when I am done. A cashier in Russia 9 out of 10 times will despise the fact that you even dare to want to buy something. Why just today, my cashier at the corner store who was new and was having a discussion with the security guard (While the store was full of people who just might steal things! :)), decided that I could stand there and wait, while she discussed fingernail color with the female guard. So I took a 10 ruble coin and made enough noise to wake the dead, as I tapped it on the stainless counter. This was the sign to give me some mean looks and I was satisfied. For I would have received the same mean looks whether I woke her up or not. For I could have stood there for 5 minutes and been treated the same. The security guard was laughing as she ran off, for this was a new cashier and the others have dealt with me before. I buy a lot of food from them and they know it, next time I know she will be alert to me…

Continuing on a cashier: This is normal in Russia and I would have it no other way. I have learned when I am by myself, to judge the situation as I come up to pay. I may drop something from a higher level and create a loud smacking noise and see if that gets the attention of the cashier. It is simple in Russia, a cashier does not like you to bother her. Even though that is her job. I let Sveta deal with it when we are together…

Oh – we all know about the worthless cashier in America, but that is the exception not the norm…

4. The drink cooler! All over Russia are drink coolers. You know! The ones that sit inside a 7-11 and hold beer, Coke, Pepsi or what ever needs to be cold. They have doors on them and do a good job of keeping that small bottle of soda nice and cool. Well in Russia you may find that one out of twenty coolers actually work. Well I should say they work, but they are never plugged in. They are just storage units to hold room temperature soft drinks. They sit outside, inside and anywhere that someone wants to have a way to lock up their drinks, but not to cool them. I always wonder every time I get a drink from a kiosk and they hit the button to let me open the door to get my drink, as they watch with eagle eyes, to make sure that I do not run with more than one that I bought. I am not sure why they would think a fat bear would run with any of their drinks, much less hot drinks from a should be a cold cooler. I am use to it and would have it no other way now…

5. Children will be outside and there is no exceptions! I am sure that this next thing is because of the fact that winter is half a year or more, but the Russians believe that your child goes out and pays, no matter what the temperature is. Now they have appropriate clothes for these occasions, but the fact is that it can be -30 C and the playground is full of kids. They simply seem to have no aversion to cold. These little monkeys as I call them, can play for hours outside at subzero temperatures and never bat an eye. They are tough and that is that…

To go along with this train of thought: People pull there kids everywhere on sleds. The kids get on and are in for a wild ride, as mom goes to do her things. I have seen kids left behind and seen kids dumped in snow banks up to their ears. They take it in stride and one thing that seems to be very true, Russians kids do not cry at the drop of a hat and they have super grips as their hands have to hold them onto a sled that is being drug over hill and dale…

6. Russians don’t value money as much in comparison to western counterparts. It is of course a better life with money than without money, but to have lots and lots of money is a really a bad thing! Being a rich person, you are considered to be unfair and a greedy type of people. If you are rich – don’t ever boast about your money. It will come back on you and you may not be rich very long. Many Russian people live from salary to salary and often borrow money when they can from neighbors and family. Russian people are a more than a bit lazy at times and don’t always earn much money, but that is what makes them unique! They get away from the high-speed money race that is so common in the west. They are able stop and look around in time and see the beauty of the world and people around. I like to call it, “Stop and smell the Roses!”

I find that my way of thinking falls into the same category as Russians and I find that money is evil also…

I will end this today, because I could write forever about differences. Maybe I will write another soon and tell about even more differences. I see them all the time and I thought I would end this with: One curious thing about Russia…

It has become strange now for me, I watch foreigners coming from (so called rich) western countries to Russia for the first time – they are stunned (good and bad) by everything they see here. But then they stop and absorb what they have seen. Many do not understand what catches their eye, mind or soul in this badly organized, gloomy and cold world that Russians live in. But it is not abnormal that they come back again and again and again, to feel the Russian inner soul, traditions, customs and culture…

They are ready to drop their pretenses of the west to be able to feel the Russian collectivism, hospitality, friendliness and disorganization, but also at the same time to feel how wonderful it is – just to live life as a real free person, in mind, body and soul…

That is why I love Russia…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

EU, Cyprus Act ‘Like Bull in China Shop’ – Russian PM…

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday slammed the European Union and Cyprus for their handling of the island nation’s debt woes.

Medvedev told a group of European media outlets in an interview that the crisis had been entirely mishandled, undermining confidence in financial institutions, in Cyprus and beyond.

“The actions of the EU, the European Commission and the Cypriot government to settle the debt problem unfortunately only resemble the actions of a bull in a china shop,” Medvedev said.

Parliament in Cyprus on Tuesday rejected a government bill that envisioned a levy of 6.75 percent on deposits of less than 100,000 euros ($128,950) and 9.9 percent on larger deposits, which has been set as a precondition for securing an international 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout loan.

Dmitri Medvedev compares Europe to USSR:

The Cypriot banking crisis shows that expropriation of bank accounts and private property is not a thing of the past. The EU’s decision to raid the private bank accounts is compared by the Russian Prime Minister to some controversial decisions taken by the Soviet authorities in the 20^th century.

On Wednesday, Dmitri Medvedev criticized the European and Cypriot authorities for their actions in the context of the bailout of the Cypriot banking system. One of the reasons for the harsh reaction of the Russian Prime Minister is the unwillingness of the European authorities to take into account the negative consequences of their actions.

Reuters reports that Dmitri Medvedev compared the actions of the European Union and Cyprus with the actions “of a bull in China shop”. He added that “all possible mistakes that could be made have been made by them”.

RIA reports that Dmitri Medvedev described the “unique solidarity levy” imposed by the so-called Troika (ECB, European Commission and IMF) as “clearly confiscatory”, condemning its “expropriating character”. The Russian Prime Minister stressed that such actions are absolutely unprecedented and are very dangerous. “We are living in the 21st century, under market economic conditions. Everybody has been insisting that ownership rights should be respected,” he added. Dmitri Medvedev compared the actions of the European Union to the actions of the USSR authorities. “I can only compare it some of the decisions made… by Soviet authorities, who did not give a thought to the savings of the population,” he told Russian journalists on Wednesday.

Reuters reports that a delegation of the European Commission, lead by Jose Manuel Barroso, will negotiate the future of Cyprus in Moscow. The negotiations are unlikely to be easy, given the negative reaction of the Russian authorities to the bailout package proposed by the Troika. The Cypriot negotiators have failed to achieve anything in Moscow, but their European partners are unlikely to be more successful. It seems that the Russian decision makers are quite unhappy that they haven’t been consulted prior to the rash decision to expropriate the money held in the Cypriot bank accounts.

This is while Cyprus is working on leaving the EU…

Cypriot parliament has come up with an alternative plan to stabilize the country’s economy by exiting the eurozone if its government fails to come to terms with the EU and IMF, a diplomatic source in London has confessed.

According to the plan, Cyprus is considering leaving the single currency union while staying in the EU that would see its national currency, the Cypriot pound, restored across the island country.

This measure could potentially help the Central Bank of Cyprus steer clear of the crippling economic and banking crisis.

Cyprus has cited Iceland as its role model, saying it was on the brink of collapse in 2008 but managed to weather the budding crisis by pursuing an independent monetary policy.

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Sveta and I need to get a way from all the snow. Especially Sveta, she is going snow crazy. I understand why and if you saw out our windows today you would see snow falling and falling. That is the thinking’s today and that is what is going with a cup of delicious coffee as I am thinking it…

So we found a fantastic 5 day trip to Turkey and since it is off season, we got a 5 star hotel, airline tickets round trip and it includes all food. For two people it costs: $600 and a tiny bit of extra pocket change…

It is 16 to 20 C. in Turkey where we want to go and that is a far cry from -10 that it is here right now…

Sometime at the first of next month we will be leaving and walking the beach in Turkey… 🙂

Maybe when we get back the snow will have disappeared in Moscow, Russia…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Reported out of Baghdad: A wave of bombings tore through the Baghdad area Tuesday, killing 57 people on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion and showing how unstable Iraq remains more than a year after the withdrawal of American troops…

This is so sad and is really what is wrong with Iraq. What is definitely wrong with Iraq and what has caused turmoil there, is America’s fault and America’s doing. America is totally responsible for the outcome for the next hundred generations, in Iraq and that is that. We stepped in and changed what was! We stepped in and killed so many humans and so many are innocent, that we have created a condition that will never go away. America has signed her own time stamped ticket, of retribution in the future and when the time is correct, someone will take payback with that signed ticket. That bothers me and I do not understand how if anyone proclaims to love their country so much, that they would endanger the whole population over games and lies. They are called war crimes and “That is That!”…

We waltzed into Iraq and destroyed a society that really had a good thing going. We danced our way into a war in Iraq and even told everyone at the cocktail parties, “They (Iraq) have weapons of mass destruction!”

Then the famous: “Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere!” —President Bush, joking about his administration’s failure to find WMDs in Iraq as he narrated a comic slideshow during the Radio & TV Correspondents’ Association dinner, March 25, 2004…

Then this was all while Russia was saying: “Russia does not have in its possession any trustworthy data that supports the existence of nuclear weapons or any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and we have not received any such information from our partners as yet.” – Vladimir Putin

That really bugs me to think that we destroyed Iraq for a lie and it should bother you…

Look how wonderful the place is, after we instilled a fake democracy and a new dictatorship to run the place for the USA…

The clock is ticking… (And since we have done this to several other countries, they all are waiting patiently in a queue to use their ticket!)

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…