Windows to Russia

It is an amazing world that we live in. We are so nice to South Korea when they fail (abort is the new word) at a satellite launch. We even make up excuses and say jolly good try and their space program suffered and we pronounce for good measure that Russian experts are there helping to find the problem (Funny how Russians are good only when it suits the West)…

Now when North Korea wanted to launch a satellite the Western press stirred up the whole world about how it could be a missile test and be the next step to Armageddon…

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) — South Korea’s space program suffered a blow Tuesday after a satellite launched from its first space rocket failed to reach proper orbit, a science official said.

WASHINGTON (ABC) — US Warns North Korea Not to Launch Satellite, But Not Sure How to Deter Them. – Some reports have suggested that North Korea’s announced satellite launch could be a cover for a test of a new long-range missile capable of hitting the western United States.

Where is the groups making fun of South Korea and their failure? Did you notice that South Korea has a space rocket not a missile? Did you notice that Japan and America did not worry that South Korea’s space rocket could hit them? Did you notice there are no cartoons making fun of South Korea? Did anyone notice?

I guess if I was to use the same standards then South Korea is testing a missile for the purpose of carrying a nuclear weapon, but that would not be as exciting as the evil NK and the inevitable destruction of the earth…

These are the things that should make you go Hummmmm!

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Looks pretty obvious at this point. If it is not clear to you and the rest of the world, then think about it for a minute…

General Motors’ failure last week to decide on the sale of its unit Opel has met with strong criticism from Berlin. German media commentators say the Opel saga poses risks for Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the Sept. 27 election and could hurt relations between the US and Germany. They also warn that Opel could fall victim to political election tactics.

Germany is backing the deal as GM is starting to look like a company that has been given so much government money that they are backing out of the deal. A deal that not long ago they had to do or die and now after being blessed with lots and lots of government help and government backing, have turned their nose up at the best deal for the Opel company. GM says it wants the rights to get Opel back, (after someone else turns it around and makes a solid company out of it.) GM does not deserve that right…

The old General Motors will dissolve in bankruptcy court while a brand new company, owned largely by the United States and Canadian governments, will emerge under the same GM name.

The Magna – Sberbank deal is the best for Germany and Germany is what counts. Not the fact that a American company is being controlled now by governmental influence. Russia has an opportunity to come out a head in this deal along with Canada. Germany likes the presence of Canada and Russia as the most viable partners that will make Opel a great car company again after being driven toward its grave by GM.

This act of GM’s with the US government backing gives strength to the statement that GM was and is a failed company. (Once again our tax money put to a good use?)

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Update:

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson is considering alternatives to a sale of German automaker Opel, several newspapers reported on Tuesday, in what would be a dramatic turnaround in the Opel saga. The government in Berlin and Opel’s workforce are angry about the decision and may protest. (Oops bad move on Americas part!)

Moscow says regional security drills to go ahead as planned:
A joint exercise by member states of a post-Soviet regional security grouping will go ahead as planned, the head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) said on Friday.

Russian Air Force signs $190 mln contract to buy new missiles:
The Russian Air Force and the Tactical Missile Weapons corporation signed on Friday a 6 billion ruble ($190 mln) contract for modern air-launched missiles, the force’s commander said.

Woman injured in Moscow air show crash dies in hospital:
A woman who was severely burned when two fighters crashed during a rehearsal for the MAKS-2009 air show just outside Moscow has died in hospital, a doctor said on Friday.

Putin visits site of Siberian dam accident, assesses damage:
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited on Friday the site of a deadly accident at Russia’s largest hydropower plant.

Death toll in Siberian dam disaster rises to 26:
The official death toll from an accident five days ago at Russia’s largest hydropower plant reached 26 on Friday, with another 49 people still missing, rescuers said on Friday.

Russian warships escort another convoy in the Gulf of Aden:
A Russian Pacific Fleet task force is escorting its third convoy of commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden since its arrival in the area in late July, a fleet spokesman said on Friday.

Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the USSR (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact):
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed in Moscow on August 23, 1939. It has been called a major factor in the outbreak of World War II, and determined the fate of the Latvians, Estonians, Lithuanians, Western Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Moldavians.

New AN-148 plane: the unsung hero of MAKS 2009:
Without fanfare, and minus the pomp surrounding the fighter display teams and the high-profile appearance of the Sukhoi superjet, a brand new Russian passenger plane made a modest public debut at the MAKS 2009 air show.

Medvedev’s and Putin’s approval rate rises:
Russians are approving of President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s policies more and more, according to recently released poll results.

Russian Style Goulash:

Goulash is really a Hungarian dish in origin, it most times resembles a thick soup or stew. It usually is prepared with beef and there are countless different recipes. This is a very simple, easy and oh – so yummy recipe.

Ingredients:
* Beef – half kilo will do (whole muscle, not ground beef and cubed)
* 3 tablespoonful of flour
* 2 big onions (sliced in medium size rings)
* 2 medium potatoes (peeled and cubed)
* 2 medium fresh tomatoes (wedged)
* salt and pepper to taste
* laurel leaf (1)

Prepare:
Cut the beef into cubes 1 inch on each side – wet beef cube with water and roll in flour.
Cut the onions into rings – wet with water and roll in flour.
Cut tomatoes into wedges. (you may peel if desired)
peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes.

Cooking:
Drop floured beef cubes into hot oil in a non stick skillet. Turn the pieces, so that every side of the cube is flash fried. (This is only to seal the crust not cook the meat.) Once fried put the cubes into a big saucepan.

Drop floured onion rings into hot oil in same skillet then once fried like you fried the meat, add to the saucepan on top of the meat. Then add potatoes and tomatoes on top the onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Laurel leaf thrown in pot on top of everything. Add water just to cover the bottom because the tomatoes will produce the liquid necessary.

Cover with a lid and stew for 30 minutes on a slow fire. Check by taking lid off and gently stir the Goulash. Cook on low heat another 20 minutes with lid off. Increase cooking time if not thick enough. (Or you can add tomato paste to thicken the end product. Also add water if too thick.)

Note:
The flour on the meat and onions most likely will disappear as slow cooking develops. It is there to thicken the sauce more than anything. Cooking time usually does not exceed 60 minutes. Just make sure meat is done.

There are millions of variations of this recipe and this is not a original Russian food. But Russians love this dish and all have their own version… Lets Eat – Yummy!

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Hello,

As many of you know here in Russia I love coffee, but what you don’t know is that my favorite coffee in the world is coffee with hazelnut creamer. Yesterday I found some hazelnut coffee at the store and guess what? Add creamer I have my favorite coffee!

As I am drinking that wonderful cup of hazelnut coffee, I was thinking about the comment system Disqus and how well it is working. I had said that I will give it some time, then if happy I will do an article about the system.

Well it has been some time and I am happy!

Disqus (pronounced Discuss) http://disqus.com/ has won the right to stay on Windows to Russia as the comment system. It is not perfect and truthfully nothing is perfect, but it comes close. I tried IntenseDebate and it failed miserably. I tried Google friends and it failed double miserably. I tried three others and they all failed miserably and more miserably…

Let the Disqus website tell us what the system is about:

1. Disqus is a powerful comment system that easily enhances the discussion on websites.
2. In minutes, connect your community with those of thousands of other websites.
3. Track conversations across the web, plus bridge discussions with your favorite services such as FriendFeed and Plaxo.
4. Threaded replies reveal the conversations in your comments.
5. And now it’s easier to keep the discussion alive with email and mobile replying.
6. Features such as ratings and video comments make comments interactive and expressive.
7. An intuitive admin section makes it easy to moderate the discussions from one or multiple websites.
8. Disqus is easy to customize, with widgets that lets your audience become your community.
9. With search engine-friendly plug-ins and complete data sync, Disqus is as safe to use as it is easy.
10. Why do people write more comments on sites using Disqus? It’s because we believe that there’s no difference between a great comment and a great blog post.
11. With greater control and commenter profiles, people feel good about taking the time to speak (or type) their minds.

I will say that all that they write is a fair truth. I want to add that in the case of Windows to Russia it cut back on terrible comments. Windows to Russia was deluged with hate and racist comments. They hit a peak with IntenseDebate and it got out of hand. These comments came from some well know anti Russian sites that seem to have an attitude toward Windows to Russia. I have not had a really bad comment on site per say since installing Disqus. It seems that the comments are under control now. (Knock on wood please!)

It is not all roses with Disqus though. Disqus seems to go off line about once a day. It just will not load. This affects the whole site and causes issues. The down time is very short and maybe not that noticeable. It just is an issue that I wish they would correct. There also is a way to get around the spam system but it is not serious and I check comments a lot along with readers help…

Is Disqus worth it? Yes I think so!

It works on Windows to Russia.
comments always welcome.

I have to comment on this new – but not new – information.

The USA is going to train Georgian troops for Afghanistan? This is a Pravda article that has finally caught on to what is happening. Down at the end of this article you will find a few Western press links so that you will not cry foul on a Russian news source…

I have seen this information on lots of Western press news sources and they make it sound like Georgia needs all this training for them to help in Afghanistan. So America is spending allot of money and going to give the brotherly love and help needed…

If you remember correctly, I posted several times about my trip to Ukraine and had my wallet stolen. During those posts and other posts – I expressed what I found out about Ukraine and Georgia. I posted the fact that Georgia was promised military hardware by Biden and that hardware and training will cost the USA 1.4 billion or so dollars. I also said that America promised Ukraine a couple of billion dollars to help keep the Ukraine president in office. That Ukraine money was given also so that Ukraine will help supply weapons again to Georgia.

This is a quote from an article that I did almost 3 weeks ago: “One thing that stood out to me was the political undertones from the American Embassy in Ukraine that infiltrated into the Ukraine Governmental section. America is and has been buying the Ukraine government for some time now. Biden just bought and paid for Ukraine’s help to rearm Georgia. That is a No – No and should be stopped. American politics need to stay out of Ukraine or any other country for that matter…” (Link)

I am now going to tell you another tidbit of information. The USA is involved in the Caucus uprising that is causing a huge issue and many civilian deaths in Russia. America has discovered that money will by lots of fair weather friends to play games against Russia. (and others)

So the American Government is 1. rearming Georgia, 2. Paying Ukraine to help rearm Georgia, and 3. stirring up serious issues in South Russia!

New York Times! The Age! CBS

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Officials say it’s unlikely any of the 64 people still trapped after an explosion at Russia’s biggest hydro power plant are still alive. However, emergency crews continue working at the facility.

Two Su-27 fighter jets of the “Russian Knights” aerobatics team have crashed during a final rehearsal ahead of the MAKS 2009 Air Show in the Moscow region. The squadron leader died in the collision.

The Russian frigate Ladny has freed the “Arctic Sea” cargo ship in the Atlantic without firing a shot and arrested eight alleged hijackers, according to the country’s Defense Ministry.

The Interior minister of Ingushetia has been sacked by President Dmitry Medvedev, after local police failed to prevent a deadly blast in the republic’s capital of Nazran.

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Russia arrests 8 hijackers of Arctic Sea vessel:
The Russian frigate Ladny has freed the Arctic Sea cargo ship in the Atlantic without firing a single shot and arrested eight alleged hijackers, Russia’s defense minister said on Tuesday.

Russian PM Putin to attend MAKS-2009 air show:
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will visit on Tuesday the MAKS-2009 air show near Moscow and attend a meeting on the development of Russia’s aircraft industry.

More than 20 police died in south Russia blast – prosecutors:
More than 20 police were killed and seven people are still missing after a deadly suicide bombing in southern Russia’s Ingushetia on Monday, prosecutors said.

Blast in south Russia’s Dagestan injures four:
Four people were injured in an explosion in Dagestan early on Tuesday, the volatile southern Russian republic’s interior ministry said.

Russia, Mongolia hold joint military exercises:
Russia and Mongolia are holding joint tactical exercises to practice interoperability during peacekeeping operations, the press service for Russia’s Siberian Military District has said.

Death toll in Siberia hydropower plant accident rises to 12:
The death toll in an accident at Russia’s largest hydropower plant has risen to 12 people, with 64 still unaccounted for, the country’s emergencies minister said on Tuesday.

Czech Republic expels two Russian diplomats:
The Czech Republic has expelled two Russian diplomats, the CTK news agency reported on Monday.

LUKoil posts 3.4% rise in oil output, 12.4% drop in gas production:
Russia’s LUKoil posted on Monday a 3.4% rise in oil output year-on-year to 48.63 million metric tones and a 12.4% decline in natural gas production to 7.36 billion cubic meters.

Ingush leader accuses West of seeking to destabilize Caucasus:
The president of Ingushetia, who is recovering from an attempt on his life, accused on Monday the United States, Britain and Israel of seeking to destabilize the situation in the North Caucasus.

Train on autopilot: Russian Railways tests one-of-a-kind locomotive:
Moscow railway employees are testing an electric train that can operate almost unmanned. A computer system selects the optimum mode of operation and even monitors how the driver is working.

Non prescription medicine to become more widely available:
Russia’s Trade Ministry has proposed that grocers and supermarkets could start selling non-prescription medicines, with experts saying the new regulations may come to the rescue of troubled pharmacy chains.

Kids & alcohol: are drink producers & parents on equal terms?:
Curbing underage drinking is becoming a top priority for Russia. Police say family influence has more power than just punishing those who sell alcohol to minors. Is it really so? RT collects expert opinions.