Windows to Russia

Today in Russia I watched a bunch of kids using rubber tipped bow and arrows, plastic swords, snowballs and play plastic assault rifles with no orange tip on them. They had a regular war going on and all was fair in “Love and War…”

A deep dug fort, kinda set up like a pillbox with three girls in the fort against 10 boys…

Kids where rolling in the snow and play shooting everything that moved! Why there was this poor dachshund and he was so worried about what was happening, that he went and licked the face of every kid that fell down dead from the war. That seemed to be the clue for the kid to get up and get in the war again…

The three girls had dug a deep hole in the snow mounds and were using their assault rifles and snowballs to keep the mob of boys back from their little guarded home… (Admittedly snowballs work the best in this situation, but the clack clack of the assault riffles added a imaginable realism to the whole war!)

Snowballs pre-made by a snowball maker, came flying out of the fort and nothing anyone else could do would stop the superior fort from holding out against the valley of the doomed…

Except…

Finally the dachshund rushed the hill of resistant girls and jumped into the deep hole with them…

The war ended as the girls were overrun with boys and even the mothers were unable to protect the pillbox anymore! For the dog had broken the defenses and caused the girls to pay attention to him as the boys used the diversion to their advantage… (It is a boy dog after all!)

I thought to myself, “Man if you tried this in America they would put your ass in jail!”

As Boza and I went about our business and made sure that we did not attract the attention of the army of kids looking for a rematch…

Remember we are located in a huge city and have schools all around us. These kids had just come from school and many pulled their weapons out of book bags. You have to understand that a good play war can break out anywhere. Well at least it did when I was little and I carried my rubber band gun to school for just such an occasion…

Yes – I promise no one was hurt in this massive war and all I saw was a whole bunch of happy kids! By the way it is -7 Celsius outside and these kids play like it is +30 Celsius…

This is why I love Russia…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

As with everything in the world, nothing happens when it should. The Yo-Mobile is no exception. This picture above is the latest prototype and it is definitely “WOW” factor all the way…

Auto company called “E-car” will start production of hybrid vehicles on or after March 2015, this was told to reporters Thursday by board chairman Andrei Biryukov. Previously, the company has repeatedly stated that the start of production would be in 2013. Now it is being said that the factory will not be done being constructed until the second half of 2014…

There are to be three models of hybrid car, known as “E-mobile,” Van and Cross-Coupe. It is known in Russia as being the peoples car and the planned fuel for the vehicle will be a petrol (or LPG), internal combustion engine and a electric motor. These will work in conjunction with each other, to create a vehicle that has tremendous driving range and power…

The cost of the “E-mobile” is stated in the 350-450 thousand ruble range…

Gotcha on that last line huh? That means these cars will run $11,000 to $15,000 American green backs…

You might like a car in that price range and good on the ecology to boot…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Each week, nearly 60,000 children in the United States are reported as abused or neglected, with nearly 900,000 confirmed abuse victims in 2004. About 520,000 of those children end up in foster care each year — double the number 25 years ago. Approximately 800,000 children every year come in contact with the foster care system…

And we bitch about Russia? The statistics are overwhelming about the foster care system in America and we bitch about Russia…

Try: Up to 80 percent of all children in foster care have serious emotional problems.
About half of children under five years old in foster care have developmental delays.
Nearly half of all children in foster care have chronic medical problems.
During the last year about 650,000 children spent some time in out-of-home care in the United States.

Grow up America and it is time to look in the mirror as we bitch…

Nearly 700,000 abused and neglected children will spend time in foster care in the United States this year (2013)…

Source: http://www.childrensrights.org/ just have a look around and see what life is about…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

P.S. I don’t care what the statistics are in Russia, my home country is the one that is laying the blame game on Russia and is doing a worse job at dealing with the issue than Russia is…

What is that saying? “Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone!” It is to warn us not to judge others, for we, just as the person we judge, are imperfect…

Thought so! You can’t cast any stones in reality…

This morning while I am looking over the comments around the world, about various subjects that seem to matter. One subject that I see come up time and time again is complaints about buying Chinese made in the USA. So as I sip a cup of coffee, I will tell you how simple it is too buy from a particular geological area…

Here is how it works! (Yes I may sound a little condescending, but understand that people really bitch about buying Chinese made like they are forced to buy Chinese!)

First tell yourself that I will buy from Russia! (As in my case, your case may be UK or USA or anywhere in the world!)

Second, when the toaster (example) breaks! I buy Russian and from no where else! Yes, actually look at who makes the toaster and buy from who you said you would buy from. You would be shocked at how many items are made by the country, that you have desired to buy from. Buy it even if it cost a few dollars more…

Third, go home with your item and stop complaining about buying Chinese made items, because now you have a toaster made in your country. That toaster still toasts bread and still works very good. In fact you may find that it lasts longer that the Chinese toaster…

A perfect example of buying Russian about me is our car…

We own a 1999 Volga model 310221 station wagon and it is a wonderful car. Why just two days ago after it has set for weeks in subzero weather and 85 inches of snow piled on top it. It fired off intermediately after we cleaned the car off and after a few scoops of snow removal from in front of the car. She (Sammy as we call her!) drove right out of snow deeper than the height of the car around her. She grunted and groaned about being woke up and all, but what do you expect from an old girl… 🙂

Why do I own a Russian Volga?

Good question and the answer is logical. I own that car because anywhere in Russia that we would break down (Just like any make of car will do at anytime!), we can get parts and get parts cheap. In fact almost any village has an old Volga or two sitting rusting away in the front by the main road and a few inquiries will get you a part that will allow you to tool on down the road, for even a cheaper price than a new part. Try that with your Toyota Highlander in a remote Russian village…

I do not buy American on this side of the world, as I did when I lived in America. If I lived in China, I would buy Chinese. If I lived in United Kingdom, I would buy UK…

I am going a step father and tell you how far my buy locally goes…

I am a believer in buying where you live and that extends all the way to the little bread store on the corner. They make the best bread and they are a struggling business as 99% of all small businesses are. Why not walk a few extra feet and buy from a homemade bread shop if you can? Why do you buy bread at the big store and put the little guy out of business? This is what the Walmart’s and the IKEA’s of the world do. They become such a great place to shop that you do not need to go anywhere else and support anyone else. That is the way of life…

I have learned to stop and think, I have changed Sveta’s way of thinking also. What can you buy locally. What can you buy farther away and what can you buy nationally. Then only then, do you look outside the country and pick from what can be bought internationally…

It is so simple it hurts when you think about it…

So quit bitching about buying Chinese, when you have a whole slew of local options right in front of your nose. Now you know the real reason why American companies are jumping the sinking ship! You don’t support them and you buy Chinese, they go where they make money…

We have a saying, “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!”

I do…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Russians call it “The Korean Salad” and after I looked around this salad is called “Korean Carrot Salad,” but it is more Russian than Korean. I am amazed at how good this salad is and it took me awhile to find a recipe that would do justice to the amazing salad that you will find made in Russia and Ukraine as you travel…

Lets make a Russian Salad called Korean Carrot Salad…

Ingredients:
Half Kilo of fresh carrots, peeled and shredded. I prefer shredding in strands lengthwise…
2 cloves garlic, minced and smashed
1/4 cup normal Apple vinegar
1 tablespoon white beet sugar (Cane sugar will do in a pinch)
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 onion, diced and minced
1 teaspoon finely ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon sweet cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Place shredded carrots in a large bowl. Sprinkle garlic over carrots…
2. Mix vinegar, sugar, and salt together in a separate small bowl…
3. Heat oil in a non stick skillet over medium heat. Cook onion until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes…
4. Then stir coriander and cayenne pepper into the onion as it cools…
5. Add to carrot mixture once onion mix has cooled and toss and stir. Pour vinegar dressing over carrot mixture – toss to coat everything again very well…
6. Transfer carrot salad to a dish with a tight-fitting lid, cover, and refrigerate 4 to 24 hours, tossing salad several times while it marinates. This is important to get the flavor to settle throughout the whole salad…

A salad like this should be made the day before using as with 90% of salads and food items, a 24 hour waiting period always allows flavors to circulate sufficiently throughout the food. I taught Sveta this trick and she has noticed a difference with food items when they have a resting period before you eat them of about a day…

So toss the salad good just before serving and get your serving first, because by the time it is passed around the dinner table it will disappear when it gets back to you… 🙂

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

I resurrected an passage out of the article that I posted a very long time ago. In fact it was one of the first articles that I ever posted. Here is the article…

When I came to Russia I quit smoking. I had smoked 0ver 30 years. Its a good thing! The price of cigarettes is so cheap in Russia that I would have smoked even more. In the US I was paying 4 to 5 dollars a pack. In Russia I would only have to pay 75 cents. I am thankful to have quit.

I read that in the last 10 years that Russians have increased smoking 100%.

That is sad, When the US is trying to stamp smoking out, Russia is trying to get everyone to smoke.

What do you think? Is Smoking OK?

comments welcomed

Kyle (Source)

It comes to mind because Russia is going through one of her save the people spells and from what I see, Russians need to have someone try to save them. Now don’t get me wrong, I think we should have our own minds to make up and no one should tell us what to do, but Russians sometimes are kinda all over the place when it comes to being on one side of the fence or another…

have said this before, “What one Russian does they all do!”

So we are now on a crusade to stop smoking. The Duma has passed some of the most stringent laws against public smoking I have ever seen. They never build into something slowly and build steam on the subject, they just grab a subject and try to change the world all at once…

That is why I love Russians…

So I have not touched a cigarette for 7 years now and I will not touch one again. I did the quitting thing “cold turkey” as we in America call it. I smoked the last cigarette in America and stopped, but I do every once in a while think about sitting and having a cup of coffee and smoking a cigarette or a cigar…

All I can tell Russians is that they will be better off by quitting and the way to quit is just “Cold Turkey!”

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

This is a subject that I have talked very little about and I am only talking about this subject now out of curiosity. Curiosity that stems from coming from a totally different society and mindset. It simply has to do with people being given their living quarters free and clear, after the fall of the Soviet Union. This is the coffee thinking’s today on this crisp, cold and sunny day…

It seems that in July of 1991, the Russian Federation passed legislation permitting tenants of municipal and departmental housing to acquire their units free of charge. I have over the years listened and studied the Russians I know and I can tell you that most if not all of the 100+ Russians that I have associated with, have at least one if not two or more paid for living quarters. Yes that is correct, they own their home(s), “Lock Stock and Barrel!”

The only real problem I saw with this, was the fact that many people never signed up and got the paper work done. In fact people that I see complaining are too lazy to take care of the paperwork and get their home in their name free and clear…

Putin just stated as a matter of, “It Will Happen!” –

“The president (Putin) believes that taking into consideration social significance of this problem it is necessary to raise the issue of prolonging public housing privatization for all categories of citizens for two more years,” The president’s spokesman, Peskov said.

“Therefore we proceed from the assumption that this issue will be studied in this manner, which will allow those categories of citizens, who failed to do this in time, to privatize their flats free of charge, although to be fair it’s worth noting that there was enough time to complete all privatization procedures,” Peskov said.

He noted that the issue of free public housing privatization “is very sensitive and concerns a great number of citizens.” The expiry date of free privatization is March 1, 2013. This is looming soon…

I have listened to Sveta and her mother. They have accomplished this task many years ago and because of Sveta’s aunt taking care of her side of things. Sveta and I have a place to live that is paid free and clear. We paid the family money and now the new unit we are in has no mortgage at all, zip, zill and no bank involved…

Living house payment free is strange experience for this American. I have paid off a home in the past, but I stupidly loaned on it and started a failing business. So in the end, I went two months with no house payment and then borrowed against it and then ended up loosing the home as collateral on a business venture…

The mind set in Russia is so different than from what I came from. Russians value family, security and most of all no taking out loans. In the end they have more money to spend and yet they make so much less than in the western side of the world…

Since most of these people are not getting the paperwork done, because they have always been supplied a home and it looks to be that nothing has really changed in their lives. So the threat of losing their home over the simple fact that they are lazy, means nothing to them and by what I see. They are correct…

Russia is now extending the deadline for people to get their flat put in their name – FREE!

This has been going on since 1991…

I ask you to stop a second and image the money that you would have available to spend on everyday life and even vacations, if your home was paid for and utilities where around a quarter of what you pay for them now!

No really think! I watch the world in Russia that I live in. I watch people with totally free healthcare, free homes and literally free utilities in comparison to the western world. Food staples are dirt cheap and to top it off many Russians have free or greatly reduced priced public transport…

As a society Russia has much more free spending money than many Americans. I know that my dollar goes much farther here in Russia and “That is That!”

So back to the subject at hand…

Russians have been allowed two more years to get their flats put in their names, free of charge. I know that it happens because all the Russians I know have done it and they all live in a flat that is paid for. The future generations of Russians are in a good way, if they are smart about how they treat their homes they inherit…

Why Sveta’s son Misha will inherit 4 paid for units, with no debt on them when his adult members pass away. Think about the possibilities available to future generations to live without debt strangling them all their life. He can lease these units and live happily forever after…

I bet they extend this deadline at least one more time in the future…

Russians! That is why I love Russia…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

US Asks Russia to Lift Meat Ban: Please take our Tainted Meat, because no one else will…

WASHINGTON, on February 11th 2013 has whined “What did we do!”: The US government on Monday called on Russia to lift a ban on US beef and pork imports containing the livestock feed additive ractopamine, which went into effect earlier in the day…

I have read that the US wants to talk about it, but the US was given a chance and ignored that chance…

Russia says, “We do not want the crap in our meat!” Russia says ractopamine is unsafe and dangerous, that it is imposing the ban on US meat imports containing the food additive, because the US Food Safety and Inspection Service failed to guarantee that beef and pork shipments would be free of ractopamine. Russia has waited for a response and one never came from America, where as Canada and several other countries complied and made concessions…

Once again it is an America that does no wrong and everyone is mean to her as she is so perfect and is the queen of perfection. Just listen to the stupid statement that comes out of several “foot in mouth” diseased individuals: “The United States is very disappointed that Russia has taken action to suspend all imports of US meat, which is produced to the highest safety standards in the world,” said US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a joint statement.”

Seriously? The highest safety standards in the world! Seriously? Then they do not get out much do they?

Now if you knew what I know and what many people know who refuse to eat food produced by American big bussiness. Then you would roll your eyes at such a flagrantly pathetic attempt at trying to convince themselves that America has safe food standards…

Russia has responded to the whining with more banning of tainted food: Russia Bans Turkey Over Ractopamine Residues…

This is interesting: The food safety standards set by the United Nations, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, allows a measurable amount of ractopamine at 10 parts per billion! Now we find out that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows the usage of a standard of 50 parts per billion… (10 parts compared to 50 parts)

That seems to be a whole bunch higher…

Ractopamine, which is used to stimulate livestock growth and make meat leaner, is prohibited in around 160 countries world wide. The drug is just not a good thing to use and most of the world agrees…

In an attempt to politicize this issue, a leading association of US pork producers said the ban is less about food safety concerns and more about reducing competition for the Russian meat industry. “This is not about food safety issues, this is about protecting the domestic product,” said National Pork Producers Council spokesman Dave Warner as he also said, “Pork is a pretty important industry for Russia, so this is about reducing the competition for their domestic pork industry,” Warner said.

The US is worried that a lucrative market is about to be shut forever and last year the US exported just over 80,000 metric tons (88,183 tons) of beef to Russia at a value of $307 million, and more than 99,000 metric tons (109,126 tons) of pork at a value of $282 million…

A country that is as far in debt as America is cannot afford to lose any trade at all…

Please Russia, keep the tainted meat out of our stores in Russia! We have plenty of good meat to eat…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

P.S. – The food Americans are eating is “just plain horse crazy” and that is that…

While I have eaten horsemeat and rat, snake, alligator and variety of insects and other tasty treats in the world. I am against eating horse meat as a staple. I was raised to believe horses are a member of the family and they work the farm just like the humans work the farm…

Not long ago Sveta brought home horsemeat! Now in Russia horse meat is a staple and can be found in most stores. Eating horse is normal in many parts of the world. I just could not eat it and that is my western world upbringing. She eat it and Boza decided that it was the best thing since fried chicken and pork cutlets. I just was raised different…

But I have to laugh at the explosion of the UK society as I read everyday articles about horsemeat. I fact this article is stimulated by the fact that now they say:

Horsemeat found in British supermarkets ‘may be donkey’

That just set me to a laughing fit…

Then I really looked around…

What I thought was just a bunch of Britains running around and worrying about horsemeat, has developed into a European apocalypse

I see America has been blamed for horsemeat to Europe, I see Poland has been blamed. I see that Romania is blamed. I see fingers being pointed at Northern Ireland and to tell the truth, it has gotten way out of hand and it needs to stop. There is a hell of a lot more important things to worry about than whether you got horsemeat in you burger or lasagna. I see a “Next Stop!” and Europe saying, “Damn Russians eat horse meat, they gotta be the culprit…”

In fact I have been stunned that anyone would care enough to keep the media so involved in this story. There must be something going on that Europe is trying to cover up and keep peoples minds from questioning…

Nah they would never try to distract the public. Wish the media would do this same crazy reporting when the west kills thousands of innocent people all over the world. I guess it is all in the importance of the event… 🙁

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

For years I have talked about Russia buying gold and I have even posted several articles to keep an eye on what they are doing. In fact I have made it clear that Russia is preparing for the future when a petrodollar is no longer a feasible unit of measurement.This is what my coffee thinking’s are this morning as I contemplate gold…

Now read what Bloomberg prints…

Not only has Putin made Russia the world’s largest oil producer, he’s also made it the biggest gold buyer. His central bank has added 570 metric tons of the metal in the past decade, a quarter more than runner-up China, according to IMF data compiled by Bloomberg. The added gold is also almost triple the weight of the Statue of Liberty.

This falls in line with what has been happening for years in Russia and what I have seen happening. I find it interesting that everyone ignores the obvious and keeps on rolling in a bed made of worthless paper fiat money that is not valued as much as the cost of producing it…

It is things like this that interest me. I find it strange how we always get the information and that information is verifiable about eastern countries gold and financial dealings, but try to verify the fact if the US has the gold she says she has and try to understand what the real financial issue is in the west and you will hit a garbled wall of trash that means nothing in the least…

I figured it out…

China and Russia are buying gold as fast as they can buy it. Both are mining gold as fast as they can mine it. Both are running a race to see who can purchase the most gold. Both are on the doorstep of the western banks when those banks release gold to suppress the market…

Think about it…

Both countries want to be a world currency and be the petrol-currency of the future. So both are scarfing up gold to back that currency, as that is the way that their currency will be accepted as the number one currency. They know that the west has been selling her gold under the table trying to prop up a failing fiat money system and one day soon, the house of cards that has been built will come tumbling down when the correct breeze makes its way int the glass house that has been built…

Just watch as Russia turns “Black Gold” into “Yellow Gold” – hmm…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…