Windows to Russia

TEHRAN (FNA)- Head of Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) Sergei Kiriyenko is scheduled to arrive in Iran on Friday to visit the country’s first nuclear power plant in Bushehr.

During the visit which will take place concurrent with the transfer of fuel to the Bushehr nuclear power plant reactor by Russian contractors, Kiriyenko will be briefed about the latest progresses made in the construction of the power plant.

Reports also said Russian Energy Minister Sergey Ivanovich Shmatko will likely accompany Kiriyenko during the trip.

Russia announced that it plans to load fuel into the Bushehr Power Plant reactor on August 21.

“The fuel will be loaded in the reactor on August 21. From this moment, Bushehr will be considered a nuclear installation,” Rosatom spokesman Sergei Novikov said on Friday.

“This can be considered as the physical launch,” he went on to say.

Iranian officials say they have already completed the principal tests for the plant in preparations for the inauguration of the power plant.

Russia has been building the nuclear facility in Iran since 1994. The start-up of the station, originally scheduled to be completed in 1999, has been delayed on several occasions.

Western corporations began the construction of the Bushehr facility in the 1970s. However, following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Western companies reneged on their commitments and pulled out of the project due to political pressure from Washington.

Iran then turned to Russia to complete the project. In 1992, Tehran and Moscow signed a deal to complete the construction of the nuclear power plant.

Windows to Russia!

• America Crys Foul but Russia Will Start Irans Nuclear Plant… (windowstorussia.com)
• Iran to gain nuclear power as Russia loads fuel into Bushehr reactor (guardian.co.uk)
• Iran will build uranium enrichment centers, nuclear chief says (cnn.com)
• Russia: Iran’s nuclear plant to start next week (dailycaller.com)
• Russia: Iran’s Nuclear Plant to Start Next Week (abcnews.go.com)
• Iran’s Nuclear Plant to Start Next Week (abcnews.go.com)
• Russia: Iran’s nuclear plant to start next week (ctv.ca)
• Iran’s Nuclear Chief: Bushehr Plant Will Go Online by Month’s End (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• Russia: Iran’s nuclear plant to start next week (sfgate.com)
• Iran’s Nuclear Plant to Start Next Week (online.wsj.com)

I have spent 3 hours just cleaning up comments. First I had to look over 1311 spam that had accrued over the two days this weekend. I found 4 legit comments in that mess…

Then I had to check the Badbehavior comments. These are comments that are blocked because of being automated. There was 617 of them and 1 good comment amongst that mess…

Then I had several regulars that automatically go to my email and I got them approved. 🙂

Then I had 98 comments that had to be moderated because they were legit comments and not considered spam. Out of those 10 were so bad that they could not be left to be viewed by the public. Some were terrible but I have learned to leave those and now only the comments that are death threats against me, Svet or others are pulled.

Just take a look at some of the posts and you will see that commenting has increased tremendously. This has happened after I dropped Disqus and went back to Intensedebate a month ago. Hummm…

So I apologize to anyone if I seem to not be able to get to answer very many comments. Literally I can not get to them…

To write a post takes time and sometimes I write two in a day or more. But lately I have been buried in comments.

I have had a lot of very good comments and we also have had a group of college students that used one of the articles for a project. They have thanked me and I want them to know that I appreciate the thanks. At this link…

http://windowstorussia.com/russia-developing-a-russian-national-operating-system-rnos.html

Sveta and I do appreciate all the comments and want them to continue. I will answer what I can and will answer what e-mails that I can also. We receive sometimes 10 to 20 e-mails a day from people…

So please do not stop the comments because you think it does not matter. The comments do matter…

Windows to Russia!

• Comment Spam and False Positives (avc.com)
• OI. Spam comments. (livinginagoogleworld.blogspot.com)
• We like comments (now you can too!) (liveside.net)
• Need A Reason To Switch Blog Comments To Disqus? There’s An App For That (blogherald.com)
• [Poll] Should AndroidPolice Implement DISQUS Or IntenseDebate Comment System? Please Cast Your Votes (androidpolice.com)
• Cameron takes the plunge in Russia (rt.com)
• Blogger Adds Spam Filter for Comments (mt-soft.com.ar)

Russia stuck to her guns and the USA has given in. The chicken war is possibly coming to an end. I have been talking about this issue for around a year. This is an old problem that America refused to deal with for years before Russia said, No More……

As of the first day of this year 2010,  Russia showed the USA that they were not bluffing. America took the stance that you need our chicken and Russian producers have shown that Russia does not need American chicken to be imported…

MOSCOW, August 13 (RIA Novosti) -The two biggest U. S. poultry producers have proposed programs for rearing poultry in line with Russian requirements, Russia’s food safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said on Friday.The Koch Poultry and Mountaire Farms firms presented the programs at a meeting with Rosselkhoznadzor head Sergei Dankvert.

Under the program, the U.S. companies will provide information about the antibiotic residue content in all poultry they export to Russia.

The management of the companies said they were ready to provide additional data about production if necessary.

The USA has given into the demands of what the Russians considered to be bad for your health. Excess chlorine, water and antibiotics in American raised chicken…

The USA has finally agreed to all stipulations of what Russia has demanded and now they wait for the answer…

I would suggest that chicken coming from America better toe the line because Russia will end the chicken imports forever if they lie. So as of now some chicken has been shipped but that is all on a send it and we will test it situation…

Russia is weighing the importance of the need to even resume American chicken imports because Russian producers have compensated with no issues in the market place. In fact I have seen a decrease in chicken prices. Sveta and I eat almost only chicken with a little fish and so this is an important decision to us. We will be continuing to support the Russian chicken companies no matter what the Russian government does about American chicken…

http://windowstorussia.com/russia-looks-away-from-american-chicken.html

Windows to Russia!

• US blasts Russia over poultry trade snag (alternet.org)
• Russia concerned over U.S. “incomliance” on poultry (reuters.com)
• Russia concerned over U.S. “non-compliance” on poultry (reuters.com)
• UPDATE 1-Russia concerned over U.S. “non-compliance” on poultry (reuters.com)
• UPDATE 2-Russia has “issues” with new US poultry deal-NCC (reuters.com)
• Progress in efforts to get Russia into WTO: US (alternet.org)
• Chickens Ready to Fly the Coop in Russia (fool.com)
• Are The Russians Going to Get Fat… (windowstorussia.com)
• Russia to Lift Ban on U.S. Chicken Meat, Obama Says (Update1) (businessweek.com)
• Russia to Lift Ban on U.S. Chicken Meat, Obama Says (businessweek.com)
• Cup of Coffee Today Was Delicious and Other Thoughts… (windowstorussia.com)
• America Crys Foul but Russia Will Start Irans Nuclear Plant… (windowstorussia.com)
• Russia May Be Wondering Who Really is in Charge in America… (windowstorussia.com)
• Russia accepts US poultry from 39 more plants-USDA (reuters.com)
• Russia, U.S. Reach Poultry Deal (online.wsj.com)

Big Update on this issue: Russia has a few more demands. 🙂

President Barack Obama‘s top trade official accused Moscow on Wednesday of “unreasonably” delaying the resumption of US poultry exports to Russia with an 11th-hour demand for plant inspections.

“It’s just not acceptable,” US Trade Representative Ron Kirk told reporters after a Senate hearing on agricultural exports, adding that US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and other officials were trying to resolve the issue.

“I hope it’s not necessary but we, you know, if necessary we’ll be asking the president to intercede again,” Vilsack told reporters on a conference call later.

Kirk said Washington wants to help Moscow reach its goal of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), but “it’s issues like this, on poultry, that continue to frustrate us, frankly, and make us question their resolve to operate in a rules-based system.”

The US Department of Agriculture gave the green light in late July for US poultry exporters to resume shipments to Russia after nearly a seven-month ban by what was once the largest foreign market for US chicken.

On January 1, Russia banned the import of chicken treated with chlorinated water, a procedure commonly used by US producers to disinfect.

Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced a deal to end the dispute after talks at the White House in late June.

Kirk said the “new wrinkle” was a demand by Moscow to send inspectors to verify that US poultry plants meet the agreement’s protocols, stranding exports that “literally” were “packed and ready to go.”

“It’s just not acceptable. We have an agreement, we’ve signed it, we’ve met that protocol, the USDA put out a list of what the plants were that met the protocol and we’re ready to resume shipments now,” he said.

“The frustration is that it just seems to always be something new, but the notion of having to come and inspect plants we think will just unnecessary and unreasonably delay the process and it’s not compliant with what we’ve agreed to,” Kirk told reporters.

Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss noted that the US Senate would soon weigh the new START nuclear arms reduction treaty with Moscow, yet “here we are, not being able to trust the Russians to keep their word on the imports of chickens into Russia.”

The United States gave Moscow a list of US Department of Agriculture-approved poultry processing facilities that meet the criteria of the accord, according to a spokeswoman for Kirk, Nefeterius Akeli McPherson.

“Russian food safety officials are now asking to inspect and approve the US shipping facilities themselves, which was not included in the agreement that Russia signed,” she said.

“USTR and USDA officials are reminding our Russian counterparts strongly of their obligation to resume immediately acceptance of shipments of US poultry that meet the protocol set out in the agreement that Russia signed last month. There should be no further delay,” she said.

The poultry industry accounts for more than 500,000 jobs across the United States and over the last three years, US poultry exports to Russia had averaged more than 800 million dollars, according to US lawmakers from producer states.

This kinda stuff makes you smile and go Hummm…. 🙂 🙂

Windows to Russia!

MOSCOW, June 3 (RIA Novosti) – The official dollar rate set by the Russian Central Bank from June 4 is 23.6968 rubles, down 5.05 kopeks from Tuesday, the Central Bank said.

The official euro rate for Wednesday is 36.8699 rubles, up 0.02 kopeks from Tuesday.

Moscow has worked very hard to keep the dollar from crashing in Russia! Every time that Moscow gets a rise in the dollar it slides a little more the opposite direction, in a few days……

Kyle & Svet

• Russian Bonds Reach Record in Anti-Inflation Push (businessweek.com)
• Russia Banks Flock to Foreign Debt Market as Deposits at Record (businessweek.com)
• Russia: Poverty! (windowstorussia.com)
• Drought Sends Ruble Forwards to Three-Month High on Inflation (businessweek.com)
• Russia adds Canadian dollar to reserves (financialpost.com)
• Bank Rossii Bonds Hit Record $34 Billion in Anti-Inflation Push (businessweek.com)

I walk the streets of Moscow and I have noticed a peculiar thing that I find unusual.

Everyone, including children and men carry plastic bags, some small, some big, some in back pockets and some really pretty. They are used to carry any and everything. It is almost a fashion statement for many. The bags usually have a place of business on them. They are fabulous advertisement. My favorite are the big bags that you get at the department stores. They are heavy plastic and will last months.

My Wife, carries one everyday. When I meet her at the bus stop I take the bag. It usually weighs 10,000 kilos. has everything from a book she is reading to boiled Quail eggs. I do not know how she carries it. 🙂

Also, Russian women still carry purses, on top of carrying the bag. Also, in side the bag, you will find more bags, ready to be put in service.

I tried to ignore this bag thing, for I came from America and no self respecting man would carry a bag everywhere. I lost the battle!

Now I carry a bag in my back pocket, So that I can carry treasures that I find on my excursions around Moscow. 🙂

Windows to Russia!

PS:
I even saw the people in small Villages carry the bags also.

• Russia To Make Decision On American Chicken… (windowstorussia.com)
• About Russia – Tidbits of information about Moscow! (windowstorussia.com)
• Are The Russians Going to Get Fat… (windowstorussia.com)
• Cup of Coffee Today Was Delicious and Other Thoughts… (windowstorussia.com)
• Russia is Officially Bringing the “Caspian Sea Monster” Back too Life… (windowstorussia.com)
• You All Thought Things Were So Good Between Russia and America… (windowstorussia.com)
• The Next Visa To Russia… (windowstorussia.com)
• Common Fascism (windowstorussia.com)
• Russia On Fire… (windowstorussia.com)
• Have You Ever Thought a Country Could Burn Up… (windowstorussia.com)

Against the wishes of the USA. Russia is launching the Iran Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. The date has been set for August 21, the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) said on Friday.

Rosatom spokesman Sergei Novikov told RIA Novosti that the first reactor at the Bushehr NPP would be loaded with nuclear fuel on August 21.

“From then on, it [the reactor] will be qualified as [an operational] nuclear power plant,” Novikov said.

A Russian delegation headed by Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko will attend the launch ceremony.

The United States has called for Russia to delay the start up until Iran proves that it’s not developing nuclear weapons. Russian officials said that the latest official U.N. sanctions against Iran will not get in the way or affect the Bushehr project. The additional sanctions that have been imposed by America and the Eu are non binding sanctions that have hindered more than helped the situation with Iran…

The construction of Iran’s first nuclear plant was begun in 1975 by several German construction companies. They pulled out following a U.S. embargo on high-technology supplies to Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the subsequent U.S. Embassy siege in Tehran.

Russia signed a contract with Iran to complete construction in February 1998.

On June 9, 2010, the UN Security Council approved a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, including tougher financial controls and an expanded arms embargo, as well as an asset ban on three dozen companies and a travel freeze on individuals. Those sanctions were specifically exercised to exclude many Russian and Chinese projects so that America could get them on board. Later, the United States and the European Union imposed extra sanctions against Iran, including tougher restrictions on the energy sector and a tougher trade embargo. this then started the backslide of help from China and Russia on future sanction projects…

Even though the construction of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant has not been affected by the UN sanctions against Iran. America has increased her sanctions and now has repeatedly increased the pressured on Russia to drop the project and go along with all aspects of what America has sanctioned against Iran. The debates in America’s congress centers on this subject about the defiance and psychotic relationship that Russia has with Iran.

Russia has woke and seen the truth…

Windows to Russia!

• Russia: Iran’s nuclear plant to start next week (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Russian nuclear agency says launch of of Iran’s first nuclear plant will begin next week (foxnews.com)
• Russia says to load fuel in Iran reactor on Aug 21 (msnbc.msn.com)
• Iran nuclear plant launch beckons (bbc.co.uk)
• Iran’s first nuclear power plant set for launch Aug. 21 (theglobeandmail.com)
• Russia objects to EU Iran sanctions (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• You: Bushehr nuclear plant construction unaffected by Iran sanctions: Russia Foreign ministry (nation.com.pk)
• Russia says Iran reactor will start up in August (reuters.com)
• Russia Ready to Launch Iranian Nuclear Power Plant (israelnationalnews.com)
• Russian official: Iran’s reactor ready by August (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Man – this is a big item in Western Press…  Hummmmm!

With the death of all 118 crew members on board. The Kursk remains the worst disaster in the history of the Russian submarine fleet.

The Kursk was designed to combat large surface ships, primarily American aircraft carriers, the Kursk was the most advanced submarine in the Russian navy at the time. Construction began in March 1990, and the Kursk set out on her maiden voyage in May 1994.

The accident occurred during an exercise of the North Fleet, in which the Kursk was taking part. The vessel sank at a depth of a little over 100 meters around 108 miles from the Kola Strait.

Russia Mourns her Kursk dead today…

Windows to Russia!

Gorbachev has been busy as of late. He has been speaking out more and more…

(RIA Novosti) – Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has said that the Obama administration in the United States needs far-reaching ‘perestroika‘ reforms to overcome the financial crisis and restore balance in the world.

The term perestroika, meaning restructuring, was used by Gorbachev in the late 1980s to describe a series of reforms that abolished state planning in the Soviet Union.

In an interview with Italy’s La Stampa published on Friday, Gorbachev said President-elect Barack Obama needs to fundamentally change the misguided course followed by President George W. Bush over the past eight years.

Gorbachev said that after transforming his country in the late 1980s, he had told the Americans that it was their turn to act, but that Washington, celebrating its Cold War victory, was not interested in “a new model of a society, where politics, economics and morals went hand in hand.”

Seems that a lot of lies and deceit went on during the fall of the Soviet Union and looks like a portion of the lies and deceit came from America…

Interesting, the more I read the better it gets…..

Windows to Russia!

• Stalin and Gorbachev (socyberty.com)
• 33 reviews of Mikhail Gorbachev (Russia) (rateitall.com)
• 19 reviews of Mikhail Gorbachev (rateitall.com)
• Mikhail gorbachev (slideshare.net)
• Mikhail Gorbachev: Russia’s elder statesman still at home with power (independent.co.uk)
• Gorbachev: Russia needs freedom to succeed (msnbc.msn.com)
• Russia needs new ‘glasnost’ to succeed: Gorbachev (nationalpost.com)
• Why doesn’t anyone care about the Soviet document archive? (hotair.com)
• Media Avoid Soviet Archives: They Might Find St. Gorby Said ‘3,000 Dead, So What?’ (newsbusters.org)
• Media Avoid Soviet Archives: They Might Find St. Gorby Said ‘3,000 Dead, So What?’ (newsbusters.org)

Today I really enjoyed that wonderful cup of morning coffee. Sveta was sitting with me drinking her hot tea and I had the perfect cup of coffee…

Part of the enjoyment out of life with Sveta is that her and I can sit and talk for hours. I never had that in America with my two American wives. No one ever wanted to sit at a kitchen table and talk about things in America. Just too busy…

Russians love to sit at the kitchen table and discuss things. It is as Sveta says, part of the quality of life…

Today Sveta and I talked about several things and one of them was about taking a trip to Turkey. It seems that lots of Russians travel to Turkey and there are fantastic deals that include airfare, hotel, excursions and food. So it looks like Sveta and I will make plans for that particular trip… (Fun Time)

The next thing that was talked about and the real reason that I have started this post. We talked about Russia allowing many other countries to help with the fires…

It started me thinking that she was correct and I was once again tossed into the thoughts of why America did not allow help on the Gulf Oil Spill. So many countries had offered help to America and they never really took anyone up on their offers.

Russia has accepted lots of help from all over the world. Many aircraft have been sent to help dump water on fires all over Russia. I understand that Ukraine sent many men to help fight the fires. In fact I have heard of virtually no denial of help from Russia. Also the always a showman Putin – Decided to help fight the fires. He went up in one of the planes that scoop up water and dump it on the fire. He got to pull the lever that dropped the water. So Putin is touted as the great savior and putting out fires. (Looks like we are starting our presidential campaign. 🙂 )

We also talked about a trip to the village is in order but until the Ryzan area is under control from fires, we will hesitate to travel that far. It is looking like the fires got close but did not get our village. (Cross Your Fingers!)

So it also looks like Sveta and I will be planning a trip to a country that she or I have never been to. But Russians love Turkey and Turkey loves Russians. I hope they like Americans… 🙂

Turkey sounds like fun…

Windows to Russia!

• Are The Russians Going to Get Fat… (windowstorussia.com)
• Have You Ever Thought a Country Could Burn Up… (windowstorussia.com)
• Another Day Another Record and Radiation Issues… (windowstorussia.com)
• We See The Sun in Moscow but More Smoke to Come… (windowstorussia.com)
• Smoke on Smoke on Smoke on Moscow… (windowstorussia.com)
• Let The Sunshine In… (windowstorussia.com)

I read several articles today from other blogs and websites. They were complaining about the lack of hot water in the cities every year in Russia due to cleaning the systems out…

It then dawned on me that we were almost done with our turn at no hot water…

It also dawned on me that I never cared this year. I have been taking cold showers and washing dishes in water that you heat in a pot. I never even blinked an eye at doing this. Then I realized that I have almost totally adapted…

I hear and talk to newbies to Moscow and they are mortified the first time they see the famous squat toilets at the rail station. They literally scream when they lose hot water in the summer for a week to two weeks. They gasp when they are told to filter all drinking water. They wanna go home when they find that ice cubes are part of another world they left behind…

Many newbies never make it and I have never understood why. Life is very good here but it is different and that makes it even better than good…

So I smiled today at the realization that I have become a Muscovite sorta-be!

I even think the pigeons are wonderful now…

Windows to Russia!

• Kids in Russia Find That Fire-Hydrants are So Cool… (windowstorussia.com)
• We See The Sun in Moscow but More Smoke to Come… (windowstorussia.com)
• Let The Sunshine In… (windowstorussia.com)
• Russians Have Lost It Over Heat Wave… (windowstorussia.com)
• About Russia – Tidbits of information about Moscow! (windowstorussia.com)