Preparations for Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games

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Olympics

A delegation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) arrived in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Monday to inspect the country’s preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

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Germany’s BASF to enter South Stream project

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Gas Lines...

Germany’s BASF plans to sign a memorandum with Gazprom later on Monday to enter the South Stream pipeline project, BASF board chairman Juergen Hambrecht said.

“The memorandum of understanding is just a beginning, we will continue the work,” he said at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The Russian premier, in his turn, welcomed Germany’s support for the project, “including the position of Chancellor Angela Merkel.”

The South Stream is designed to transport Russian gas to Europe under the Black Sea bypassing Ukraine. The capacity of the 900-kilometer pipeline, planned to become operational in 2015, is intended to eventually reach 63 billion cubic meters per year. Gazprom said in mid-June that it was ready to start South Stream’s construction in 2013.

Wintershall, the oil and gas subsidiary of BASF, holds a 15.5% stake in another major project by Gazprom, the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

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Coffee and 2400 Posts on Windows to Russia…

While I was sipping that morning cup of coffee. I had thinking’s brought to my mind that Windows to Russia had exceeded 2400 posts (exact is 2421). So that, (due to my own personal brain processes) extended my thoughts into what countries view Windows to Russia the most. I discovered that United States, Russian Federation, Germany, South Korea, Great Britain, Canada, Slovenia, France, China, Netherlands round out the top 10 from USA number one on down to number ten. Russia is knocking on the door of the USA for number one spot and Germany is dancing right behind. Germany has grown tremendously in the last few months and it has been a pleasure to receive e-mails from Germany. They are so polite and pleasant. Talking about polite and pleasant lets talk about communicating with China. Now if you remember, I was blocked in China and after several e-mails on my part to certain associations (one was Baidu) in China. I got a response that said that they would review my sight for exceptionalism’s. (I liked that big word they used!) Something happened because now I am being hit by China again. I expect at the pace they are hitting, that by the end of the month, China will be around number 5 on the list…

Then while sipping that coffee I realized that I had finally achieved the separation of http://windowstorussia.com and http://kylekeeton.com and that was not an easy process. If you remember several years ago I had decided to put Windows to Russia on her own domain. From that domain I created Coffee Talk, Russian News From Russia, Thoughts of Moscow and Windows to Russia. I literally killed Windows to Russia and had to start from scratch again. It has paid off…

In the last few months News and Coffee have decided to start taking off. The readership has tripled and now news is starting to rival Windows to Russia. But I have 5500 post on news and update it continually now every 6 to 8 hours. I am thinking about trying to set up an every other hour update on the news site but I really have very little time. Thoughts of Moscow is another pet project of mine and is in the developmental stage…

If you are interested in what the number one search word in Google is for Windows to Russia? It surprised me and I bet it will surprise you also…

Cottage Cheese: is the number one Windows to Russia term. They average 600 to 700 hits a day on that particular term. Day in and day out. Now the term Russia and coffee is right behind it, but it has for months been the number one. I find that Cottage Cheese is usually around the 6th or 7th spot on in the top 10 Google search. Now do not yell at me if Google does not show it to you when you search for it. I do not understand the whens and whys of Google, but I do know that Cottage Cheese is the king per Google webmaster tools…

It always amazes me that no matter how hard I work at other words to get them ranked. A search phrase like Cottage Cheese rules the site… 🙂

That is it for today. I am going to finish my coffee…

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Russian Arctic Expedition Time…

A unique expedition from the the Arctic region in Russia kicks off from Russia to Canada on Monday March 21st, 2011. In an event that will see a caravan of snow vehicles covering around 8,000 kilometers amid wild weather conditions…

Originally this trek was to be undertaken on February 17th, 2011. But due to weather anomalies it had to be postponed until conditions improved in Russia…

It seems that this is a huge test also for the GLONASS navigation system designed by Russia. As I understand Russia wants to make this navigation system second to none and is in the market to challenge GPS…

Territorial claims on the Arctic are held by Russia, the United States, Norway, Greenland and Canada. Russia has sought to show predominance in Arctic exploration and in 2007 planted its flag in the seabed of the Arctic Ocean… (Russia is going to plant a Arctic flag…)

But actions by Russia over the last 4 years are ringing alarm bells in the West. They say that Russia is trying to boost its stake over the pole’s petroleum rich sea bed. Russia has the availability to increase her share of Arctic territory if they can prove that the Lomonosov Ridge, is part of the continental territory of Russia. That increases Russia claims by a huge amount…

They also say there will be a website set up to be able to track the expedition as it travels those long cold kilometers from Russia to Canada. But I have not found the link yet – when I do I will post it…

I find this interesting and lets hope that they get to start and have a safe trip…

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Earthquake and Tsunami that hit Japan…

Earthquake, tsunami may cost Japan $235bn – World Bank: The devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan 10 days ago may cost the country’s economy $235 billion, or 4% of GDP, the World Bank said in a report on Monday.

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Radiation level normal in Russia’s Far East despite Japan disaster

Radiation levels in the Russian Far East are within normal limits despite an ongoing crisis at a nuclear power plant in nearby Japan, the regional office of the Russian Emergencies Ministry said on Monday.

The Fukushima plant was hit by a number of explosions following a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands on March 11.

Efforts are still underway to try to cool down the overheating nuclear cores in the reactors to prevent nuclear fallout.

Trace amounts of radioactive iodine were discovered in tap water in Tokyo in the wake of the disaster.

Radiation above the national safety level was also found in water supplies in five other prefectures, said an official from Japan’s science ministry, which is monitoring radiation levels.

Spinach and milk produced near the plant has been found to contain levels of radiation iodine far higher than the legal limits, but not at levels dangerous to human health. The sale of some products was halted.

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Five arrested at banned St. Paddy’s parade in Moscow

Moscow police detained five people on Sunday for organizing an unauthorized St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Well over 1,000 people gathered in Moscow’s main tourist stretch, Stary Arbat, on Sunday afternoon for the march, which has been a yearly tradition in the Russian capital since 1992.

But this year’s parade was canceled by new Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin due to safety and traffic concerns. The crowd was quickly dispersed by police.

Irish Ambassador to Russia Philip McDonagh said the cancellation was “in view of the cold weather and the priority that is being given at present to resolving Moscow’s traffic problems.”

The Moscow authorities organized a number of other events in place of the parade, including a concert of Irish music.

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Russia Today on Libyan, Lies and Lessons…

Libya, lies and lessons to be learned:

It is a shame that we have entered into the Libya issue…

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Russia ready to disengage liquefied gas for Japan…

Russia is ready to increase its gas deliveries to Europe by 6 billion cubic meters for 100 days in order to disengage volumes of liquefied gas for quake-stricken Japan, Russian Prime Minister Putin said on Saturday.

“Right now, Gazprom is ready to increase the gas deliveries to Europe by 60 million cubic meters per day, which corresponds to about 40 tons of liquefied gas. The liquefied gas disengaged by the move will be sent to Japan,” Putin said at an energy meeting in Russia’s Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

“Only actions coordinated with our European action would allow the move,” he added.

A powerful earthquake hit Japan on March 11. A fresh tremor measuring 6.1 jolted eastern Japan on Saturday. Over 7,000 people were killed in the disaster.

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Russia’s Foreign Ministry advises Russians against travel to Japan…

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday advised Russians against travelling to Japan over a radiation threat posed by Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant that was severely damaged during last week’s devastating earthquake and powerful tsunami.

“Background radiation in Tokyo and the remaining part of the country, except for the area around the Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant, remains within permissible levels,” the ministry said on its website.

“At the same time, background radiation around the nuclear power plant is gradually decreasing. But the situation in the country’s northeast hit hardest by the natural disaster, especially in the area close to the Fukushima nuclear power plant, remains tense,” the ministry said.

Therefore, the ministry once again “recommends Russian citizens against going to Japan for the purpose of travel or other personal purposes while Russians staying in the country should refrain from visiting the disaster-hit areas due to the difficult situation there,” the ministry said.

The confirmed death toll from last week’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan has risen to 8,133, police told Kyodo news agency on Sunday.

As many as 12,272 people remain missing. About 360,000 people have been evacuated from the disaster area and accommodated at temporary shelters in the country’s 14 prefectures, the agency reported.

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