Russia and British Petroleum…

Rosneft, the Russian oil giant, and BP! Is this an interesting combination that has developed out of the lashing that BP took from the USA over the last oil spill?

Could be or could not be. But I do know that it is a big deal and after hearing squeaks at first of discontent from America. We in Russia are now hearing screams of Western discontent…

Politicians voice fears over Alaska pipelines, Gulf payouts and risk of Kremlin influence on major supplier to US military. Britain’s leading oil company, BP, is facing hostility and suspicion from the US over an alliance with the Russian state oil firm Rosneft that opens up vast areas of untapped wilderness off the coast of Siberia and beneath the Arctic shelf. (Read More Link)

I have been watching the relationship grow between Russia and BP. Putin has made it clear that he did not consider BP solely to blame for the incident: “Our experts have scrutinized the tragedy: we know that BP was the organizer of the project, but there were also eight subcontractors, including several major US companies.” This is a feather in BP’s hat because Russia offers significant protection for BP from America…

This relationship is a win win for both sides and Russia is courting this situation. Russia takes advantage of weakness when they see it and the Gulf Oil Spill showed many weaknesses on Americas part. The energy section of the planet is Russia’s business…

Windows to Russia!

OMG We Had A Rally…

There were two sanctioned rally’s this weekend. (You know a rally that was given approval to be held. What a unique concept…)

The first rally to talk about is an opposition organized rally (on Jan. 16th) to protest against the arrests at the opposition meeting at Triumphalnaya Square on December 31, 2010. The rally was legal and no incidents reported as of this Monday.  Now here is the kicker to all this information. Twenty (20) people showed up for the rally and it also ended one hour earlier than it was planned because everyone got bored and went home… (Besides it is darn cold also…) Then the icing on the cake is that somewhere around 40 to 50 reporters had showed up to cover the event… (Twice the number of participants…)

The second rally is on on January 15th, 2011. A rally for commemoration of the fan that was killed. They say thousands of people showed up and all was peaceful. Once again it was approved and organized. The same number of press showed up, 40 to 50 reporters…

Strange how I never saw these rally’s that were sanctioned and proper, appear in the Western press. I know that the Western press was there – Time, CNN, BBC and etc…

But it should be reported that a legal sanctioned rally was held in Moscow Russia. No one was arrested and beat. No one was upset. Nothing happened bad and because they were approved everything was cool…

Not exciting Huh?

Windows to Russia!

United States, Japan and South Korea Rattle Their swords and Beat Their Drums…

Remember when Washington, Tokyo and Seoul  (Around the beginning of December 2010) got together in a pow wow and mapped out a plan of action against North Korea and her nuclear ambitions..?

So from those talks a trilateral agreement was reached and the United States, Japan and South Korea have been playing a number of joint war games (in South Korea) and naval drills in the Yellow Sea in a preparation for the trilateral alliance that is under development. It seems that these war games are to continue, if not increase this year as a solidifying of this trilateral agreement…

In the last few days we have heard the drums being beaten and swords rattled against their shields in a show of solidarity against the mighty Nuclear Empire of North Korea…

Stupid is what I am thinking, with coffee this morning…

Windows to Russia!

Viewing cable 08REYKJAVIK8, Iceland: Russian activities in region a growing concern…

As I promised. I will post Wikileaks as I read them and find it interesting…

=====================================================

VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRK #0008/01 0231458
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 231458Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY REYKJAVIK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3542
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE 0068
RHMFISS/HQ USAFE RAMSTEIN AB GE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0036
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L REYKJAVIK 000008

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2018
TAGS: PREL MOPS PGOV RU IC
SUBJECT: Iceland: Russian activities in region a growing concern

Refs: A) 07 Reykjavik 247
B) IIR 6 872 2046 06 (DTG 231540Z AUG 06)
C) 07 Reykjavik 322

Classified By: Amb. Carol van Voorst for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

¶1. (C) Summary: Russian foreign policy continues to irritate and puzzle the Government of Iceland. In the hour-long special on Russia, broadcasted by an Icelandic television channel on January 15, Russian Ambassador Tatarintsev claimed that recent Russian foreign policy moves are tied to Russia’s desire for a multipolar world, a notion threatening to “American military and political circles that want to dictate their political will to everybody else, and we Russians will never allow it.” The Ambassador’s remarks did not win any fans at the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs, particularly when
Tatarintsev accused the Government of Iceland of “hanky panky” in
unfairly excluding Russian manufacturer Kazan from procurement of new search and rescue helicopters for the Coast Guard here. While the Russian Embassy here may be pleased for having aired their point of view, they may have miscalculated just how poorly received it would be among the government and public. END SUMMARY.

Russian Public Diplomacy: Not Quite Warm and Fuzzy
——————————————— —–

¶2. (SBU) Icelandic TV Channel 2 devoted its hour-long newsmagazine “Compass” on January 15 to Russian foreign policy, both in a global sense and regarding Iceland in particular. The first segment of the show focused on the resumption of long-range aviation (LRA) activity by Russia beginning in the summer of 2007 (Ref A) and centered on the visit of the Compass crew to Engels Air Base in Russia, where most of the recent LRA flights near Iceland have originated. (Note: Though Compass noted that the Russian Embassy facilitated their crew’s travel to Engels as well as to the Kazan helicopter manufacturing plant (para. 4), the assumption here is that the trip was largely Russian-funded. Compass and Channel 2 are “flat broke,” in the words of one local media commentator. End Note.) During the visit, bomber crews spoke in glowing terms of Iceland’s beauty, which they noted during their circumnavigations of the island. The crews also downplayed any threat to Iceland from the flights, and avoided any direct answer to concerns raised here regarding any possible danger to civil aviation.

¶3. (U) The show’s second portion turned to the broader question of recent Russian activities on the global stage, and how President Putin plays at home and abroad. The segment gave Russian Ambassador to Iceland Viktor Tatarintsev ample speaking room. In his most provocative comments, Tatarintsev opined: “What we are advocating for is to have a multipolar world…there will not be any superpower that thinks it can do whatever it wants to with everybody else as its smaller servants. It will not be that way and the Americans know that. Therefore, they are concerned with the growing power of Russia, and we will become much stronger. It is a real threat to Americans, not the American population, but a threat to American military and political circles that want to dictate their political will to everybody else, and we Russians will never allow it. It is pretty simple and it is as simple as that.”

Continue reading “Viewing cable 08REYKJAVIK8, Iceland: Russian activities in region a growing concern…”

Learn Some Russian Words: From Svet!

Today I would like to bring attention to a project of my Wife’s! She has been working very hard on a Dictionary for Russian to English Words! The Link is called “Say it in Russian!” >>>

I want Svet to know that I think she is doing a great job & anyone who wants to pick up some Russian words to use on your friends in your country, feel free to browse, Svets ever expanding Dictionary!

The Dictionary is at 5 pages! (She has plans for many more pages.)

Thanks Sweetie for a wonderful addition to our Blog!

Windows to Russia!

Let The Supplies Roll Toward Afghanistan…

The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev submitted to the State Duma for ratification the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the United States of America on Transit of Weapons, Military Equipment, Military Assets and Personnel via Russian Federation Territory in Connection with Participation by Armed Forces of the United States of America in Efforts to Maintain Security, Stabilize and Rehabilitate the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

http://eng.news.kremlin.ru/acts/1602

Windows to Russia!

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”