Back Home in Russia – Safe and Sound…


I was sitting here thinking about the trip I just made over a good cup of coffee. It is really amazing how bad the coffee can be when you have to buy it from a machine. I tried several cups of train station coffee this trip and found that while it was chocked full of caffeine. They forgot to keep the flavor and it was more like mud than coffee. My grandpa use to say, “That coffee could take the varnish off the furniture…”

So running on coffee (?) for several days, does not help my health and it takes me several days to recover once I am home. It is a fun but rough trip…

This week I will update the visa situation in Ukraine. There has been several changes and that caused me a few problems. Nothing that I could not deal with but if you know ahead of time it is easy to change your patterns for. So a new Ukraine visa post is in the works, to cover new said issues…

I also struggled to get any mobile posting done. The system that I had was flawed (as always) and even though it worked at home. It crashed on the road.  I had to do some research at the motel to discover new ways to post from my mobile phone. I finally came upon a application for my android phone called, “WordPress in Your Pocket“. It was the answer to my issues and as you can see I was able to finally get several articles posted. They were just test posts but it worked and made me feel better after all the failures…

There was something cool about sitting in a McDonald’s and eating a cheeseburger and posting to the blog… (I know, I am weird!)

One last thing for this post. I found out on this trip why America is the worst country but is also the greatest and most wonderful country. On a overnight train like the one to Kiev you find that you are a captive of the train and conversations are necessary just to curtail the boredom. So I was talking to a Yuri. (Always a Yuri on a train!) He was expressing about why America was a terrible country and all that stuff. I listened to him and discovered that he was born in Ukraine during the Soviet era and had lived in America for three years after the fall of the Soviet Empire. He was very well educated and fluent in several languages. So he had knowledge’s that extended beyond just western propaganda in his thoughts…

We were joined in conversation by a quiet Briton (Charles) that agreed with Yuri on most of his thoughts. So I was out numbered right off the start.  But after all was said about how America needs to grow up and get her act together. That America is just a semblance of Democracy. That freedoms in America are a facade. Other words politically, morally and structurally, America sucks… 🙁

There was an interesting kicker to the whole conversation. It was about why America is the greatest Country and that these wonderful items override the bad…

Yuri had said that he gained 30 kilos in America and when he came back to Ukraine he lost all that weight he had gained. He said that food was just so plentiful and cheap, that you found yourself and others just eating all the time. Every business meeting had food and more food. Portions are huge at the restaurants, etc etc etc. The biggest thing to him was the donut shops. He could not control himself over Dunkin donuts… 🙂

{I myself, have lost 20 kilos now after leaving America and that part of his conversation I had to agree with. To much excess food in America…}

So Yuri and the Charles made it clear that America is the greatest country in the world because, you have unlimited cups of coffee refills, unlimited cups of hot or cold tea refills, cheap buffets with unlimited food refills, unlimited Coke-Cola refills and donut shops everywhere. (Does Britain have unlimited food items like America?) There was a couple more things and they all had to do with food… 🙂

Who would have thunk? Dunkin Donuts makes America great…

Sometimes my train conversations amaze me…

Windows to Russia!

The Kiev, Ukraine Train Station…


It was a dreary day and snowing like crazy. I decided while waiting for my evening train back to Moscow, to take a walk. I snapped a few pictures and they came out OK. Not great, but it gives you an idea of the Kiev train station…

While Moscow has multiples of train stations including one called the Kiev station. Kiev only has one train station and it is huge…

I say that it has a new end and an old end to the building. The inside pictures are of the old end and the outside pictures are of the new end. The old end is twice as busy as the new end…

I threw a picture of the church across the street for good measure…

Related articles

Where Oh Where Has The Kiev Mayor Gone…


Leonid Chernovetskyi, the incumbent Mayor of K...
Mayor of Kiev, Leonid Chernovetskyi…

Some interesting news while I was in Kiev this time: For over two months now (and some are saying 5 months) in Kiev. The mayor has not been seen. The TV news at the hotel reported that he left Ukraine this past November to celebrate his 59th birthday in France and never came back…

I wonder if he has been paid the whole time?

Interesting…

Windows to Russia!

Ukraine posting from McDonalds…


I finally found a system that allowed me to mobile post. As I sit eating a hamburger I am typing this. So I realize this is not much but it is a start….

My first three attempts at mobile posting failed…

Lets hope this works. I was able to approve some comments and delete some comments that wished my death…

I have some interesting stories to tell when I get back…

Windows to Russia!

“Posted from Mobile”

In Ukraine and trying to post…


Hey everyone! I am sitting in a WiFi zone. Kiev seems to have free WiFi all over the place…

I am just trying out this mobile blogging thing…

If it works. Then I will do more later. I am sitting in a McDonald’s in Ukraine at this moment. I found a free WiFi and will say a few words.

I got all my business done and can play now.

I ate two cheese burgers and drank a diet coke…

So we will see how these few words come out. Then maybe we will have more than a few words next time…

Windows to Russia!

“Posted from Mobile”

Lessons From the Moscow Bombing – by Eli Cryderman…


At 4:32pm local time, a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device equivalent to ~15lbs TNT in a crowded international arrival zone at Domodedovo airport, the busiest of Moscow’s three airports. At least 35 people were killed instantly while reports of those injured have been reported as high as 168. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, although it is suspected that a member of an Islamic group hailing from the war stricken Chechen Republic is to blame.

Concerning the horrible loss of innocent life in a Moscow airport yesterday, and with the aforementioned quotes in mind, what can we learn about this event? Sure, there will be plenty of news coverage over the next couple days reviewing the details of the bombing, what actually happened, how it happened, which extremist group is to blame, which talk radio host or political party encouraged it and so on and so forth. But, it’s a new season of American Idol (with new judges!), The Oprah found out she has a half-sister, soon it will be the Super Bowl and this event, like everything else that happens outside of the United State will fade into the collective memory hole and we will miss an important opportunity to learn from history. Perhaps. However, I believe there is a growing Remnant of society which is increasingly rejecting the status quo, although they are outnumbered and with ideas outside the realm of today’s accepted thoughts. They are tired of being spoon-fed their thoughts and are shaping a new consciousness of critical thinking Americans. For them I ask, what can we learn from this airport bombing?

First and foremost is that there are people in this world who want to kill other people. These people and their use of violence should be denounced at every possible opportunity. It is disgusting that after thousands of years of human history, people still haven’t learned to settle disputes without murder.

Second, failsafe security is impossible. The details of how the suspected bomber was able to smuggle a bomb into the arrival area (most likely in a briefcase) and what, if any security measures were in place of the airport will be discussed ad nausea. What won’t be discussed is that there is no possible way to deter a sufficiently motivated individual from killing large amounts of people in public places. Airport security (and the entire US intelligence apparatus) utterly failed on September 11, 2001. A few months later, Richard Reid tried to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 by detonating 10oz of C-4 hidden in his shoe. From then on, people were forced to take off their shoes during “security” screenings, but in December 2009, Umar Abdulmutallab tried to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear. The US government’s response was to force people to undergo irradiating scanners and sexual assaults as a condition for flying. Hopefully our dear leaders don’t find out about Abdulla Asieri, who tried to assassinate a Saudi prince by smuggling a bomb in his rectum; can you imagine what the TSA would require potential airline passengers to submit to before they could board a plane?

Third, they don’t need to blow up airplanes anymore. It used to be that an airplane provided the necessary captive group of people for a terrorist to exact the greatest amount of casualties and psychological damage. But, as airport security has made attacking an airplane more difficult, it has also produced an unintended consequence. If you’re ever in an airport during a busy travel period, where is the highest concentration of people located? Ticketing, baggage claim and ironically enough, the “security” screening area, all of which are not “secured.” Why don’t they require screenings as a condition for entering the airport? Then the lines trying to get into the airport becomes the target. Then make that area “secure.” Which makes the adjacent area the bottleneck and thus, the target. You get the point. This doesn’t even begin to consider all the sporting events, plays, concerts, fairs and other gatherings of people that would be targets, which are already primed to get the new porno-scanners.

Lastly, there are consequences to occupying foreign peoples and their land. Despite what the mainstream media would have John Q. Public believe, suicide bombers are not motivated by religion, but by atrocities they and their people have suffered by an occupying military regime. Osama bin Laden has repeatedly given the reason for al-Qaeda carrying out attacks against the Western world; the militaries of the West have occupied Muslim land in the East, bought, bribed and threatened Middle Eastern governments and engaged in unjustified wars that have killed millions. The people of Chechnya have continued to fight for independence from the Kremlin and have endured brutal, relentless campaigns of violence at the hands of the Russian military. Hopefully this goes without saying, but as Rudy Giuliani proved in the past, describing blowback is not blaming America. We must understand how foreign policy affects those who get a taste of it, up close and personal. Additionally, we should remember that American Colonists fought for their own freedom from a foreign government.

What to take away?

Evil people who would commit violence against others exist in this world and must be condemned at every chance possible. We will never be truly safe from these types of people, but we don’t have to sacrifice our liberties to accommodate such insanity. The current airport security apparatus is dysfunctional to say the least, and it does not work. There needs to be a paradigm shift in thinking about how best to protect people and places. How should airport security or any other type be handled? I don’t know, but free choice in the market has been shown throughout history to yield the best set of parameters and procedures for a given process, whether it’s making widgets or organizing society. Finally, the public must realize that U.S., Russian or any other nation’s foreign policy – specifically that of occupying other nations – has consequences, one of which is attacks on innocent civilians. Will people learn anything from this latest event? History will be the judge.

January 26, 2011

Eli Cryderman [send him mail] is a full-time husband, father, entrepreneur and chemist and a part-time blogger. He is inspired by Nock, encouraged by North and repulsed by the 21st century state. He enjoys spending time with his beautiful family, continually learning and following the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Copyright © 2011 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig12/cryderman1.1.1.html

Windows to Russia!

Going To Ukraine and get a Visa to Russia…


For the rest of this week. I will be traveling to Ukraine and back. It is that time for me to go get a new visa. I will as I always do, take a train. I just look forward to the train trip. I get to enjoy new experiences every time I go…

When I get back I am planning on writing a new article on getting a Russian visa and update the procedure for everyone who wants to live in Russia and have fun… 🙂

The game plan is this: Leaving Moscow on Wednesday (Sveta is staying home and take care of Boza.) and arriving in Kiev early Thursday morning. I then go to the Russian consulate and get my paper work done as soon as they open. Then I usually have to wait around before I can get into the hotel so I plan on stopping at a McDonald’s and try out my new mobile blogging system with their free WiFi (I like free!). Then if all goes well I will stay one night in a hotel and pick up my visa the next day (Friday). At that point I am free for several hours until my train leaves Kiev. They have WiFi in a great cafe at the Kiev train station and I plan on practicing my mobile blogging again…

Like my grandma would have said, “Practice makes perfect!”

Windows to Russia!

Gotta Love Skype…


I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and I get a message that my son in America wants to talk. Now if I was to call from the land line that would cost a small fortune and the call would have to be short and sweet. Yes I know there are phone cards and all that stuff to make life cheaper…

But that is a big hassle and it is easier just to be able to call and say hello…

So I turn on Skype and in 30 seconds I am having a conversation with my son halfway around the world. Top that off with a video link and life becomes wonderful. And it cost nothing…

You could say that there is no reason not talk to someone, if you have Internet and Skype…

Everything was good with my son and the grandchild. You always kinda worry when you get a message that says, “call me!”  So I called – But for any reason it was a great hour long conversation…

I am hoping that I can get those two to come to Russia and have a visit. My son has the wanderer spirit like I do and we got that from my Dad and great granddads…

But enough of that, I really just wanted to pass on what I thought about this miracle software (Skype) that works so well. Oh and also we got a three way video conference going with my nephew also. He is located in Iowa USA, my son in Missouri USA and me in Russia.

What a treat. Looks like I need to put Skype on the Android phone. My son says it works great… 🙂

Windows to Russia!

Russian News From Russia – (01/25/2011)


Security measures at Domodedovo Airport “clearly violated” – Medvedev:
President Dmitry Medvedev has blamed the management of Domodedovo Airport for the terrorist attack that happened on Monday…

American double standard on terrorism:
US President Barack Obama has condemned the attack on Moscow’s Domodedovo airport, however a number of US groups may be openly supporting of terrorist groups in Chechnya and other regions…

Terrorists leaked through the airport’s most vulnerable spot – aviation specialists:
Domodedovo Airport was caught off guard, as the criminals managed to choose the site’s most problematic moment and location, aviation experts have noted…

Moscow lawmakers start session with ‘minute of silence’ for airport blast victims:
Moscow legislators held a minute of silence on Tuesday to remember the 35 people killed in the suicide attack at Domodedovo International Airport…

An iron fist to keep NATO expansion at bay:
NATO can survive for a fairly long time in its present condition because it is to the benefit of its participants, especially the Europeans. Being members of the Alliance means they don’t have to do anything, they are free to spend nothing on defense and able to pretend that they are sitting pretty. In reality, Europe is becoming a defenseless continent…

8 foreigners die in Domodedovo act of terror:
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information Department, eight foreign nationals died in yesterday’s act of terror at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport , while nine others are being treated at hospitals…

U.S. says notified Russia of suspected orphan abuse:
U.S. authorities have informed the Russian side about suspected abuse of a seven-year-old boy by his adoptive U.S. mother, a high-ranking State Department source told RIA Novosti…

Icebound ships to be freed today:
Today in the Okhotsk Sea the icebreakers Krasin and Admiral Makarov will pull the Commonwealth mothership into clear waters. There are about 50 miles of thick ice between the ship and the open sea. The ship with a crew of 348 people has been stranded in the ice since December 2010…

Explosion at Moscow’s airport kills at least 35:
At least 35 people were killed and 180 were injured in an explosion at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport on Monday, the Russian Health Ministry said.
• Hu sends condolences to Medvedev
• UN chief slams deadly bombing in Moscow airport
• Videos: Terrorism nightmare shocks Moscow airport

Windows to Russia!

A Video Of The Actual Explosion at Moscow’s Domodedovo…


In the Internet there were video footage from surveillance cameras at the Domodedovo airport, which captures the very moment of the explosion. The video clearly shows the explosion in the crowd welcoming.

Earlier, there were video footage shot witnessed in the first minutes after the tragedy. According to RBC, the police detained several people who tried to shoot on the phone at the blast site, and confiscated their phones.

Recall, an explosion at the arrival of international flights at Domodedovo airport thundered at 16:32 MSK January 24. Officially, at this point is reported about 35 dead and 180 wounded, of whom over 40 are in serious condition. Investigation Committee started work on four articles of the Criminal Code: “Terrorism,” “Murder”, “Illicit arms trafficking,” “illegal manufacture of explosives.”

Cause of the explosion was a bomb, powered by a suicide bomber. According to eyewitnesses, he arrived at the International Arrivals hall under the guise of a meeting. At the time of the explosion at the scene was much common and taxi drivers, say witnesses of the tragedy.

Windows to Russia!