Happy New Year Again: The Old Russian New Year…


Once again in Russia we are having the second New Year! It falls on January 14 according to the old Orthodox calendar…

This “Old New Year” is celebrated also in Moldavia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and also in Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece…

Fireworks and lots of booze for the hundredth time this year and we have just started the year. One thing that I have learned, Russians know how to bring in the New Year. The only problem is that January is virtually a wasted month for productivity…

So enjoy the “Old Russian New Year!”

Windows to Russia!

Russian News… (01/13/2011)


Russia considers reciprocal START amendments:
The Russian State Duma plans to tie the ratification of the START treaty with the US plans to develop the global anti-missile defense and allow Russia to quit the agreement in case such defense starts being developed…

Moscow allows rally in memory of slain football fan:
The Moscow authorities have authorized a peaceful rally on January 15 to commemorate the death of football fan Yegor Sviridov…

Opposition leader’s arrest legitimate – court:
A court in Moscow has confirmed that the arrest of the opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was sentenced to 15 days in jail for disobeying police, was legal…

Anna Chapman to solve world’s mysteries on TV:
Anna Chapman, the most notable participant in the recent espionage scandal, is set to host a new show on Russia’s RenTV channel. The program “Secrets of the world with Anna Chapman” will be launched within the channel’s…

Report on Kaczynski’s plane crash gets mixed reaction in Poland:
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has cut short his holidays to return to Poland on Thursday and study the Russian committee’s report on the reasons for Lech Kaczynski’s jet crash…

Banned light bulbs sell like hot cakes:
Eco-friendly alternatives do not seem to catch on in Russia – despite the recent ban on 100-watt bulbs, citizens are set to stay with their beloved source of light, buying the remaining items in stocks…

Russian drivers back on the right path:
New anti-alcohol laws have proven effective, with a significant drop in the number of road violations and drunk-driving cases over the first weeks of the year…

S. Korean man arrested for “tweeting” praise of the North:
South Korean prosecutors have arrested a man for disseminating pro-North Korean videos and text through social networking services, which is a criminal offence in the republic…

Russia’s Lavrov says no swap deals with U.S. on alleged arms dealer:
Russia is not discussing with the United States any possible swap deals concerning the alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, extradited to the United States from Thailand late last year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday…

Windows to Russia!

I Think I Saw “Chicken Little” This Morning While I Walked The Dog…


I woke up this morning and looked at some mainstream news head lines. It was really very depressing and as you can see from a random selection of just a few titles. It looks like the world is going to end tomorrow. Except with the fact that Obama needs to get busy and raise a billion dollars to work on that reelection…

I then would have swore I saw “Chicken Little” running around with his head covered. While I walked the dog…

Well… Then again maybe the world is coming to an end! Anytime that a politician needs a billion dollars to get elected then we have lost total sight of what is important in life and we are headed off that cliff like the lemmings in the old game…

Iran, U.S. prepare for ‘last chance’ nuclear talks

from Wash Post World by Joby WarrickDOHA,

Iran has escalated its routine bluster in the run-up to next week’s nuclear talks in Istanbul, suggesting the Jan. 21-22 meeting could be a “last chance” for major powers to strike a deal. On Wednesday, it had its reply from the United States’ top diplomat: Get serious.

The Dangerous Chip on China’s Shoulder

from TIME.com: Top World Stories,

Its long-dormant army may be muscling into U.S.-Chinese relations. That can’t be good

Gates on N Korea: Get ‘serious’

from BBC News,

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, speaking in Japan, tells North Korea it is time to show concrete evidence that it is committed to talks.

US top brass warns on Afghanistan

from BBC News,

The US military’s top officer Adm Mike Mullen warns that there will be an increase in bloodshed in Afghanistan this year.

Obama Begins Gearing Up Re-Election Bid

Wall Street Journal,

Democratic Officials Say Early Start Is Needed in Part to Commence Fund-Raising for Contest Expected to Cost $1 Billion.

World Risks Food Riots as Grains Climb, Economist Chalmin Says

By Rudy Ruitenberg (Bloomberg),

The world may face social unrest including food riots in April as grain prices increase, said Philippe Chalmin, an economic adviser to the French government.

That cup of coffee was really good and I decided that the news was trying to irritate me today. So I just ignored the world for hours this morning and reprogrammed my new Android Phone…

The only thing above that we should be truly worried about out of all these articles is the food issue. The rest of them are propaganda trash. So while Obama needs a billion dollars to play president, Iran is threatened with an ultimatum again, China is walking around with a big chip on her shoulder, North Korea is scolded again and we find out that Afghanistan is getting worse (again). The world is starving and riots will be in our future…

I do know that the world population  has reached almost 7 billion and is said to surpass that in 2011. Try this chart from Wikipedia…

World population estimates milestones
Population

(in billions)

 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Year 1804 1927 1960 1974 1987 1999 2011 2025 2045–50
Years elapsed 123 33 14 13 12 12 14 20–25

Now chart above looks like a real problem! Don’t you think? Takes a lot of food to feed that many people. Don’t you think? Hummm…

Windows to Russia!

Windows To Russia Mobile…


Windows to Russia now has gone mobile. We have installed a few weeks ago a mobile browser and we already have 20 new readers from that silent move…

I am now posting the first mobile post with this article. This is really cool and now we can post easily on our travels…

So if you have a mobile phone that you carry. Just visit Windows to Russia and you will find a user friendly interface for your mobile…

Kyle and Sveta

“Posted from Mobile”

Are We Stirring Up A Second Cold War?


How about a Second Cold War? Is this a possibility? Could America afford another cold war? Would the world loan America the money for another cold war? Would that Cold War feeling make you feel secure? How about spending some time rehearsing bomb shelter trials and practice? And you thought that the only issue was from the Middle East. Hummm…

Russia Today talks to Journalist Pepe Escobar from the Asia Times. It is not a bad interview and the points made are valid enough to consider…

In the news, I have been hearing the drums beating, the marchers marching and the pipers piping in all of the world. The calls to increase the American military spending and reach is growing stronger everyday. Gates set off a stir by his declaration of a paltry 78 billion dollar cut to the Pentagon budget…

Former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton is in the video and toots his horn and exclaims that we are underestimating the level of threat…

Myself I think that we have reached a point of stupidity:

The United States has 460 bases overseas! It has 507 permanent bases! What is the U.S doing with more than 560 foreign bases? Why does it have 662 bases abroad? Does the United States really have more than 1,000 military bases across the globe? (Empire of Bases 2.0)

But America is not alone. China is increasing their Military. Russia is increasing their Military. India is Increasing their Military. So on and so on and so on…

Looks like we could not succeed in getting the Korea’s to cooperate and blow each other up. So we have to point our finger at someone else…

Nuff said. Go home now, nothing new here…

Windows to Russia!

Indian Coffee and Russian Ramblings…


I do not know how or why, but the temperature has risen to 0+ degrees Celsius and looks to stay there for a few days. So I took advantage of this treat in the weather and worked on getting the car unburied from 2 to 3 feet of snow…

I was not the only one out doing this. It seemed like everyone has taken advantage of the warm weather and were all out trying like me, to get their cars out from the drifts…

So I spent hours helping people get unstuck from there parking places. I have a tough sharp rake like tool and it digs through icy packed snow like a hot knife through butter. I used that and we got 5 cars out of their cubby holes that they had become buried in. It was fun but I got soaked and I hope that I do not pay for that type of fun… 🙁

I got our Volga uncovered and she started no problem. Then she crawled out from her cubby hole and went right back in to sleep some more. I have some work to on her, but it will have to wait another day…

Now I sit at the computer and sip on a cup of delicious coffee from India. I have posting a little less and I thought that I would give my excuse. (Other than a super long holiday) Sveta bought me an Android phone for my Western Christmas, New Year, Russian Christmas and Birthday gift…

Being born near Christmas has always been a bummer in life. Everyone sends you a gift and says, here is your Christmas and Birthday gift. But it is only one gift. I use to wonder what it would be like to have a Birthday in the Summer time and get gifts for you Birthday only. I still wonder…

But I will not complain in this case because Sveta buys good gifts that cover it all. Since, I have wanted an Android Phone and because I had decided to start working on the Android Operating System. I like to hack OS’s and make them better. The Android OS is ideal for this being Open Source…

I received an LG phone model GW620. It is a hackers delight and I have literally wore myself out playing with it. Android makes it easy for you and all you have to do is install their software, Android SDK and have fun… 🙂

It is the best cell phone I have ever had. It puts Windows OS based phones to shame. Sveta has a Sony Ericsson Xperia mini X10. That her son gave her. So she is not left out in the dark. But she wanted someone to terrorise the phone and make it do everything that she wants. That becomes my job… 😉

Sveta is an IBM and MINIX expert and I cover the Windows/Linux end of life. Since Android is Linux kernel based. It is right up my ally…

I also had to upgrade our data transfer system at home and I install a WiFi router. Now I can really play. It allows me to even move the laptop into other rooms if need be…

So Sveta and I had a wonderful Christmas Holiday…

Windows to Russia!

Coffee and Morning Thoughts…


Good Morning from Windows to Russia. Today as I was sipping that great cup of coffee. I was doing some thinking’s about various issues all over Russia and the world…

I took notice of Robert Gates in China…

“They clearly have potential to put some of our capabilities at risk,” Gates said en route to military talks with Chinese leaders. “We have to pay attention to them, we have to respond appropriately with our own programs.”

That is cool! Lets increase our (USA) military budget even more, to keep up with the big bad world. You see Russia is upping the ante and now China is upping the ante. Iran, India and many other countries have all upped the ante. The whole world is on a military spending spree. (Spend, spend, spend, and spend) While half their population and the world starves…

Well – while we found out how scary China is now, with words of wisdom from Gates. Lets go to an interesting situation that really bothers me…

  • 8,000 Turtle Doves Fall Dead in Italy With Strange Blue Stain on Their Beaks…
  • Two million dead fish were found to have washed up on shores in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland…
  • 100,000 fish died in the Arkansas River…
  • 450 red-winged blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds, grackles and starlings found littering a highway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana…
  • 3,000 blackbirds on roofs and roads in the small town of Beebe, Arkansas…
  • Thousands of ‘devil crabs’ washed up along the Kent coast near Thanet…
  • Thousands of dead fish found floating in warm Florida creek…
  • Hundreds of snapper fish found dead in New Zealand…
  • Scores of American Coots found dead on Texas highway bridge…
  • Whole bunch more have died…

    • This map below is at link:

    http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=201817256339889828327.0004991bca25af104a22b&source=embed&ll=10.792681,-120.48912&spn=0.005027,0.006866

    It shows the mass death areas of animals (Blue tear drop). Go ahead and check it out. Google lets you have lots of links to go see the articles on the situation…

    So while we have a real issue, that so far gets very little main media attention. We will just ignore the fact that something is amiss…

    Now Russia has been having fun in the ice while animals are dieing all over the world. For the last week or so, Russia has been trying to get several ships that have been froze into the ice in the Sakhalin Bay in Russia’s Far East. This has been a big deal here and I am not sure what the rest of the world knows about it. Since I have been goofing off lately, I have watched but been doing other things than to mention it. There seems to be 4 or 5 ice breakers now trying to clear a path to open water to allow the ships to get free. They say some of the ice is 8 meters thick. (8 meters about 26 feet thick…) Now that is some ice…

    One last thought before I am done boring you. I found this picture of Christmas in Russia. It was with out incident and over 80,000 people attended the 268 churches in Moscow…

    I really like the picture…

    That is all and have a great day…

    Windows to Russia!

    Russia Today and Mass Animal Deaths Sweep Globe…


    Russia Today has a very good video about the deaths of millions and millions of animals, all over the world. This is not an isolated problem and looks to be getting worse instead of better…

    Authorities in northern Italy say more than a thousand turtle doves have dropped dead over the past 5 days. It’s the latest in a series of unexplained sudden death incidents affecting creatures in the sky and underwater. The events have sparked a media frenzy, with doomsday speculators saying it hails the end of the world. But is there really something fishy going on or is it being overhyped? RT’s Katerina Azarova reports…

    Is this the “Ends of Days”? As Many bloggers are starting to report…

    Windows to Russia!

    Americans Are Getting to Adopt From Russia Again…


    For the couple from Tennessee, Derek and Kathleen Hunter, this New Year was very special.  They finally brought two Russian children who were adopted by the couple.  They were waiting for this moment for much longer than planned.

    In April last year, Russia imposed a moratorium on adoptions of Russian children by American citizens, after an American woman who adopted a Russian boy, sent the child back to his home with a note where it was stated that she no longer wants to be with him.

    The Hunters could not hold back their emotions when they were finally united with their one year old daughter and a two-year son whom has finally arrived in Nashville.

    KATHLEEN HUNTER, foster mother: For all the difficulties with us at every turn was God.

    DEREK HUNTER, adoptive father:children who need love and parents who are going to love these children. And when it all together – it’s just wonderful.

    Also, it has become a reunion for children, since they are brother and sister and were in different orphanages.

    The translation is done InoTV .

    The terrible act that Torry Hansen did by sending Artyom back to Russia like a sack of potatoes has really hurt many loving families trying to adopt…

    Here is a video on our Russian Video Blog of Artyom at this New Years Holidays. He is a great kid and really is not the Monster that Torry Hansen portrayed him to be. Funny (not, Ha Ha) that Hansen never was in trouble for what she did…

    I am glad to see that movement is finally being made in the right direction. But the situation is still being discussed by Russia and America. Lets hope those talks do not collapse again…

    Related articles

    Coffee and WikiLeaks on Russia…


    I have received a number of e-mails regarding the Wikileaks menu item that I have. They ask do I understand how to get around and see what was posted on Wikileaks. They also express that pulling information out about the Cable’s is almost impossible…

    I have done a lot of thinking the last few days. So while sipping that cup of coffee this morning.  I decided that to start a regular posting about the “Cable Leaks” that pertain to Russia…

    As I find an interesting “Leak” that tells things that have more interest than a “babushka kicking a tin can down the road”, I will post it.

    I do not promise that they are exciting items to read with lots of drama. They are more likely to be mundane,  but I will give a general gist of what is in the “Cable” and I also will not be cutting sections of the original cable as so many of the news places are doing. I really think that is stupid…

    The cable below is about Russian prison systems and the horrid state that they are and in. It made me wonder about Burns who wrote it because he obviously has not dealt with a Georgian prison in America. I spent years feeding the inmates in a large prison in Georgia, USA. So I smile as I see similarities between America and Russian prisons…

    I also see that Georgian, USA prisons are in the news again. Not a surprise to me…

    I can see how these “Cable Leaks” will destroy the state of affairs between other countries and America. Don’t say it behind someones back if you can’t keep it secrete…

    I see a new thought in the way Russia acts with America now. They seem to be expressing this now, “We are not even gonna get pissed or care. We are just going to learn to expect the lowest from the country that we thought the highest of…”

    Click” More” below to read the rest of the article unless you came directly to the page. It is just too long to have in full on the front page…

    Lets see what this Cable is about: (Click More…)

    (more…)