Russia: Svet’s Walk To Work!


Hello,

My Wife takes fantastic pictures. Here are some of hers. They are from Moscow near where she works. She has a Monastery that she walks by on the way to work. These are pictures of that area.

Enjoy

Kyle

comments always welcome

Russia: New GAZ Volga Siber!


GAZ Volga Siber:


In 2006, GAZ Group acquired the Sebring platform from Chrysler, on the basis of which the new vehicle was developed.

With the purchase of the platform from Chrysler, we acquired new light vehicle production and quality control technologies – technologies used in modern automobile construction.

The Siber will be manufactured in Russia and sales will start in 2008. The vehicle’s design was adjusted to better suit Russian roads. Among these technical changes are increased road clearance and hardened suspension.

The other changes have to do with the look of the Siber. The bumper, radiator grill and lights have been redesigned. There are plans to revamp the salon.

Installation and preparation of equipment is currently under way at the GAZ production line in Nizhny Novgorod. Contracts are being signed with part suppliers. The question of partial localization of component production is being carefully considered.

New welding and assembly lines have been built. The Haden-2 painting complex has been modernized. In effect, a new factory has been built for the production of the Siber.

The first Siber cars will already be rolling off the assembly line at GAZ this summer. The Siber is being manufactured under licence from the American company Chrysler, but the engineers at Magna have made a great contribution to the implementation of the project. Canadian colleagues played a very active role in the work during virtually all the phases of the project – from procurement, setting up information systems and localizing spare parts to improving technologies, for example in the paint or welding shops on the assembly line. About 150 Canadian specialists provided direct assistance to get the Siber’s assembly plant in Nizhny Novgorod operational.

Specifications of the Volga Siber:

Basic equipment: 2-liter engine with 141hp, air conditioning, two airbags, ABS, anti-skid Traction Control System, halogen headlamps with delayed disconnection and adjustable levels of brightness, power steering, adjustable steering wheel, electric driver’s seat adjustable in six directions, stereo system with 6 speakers and amplifier, heated and folding electric mirrors and a full spare tire.

Main technical specifications: 4-cylinder in-line Chrysler engine (standard Euro 4). Displacement: 2 litre and 2.4 litre. Power: 141hp and 143hp; Torque: 188 @ 4,350 and 210 @ 4,200. Maximum speed: 200 kmph. Fuel tank capacity: 61 litres. Dimensions: clearance: 140 mm; length: 4,844 mm; width: 1.792 mm; height: 1,394 mm; volume of passenger compartment: 2,660 litres; volume of boot: 453 litres.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

About Volga Siber Project

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Could Putin Have a “Told You So” For Medvedev?


Yosemite sign post
Image by dgavrile via Flickr

I really thought that America would wait a few months before they gave out the confirmation information about this spy game crap. I was hoping for the sake of relations between America and Russia. That the bragging, that is so common by America, would not slither forth for a awhile…

But it looks as though when you got a story that is headlines news for more than a day. You play it for all it is worth. Play is a good word and all this information just backs up what I have been saying. Lets read a few excerpts from The Washington Post and her latest article on this spy saga…

1. President Obama’s national security team spent weeks before the arrest of 10 Russian spies preparing for their take down and assembling a list of prisoners Moscow might be willing to trade for the agents, senior administration officials said Friday.

2. Now, with the swap on an airport tarmac in Vienna completed, the administration hopes the episode will remain a non issue between Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, treated as one of the occasional, fleeting bumps in a smooth road ahead for relations between their countries.

3. With any luck, U.S. officials indicated, it would be as if the biggest spy swap since the end of the Cold War had never happened.

4. Obama was first told about the Russian program and the long-running investigation June 11.

5. They discarded the possibility of asking Moscow for individuals with no intelligence connections, and they found that the universe of imprisoned Russians who had been accused of spying for the West was surprisingly small. (Link)

I have said several times that Medvedev is quiet and Putin has taken the limelight to pull attention away from Medvedev while Medvedev does a little soul searching.

Everyone in America has this very wrong. Russia is so different than what you believe and or led to believe. Russians have turned from the forward process that was being made in the minds and attitudes, as political wherewithal’s seems to have blended into a viable working situation…

That changed fast and it came at the sole discretion of the powers at large, the powers to be and the power wanna Be’s…

I took a long walk and did some soul searching myself about this false spy situation. This is my feelings and I really do not care if you think America was right and Russia wrong – or- America wrong and Russia right…

They were both wrong and none of this should have been news. This should have concluded behind closed doors and never should have been magnified by anyone for any reason.

This is not just a move in a chess or checker game. This time it was a move that squelched a true reset that could have bettered the world, years down the road. I have said before that Russia plays chess and America plays checkers. In checkers you have to take the jumps and capture the opponent. In chess that is never a forced issue… (Think about what I just said!)

What I see is a total and complete break down in trust between two major world powers that needed to have as solid of a footing as possible to help achieve stability in the world…

Russian press is the sounding board of the Kremlin. As the Kremlin smiles so does the press and Vice-a-Versa.

I could feel a real change starting to happen and it was prevalent coming from the Russian President. He had a good attitude toward America and truly believed that Obama was large and in Charge.

The sun was shining and the sky was clear. All the past was just our fears…

Lets look at the listed 5 excerpts above:

Number one makes clear that this was planned and was being staged for a special time and moment. So do not let the bull about “they are planning to run” dance in your brain. If that was true then pick them up NOW….

Number Two makes it clear that they did the timing on purpose and now are doing a fake damage control and steer the American people down that path of, “See we (America) have no hard feelings about all this and Russia shouldn’t either…”

Number three makes clear America is a – Cold War Junkie…

Number four is a good one. Obama knew before at least by two weeks and planned with the decade long process. Him and his advisers came up with that perfect moment in which to spring this stupid situation. Timing was on purpose…

Number 5 is my favorite one. We admit that Russia does not have jails full of America spies. Why? Well it is not because they (American spies) are not here. It is because Russia has got better things to do then spend a decade of intelligence money on following 10 buffoons, then arresting them, even after admitting that they really did nothing wrong and never ever correlated data transfers that meant anything… (Oh I forgot they also laundry money, grow up, so does the business world everyday and that is perfectly legal)

So as you can see, I really am perturbed by this. What happened was an inadmissible game that was created to shift short attention spans away from issues that really are bigger and more disturbing. It worked because the head line news was Cold War Spies and not the death of the Gulf of Mexico due to man’s stupidity…

Windows to Russia!

Boza and I are Bachelors This Weekend…


I Am Gonna Goof Off...

Svet and her mother are leaving Moscow this weekend. It seems that Svet’s son Misha is finishing up officer training and is ready to be sworn in as an officer in the Russian Military.

Misha is a student in the Moscow University and is working on a math and computer degree of some type. He has spent once a week for two years working with the Russian Military and now he is in a two month program to finish his training.

I am really not very informed on the happenings and will stay out of it for the most part. I am staying home this weekend because of the nature of what is happening and I would most likely never get by the front gate anyway. So Svet and I figured why create issue that do not need to be created…

But Grandma and Mother will not be kept from seeing Misha accomplish his goals in life. They have gotten train tickets for a 5 hour train ride out of Moscow to some remote location. They have a motel rented in the nearest large town to stay for a few nights and they are excited about the whole excursion…

Like many grandparents, Misha does no wrong in Grandma’s eyes and that is just right! Misha is the only child and is with out a doubt the “Apple of Grandmas Eye!”

I am also happy for Misha and realize that to see your dreams come true is a hard thing to do in this day and age.

So while Svet and her Mother spend the weekend being proud Grandma and Mother…

Boza and I will goof off this weekend and paint the bathroom…

Windows to Russia!

Windows to Russia: Vacation Pictures in Israel – Final!


House we liked!
Dates are Yummy!
Another city!
Another city!
Going to the Sea of Galilee!
Mediterranean Sea and me! (Svet always sneaks pictures of me.)
Love the flowers!
Flowers everywhere in the cities!
Big Fish!
Just Cool!
Big Fish Again!
Statues at a Museum!


It was a fantastic trip and we recommend anyone to go, But rent a car and see your own sights.

We saw tour buses everywhere, packed with Russians, Americans, Germans and Britons. They really looked wore out and grouchy!

Example: At Dead Sea, many tor buses stopped and gave the people 45 minutes: to change clothes and float in the Dead Sea and get out take a shower and get dressed again and leave to the next destination. (Not Fun)

Hope everyone enjoyed the pictures and if you have any questions just ask.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

The UN Refuses to Blame North Korea for the Sinking…


The United Nations gathered in a meeting and hashed out a statement about the sinking of the South Korean ship Cheonan. What was expressed as the result did not meet America’s and South Korea’s expectations about the situation. It fell short of making a conclusion that extradited North Korea into the situation. North Korea was not officially blamed…

At least the United Nations can see that you have to have evidence and real facts before you point fingers. The UN did condemned the sinking of the South Korean warship, the Cheonan. But then they refused to blame a North Korea for the sinking.

Why?

Because as I have repeated time and time again about the fact that there is not any evidence that supports the statement that South Korea and the USA claim that North Korea sank the South Korean ship…

Now the Western press and South Korean press is having a issue with this statement by the UN. This type of statement brings the war mongers out in force because they really dislike it when evil North Korea is not criticized, even if North Korea does not deserve it. That has never mattered…

The drums beat loudly at this moment and the screams are being heard about how worthless the UN has become. The UN can not even criticize North Korea for the terrible act that they performed by sinking the South Korean Cheonan.

But why would the UN say that North Korea did it when the evidence is inappropriate to draw conclusions about what happened. The word alleged was the key word and we all know what that means…

We Alleged So It Must Be True…

Windows to Russia!

  • North Korea Avoids Blame in UN Statement on Sinking of Warship (businessweek.com)
  • U.N. Draft Condemns Ship Sinking Without Blaming North Korea (nytimes.com)
  • UN avoids blaming N. Korea for ship attack (cbc.ca)

Russia and USA say, “I Spy is Over”…


Credentials of a U.S. Department of State spec...
Image via Wikipedia

I spy has been settled between Russia and America, in a fashion that leaves all the asked questions unanswered and all the future questions will never be answered, according to the way the deal was handled. It was a 4 for 10 swap…

Russia and the U.S. have concluded the spy scandal. Both the Russian Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Department of State have officially confirmed recent media announcements about an agreement on a ‘spy exchange.’ According to the agreement, 10 alleged special agents for Russia who had to plead guilty or go to jail in the U.S. will be swapped for four people officially convicted for spying for Western countries. (Can we say coercion?)

The main conditions of the swap deal was for the 10 special agents for Russia to plead guilty. (Other words admit we are a bad people…)

President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree pardoning the four jailed  convicts based also on their petitions for pardon, in which they also confess their crimes and signed statements of oath also.  All 4 of the pardoned by Medvedev have already served lengthy prison sentences – between 5 and 11 years.  (Now we know why Medvedev has been quiet…)

The members of the alleged spy team have all signed statements of oath with their quilt pleas that expressively forbid them from talking to the press about said dealings over this case.

Can anyone understand that this was a total manipulation of the judicial and governmental systems from day one, plus that ulterior motives ruled in this aspect? Does anyone realize that this was a warning shot to wake up certain governmental officials in the USA.

Windows to Russia!

PS: Does anyone realize that they really are not spies? They could not even be charged with espionage…

  • Russian president pardons 4 spies for swap with US (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
  • SFgate.com Admin official: Russians had to sign oath on guilt (sfgate.com)
  • You: Medvedev pardons four accused spies – Update (earthtimes.org)
  • Justice Dept. says Russians will release 4 in spy swap (thenewstribune.com)
  • Anna Chapman ‘to return to Britain’ (telegraph.co.uk)

Russia: Etiquette & Folk Medicine!


Russian folk medicine:

* It is widely believed in Russia that sitting on cold surfaces, such as rocks or even the ground, is not simply taboo for a woman, but it is extremely hazardous to her health and inhibits her ability to bear children. It is a practice that is rigorously upheld, especially in cold weather and with young children, who will often unknowingly sit on the ground, and who will frequently be lifted up by a supervising adult.

* Keeping all parts of one’s body as dry and warm as possible in cold weather and rain is generally practiced as prophylaxis for the common cold in Russia, as it is in many parts of the world. There are a variety of home remedies used to treat the common cold, including hot tea. Cold beverages are avoided while one is sick. This is not unique to Russia; however, many Russians tend to be more adamant about it than most Westerners.

* Traditional self-medication is prevalent in Russia. Banki (банки) are little glass jars that are usually applied to the back. A match is lit inside in order to burn up the oxygen and create suction. This technique is known as fire cupping in traditional Chinese medicine. Gorchichniki (горчичники) are mustard plasters that are applied onto the back or the chest. Mustard plasters have been and still are used by Westerners, as well. Doctors often prescribe banki and/or gorchichniki instead of chemical medications or antibiotics when a patient has flu and cold-like symptoms.

These beliefs and practices may be considered as superstitious by some Westerners, who think that viral and bacterial causes of colds and flu make it irrational to associate body temperature with the probability of getting sick, and hot remedies with better recovery. However, some existing research shows that mild hypothermia inhibits the immune response, in which case Russian traditional beliefs and remedies may be not be completely baseless.

Russian Etiquette:

* Men in Russia will always shake hands when they greet for the first time during the day. However, it is taboo to shake hands with your gloves on. A glove must be removed, no matter how cold it may be. Russia is one of the many countries where this handshake tradition is rigorously upheld.

* Shaking hands and giving things across the threshold of a house is taboo. Usually a guest will come inside before shaking a host’s hand when arriving and shake it before leaving the threshold when leaving. Sometimes people will even avoid saying “hello” and “goodbye” across the threshold.

* It is traditional in Russia for men to give flowers to women on nearly every occasion, but only an odd number can be given. Giving an even number of flowers is taboo, because even numbers are brought to funerals.

* You should never go to someone else’s house empty handed. Alcoholic beverages and/or dessert is a common gift to bring when invited to someone’s home.

* You should not forget to “Thank” the hosts for the welcoming and the dinner.

* You must remove the shoes in the house, because many people keep icons at home and according to Russian Orthodox religion it is a bad custom wear shoes in front of an icon, or even to say something bad about someone. It brings bad luck.

* It is traditional to always propose some kind of toast when drinking. Refusing to drink vodka on certain occasions or to a certain toast may sometimes be considered rude. For instance refusing to drink vodka at a funeral banquet is considered unacceptable. However you never toast in honor of those who have died or on Easter (for the same reason). Your glass cannot touch the table from the time a toast is proposed to the time you drink. Your glass should remain on the table when it is being refilled.

* Many Russians consider it bad form not to finish a bottle of vodka once it has been opened, no matter how few people there are left to finish it.

* It is also considered bad form to drink alcohol, including relatively mild beverages such as beer, without eating something between sips or shots. For this reason, Russian cuisine is particularly rich in appetizers and finger-foods (закуски), as they are used as chasers.

* When pouring wine, you should never pour back handed. This was a way of doing away with your enemies. You wear a ring full of poison, as you pour the wine out backhanded the poison drips into the glass un-noticed.

* It is impolite to point with your finger. But if you must point, it’s better to use your entire hand instead of your finger.

* It is impolite to put your feet up on furniture with your shoes on. Sometimes, simply showing the soles of your shoes is considered rude.

* Whistling indoors is taboo. Russians sometimes say superstitiously that you will “whistle away your money”. The origins of this are in superstition, as it used to be considered a sin: it was believed that when you whistled you were entertaining the devil. In general it is considered rude.

* Traditional Russian cheek kissing is done using three kisses, but it is not widely upheld all the time.

* When someone sneezes you tell them Bud’te zdorovy (Rus: Будьте здоровы), which literally means “Be Healthy”. It used to be believed that saying this would help the sneezer keep from getting sick. Russian speakers will say it just as freely as an English speaker will say, “Bless you”, but the superstitious origins of the phrase have been widely lost in both languages

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Ukraine Getting Jitters About South Stream…


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Is Ukraine capable of convincing Russia that the days of stealing and playing games with European gas are over?

That is a billion dollar question to Ukraine and before the new president came on board.  Ukraine had an old president and prime minister that were bound and determined to destroy Ukraine. Without this transit money Ukraine would be in serious trouble financially.

Now Ukraine has been expressing her desire to reaffirm that she is a good transit country. A few weeks ago Ukraine made it clear that extra gas could be shipped through them if Belarus was going to be problems.

Is this transition from despising to embracing Russia, “a day late and a dollar short?”

Ukraine, which currently transits 80% of Russian gas to Europe, has been trying to convince Russia to set aside the South Stream project. If launched, South Stream will substantially reduce or cease the amount of gas transited via Ukraine and devastate the economy.

It seems to me that they did not care a a few years ago if they had the gas transit business. So what makes Russia believe that they will still care in a few years when another Orange Revolution is attempted by the West?

Here is a saying I use, “You Reap What You Sow!”  Looks like they better get the fertilizer out and help the relationship grow before it is too late…

Windows to Russia!

Swap Them Russian Spies for American Spys…


I just have to do a small article on this because it really makes me realize how stupid the whole situation was how many games where played by powers to be. This is being called by Western News as  “In the tradition of the Cold War!”

Doesn’t that make you all excited and nostalgic?

So it looks like a quick end is in site for the Russian Spies. I had said on the first post that I did, that in a few months no one will remember who the spies are. Except the Bombshell Redhead (Anna) of course! 🙂

10 spies for 10 spies – you mean America had 10 whole spies in Russia…

“Who’d’a thunk it?”

Windows to Russia!