Kyle Keeton
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I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & thinking again about the American Dollar. I have written several articles about the Demise of the Dollar! I have now just read that the Canadian Dollar is worth more than the American Dollar. I think that I read some where that the Australian Dollar is worth the same as an American Dollar.
Seems to me that the world currencies are adjusting to be more equal with each other.
This downfall of the Dollar is causing Russia to have inflation problems. To the Russians; “It’s clear that Washington is not going to do anything to solve the problem that it has created. As former U.S. Treasury Secretary Connally also famously said, “The dollar may be our currency, but it’s your problem.” Especially in an election season next year, the United States is focused on how to minimize recessionary risks — hence lower interest rates and a bigger fiscal deficit.”(click: read more)
“Again, Russia is not alone in this predicament. Late last week, discussions within the Gulf Cooperation Council ended without any action to break the peg to the dollar, which places those countries in an identical inflationary predicament as Russia. Asian countries face similar concerns.
It’s clear that Washington is not going to do anything to solve the problem that it has created. As former U.S. Treasury Secretary Connally also famously said, “The dollar may be our currency, but it’s your problem.” Especially in an election season next year, the United States is focused on how to minimize recessionary risks — hence lower interest rates and a bigger fiscal deficit.
So will Russia and its economic partners continue to play the victim in order to maintain the dollar as the monetary anchor of the international financial system? Perhaps the time has come for Moscow to help organize a new cartel. No, nothing to do with energy, but rather a “sound money” cartel among those countries that collectively wish to reassert monetary stability. Of course, as we all know, this is just wishful thinking.
Martin Gilman, a former senior representative of the IMF in Russia, is a professor at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.” (Moscow Times)
The Horizon looks bad for the American Dollar! Looks like America has some recession years coming up. I remember the past well.
Kyle
comments always welcome.
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Hello,
I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & thinking about Putin.
In America we have a saying about, holding all the “Aces”. (means, that you have the highest cards) How do you think Putin will play his aces?
You have to admit that Putin is one smart man! When Putin retires he needs to write a book called; “Putinisms!” I would love to read a book about how he thinks, to help understand his mind! He is shrewed and cunning! Reminds me of a Fox!…… (click: read more to continue)
“Dmitry Medvedev, endorsed by President Vladimir Putin as his preferred successor, asked Putin on Tuesday to become prime minister in his future government in order to ensure continuity.
Medvedev also said his priority in the Kremlin would be to raise living standards, and he praised Russia’s growing might in the world.
Putin, who almost certainly cleared Medvedev’s statements beforehand, gave no indication whether he would accept the post of prime minister. But he praised Medvedev as someone who respects democratic values, during a meeting with foreign ambassadors.
Medvedev’s comments were his first since Putin backed him as the next president Monday, and they provided a glimpse into what politics might look like after Putin leaves the Kremlin next year. Medvedev, who has little visible power base in the Kremlin, is seen as beholden to Putin, whose preferred successor is expected to easily win the presidential election on March 2.
“Expressing my readiness to participate as a candidate in the presidential election, I am calling on [Putin] to agree to become the head of the Russian government after the election of the new president,” Medvedev said in a speech shown repeatedly on state television throughout the day, lending it the appearance of a campaign ad.
Medvedev is not a registered candidate yet.
Sending a clear signal to the country’s elite that he does not plan a government shake-up, Medvedev said, “It is important to keep the effectiveness of the team created by the incumbent president.”
He echoed Putin in heralding the country’s revival on the international stage. “The attitude toward Russia in the world is different now,” he said. “We are not being lectured like schoolchildren. We are respected and we are deferred to. Russia has reclaimed its proper place in the world community. Russia has become a different country: stronger and more prosperous.”
The conditions that Putin himself has set to become prime minister appear to have been fulfilled. Putin floated the idea of occupying the post on Oct. 1, but he said two conditions should be met first: United Russia must achieve a crushing victory in State Duma elections, and the next president must be a “worthy” person with whom he could work.”(Moscow Times)
So Putin has all the cards, as we say! Lets see how he plays them over the next few years!
Kyle
comments always welcome.
Hello,
I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & thinking about the bomb that blew up a bus this Sunday! Seems like this is the second bus to be blown up in Russia in the last month or month and a half!(article Moscow Times)
I can not understand why anyone in this world would injure innocent people. Seems strange to me to hate the world so much that you have to blow up buses to enjoy life!
I remember the Oklahoma City Bomb! (Timothy McVeigh) . That was a good example of someone killing innocent people for no reason.
What do you think? Are times changing for the worst?
Kyle
comments always welcome.
(to continue with more of the same article: Click: Read More!)
(article from Moscow times)
“A bus blast that killed two women and injured 14 others in southern Russia over the weekend was the result of an explosive device, investigators said Monday.
The bomb went off at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday while the bus was making a planned stop in Nevinnomyssk, a town in the Stavropol region, and the number of casualties would likely have been much higher if the bus had been on the road and full of passengers, Kommersant reported Monday.
Many of the passengers were outside taking a break when the explosion tore through the bus, which was heading from Stavropol to Pyatigorsk.
Besides the two dead women, identified as Susanna Gazoryan and Yelena Tarasova, 14 others were injured in the blast, Interfax reported, citing a source in the regional Emergency Situations Ministry. Five victims remained hospitalized as of Monday afternoon.
Photographs showed the gutted, charred shell of a bus with its windows shattered and the back of its roof lifted upward by the force of the explosion.
The bomb had the equivalent of 500 grams to 1 kilogram of TNT, an unidentified law enforcement source said, Interfax reported.”
Hello,
While enjoying a cup of coffee! Just grabbed this news hot off the wire;
President Vladimir Putin on Monday 12-10-2007 backed the candidacy of The First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in the March presidential election — this is the first time Putin has publicly supported a presumed successor.
Putin met with the leaders of four parties proposing Medvedev’s bid, Putin noted that he has known Medvedev for more than 17 years & has confidence in him.
“I completely and fully support this proposal,” Putin said in comments broadcast on state-run Channel One television.
To see the Qualifications of Medvedev…..
Resume:
Dmitry Yevgenyevich Medvedev
Dmitry Yevgenyevich Medvedev
Born: Sept. 14, 1965
Place of Birth: St. Petersburg
Education: Leningrad State University, degree in law, 1987; doctorate in law, 1990.
Advantages: Close to Putin and his St. Petersburg circle; reputation of being a liberal intellectual; embraced by foreign investors; has refrained from hawkish foreign policy remarks.
Disadvantages: No proven record of being effective civil servant because the outcome of the national projects being supervised by him have yet to materialize; lacks ability to motivate subordinates; not popular among the siloviki.
{A Silovik (силови́к, plural: siloviks or siloviki, силовики́, from a Russian word for power.) is a Russian politician from the old security or Military services, often the KGB and military (armed forces) officers or other security services who came into power in the terms of Boris Yeltsin or Vladimir Putin.}
Notable Quotes: “Democracy and national sovereignty need to be together. But one should not overwhelm the other.” Interview with Expert magazine, July 2006. “I was not born a boss, right? I always liked what I did, in the Kremlin administration and now in the White House.” Interview with Itogi magazine, April 2007. “I would like very much for Gazprom to become the most expensive company in the world.” Interview with Vedomosti, July 5, 2007.(link)
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Kyle
comments always welcome.
Hello,
I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & thinking about when I walk the Sabaka! (dog)
I come across lots of interesting things as I take my walks: I took these pictures of a children’s playground near our Flat, sometimes the simplest places become Winter Wonder
Lands!
Strange how snow can transform things. Then as far as the Sabaka is concerned, just stick your nose into the snow! Gotta be something good under that white stuff!(his name is Boza)
Kyle
comments always welcome.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is to head the Union of Russia and Belarus.
“A constitutional act proclaiming the Union is to be signed during Putin’s visit to Belarus, sources close to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told the radio station, adding that a draft of the document had already been drawn up. According to Echo of Moscow, Putin is to become the Union’s leader after he has resigned as Russian President, while Lukashenko is to head the Union’s parliament.”(rbc)
Cool!
Kyle
Hello,
Just some news today from Russia; For you to read while you drink your morning cup of coffee!
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Russian PM to visit Hungary:
RBC, 07.12.2007, Moscow 09:28:33.Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov will pay a one-day visit to Hungary to attend the first Russian-Hungarian intergovernmental consultations chaired by the heads of government of the two countries. The consultations will also be attended by heads of the countries’ government agencies concerned, with a view to analyzing the current state of affairs and the potential for developing trade and economic, fuel and energy, transportation and information cooperation between Russia and Hungary.
A government source told RBC that several documents are expected to be signed following the consultations, including a cooperation agreement between Hungary and a number of Russian regions, a memorandum of understanding for a Hungarian company’s participation in building a residential block in the center of St. Petersburg, as well as a cooperation protocol between Russia’s Federal Agency for Culture and the Hungarian Culture Ministry.
The source has not rule out the possibility that an agreement could be signed between Sukhoi Civil Aircraft and the Hungarian airline Malev for the supply of SuperJet 100 planes.
Sibir Energy co-owner gains control of Russian retail chain:
RBC, 07.12.2007, Moscow 09:58:01.Dixy retail chain founder Oleg Leonov has found a way to raise financing to support the company’s aggressive growth without increasing its debt load as he aims to sell a controlling stake in the retail chain to Igor Kesayev, the owner of Russia’s largest tobacco distributor Merkury and co-owner of the oil company Sibir Energy. The deal is due to close by February 1, 2008. Although Leonov is leaving the company, he intends to stay in the retail business. As of the announcement date, the market value of the controlling stake in Dixy stood at nearly $450m. Experts believe that the new owners’ good financials and well-developed logistics can help significantly accelerate the retail chain’s development, the RBC Daily newspaper wrote today.
Dollar loses ground vs. ruble on stronger euro at open:
RBC, 07.12.2007, Moscow 10:25:32.Early at today’s special dollar trading session for tomorrow deals, the weighted average exchange rate stood at 24.51 RUR/USD, RUR0.04 below the official rate set by the Bank of Russia for December 7. The dollar’s retreat from yesterday’s steep RUR0.13 gain can be traced to the euro’s recovery of some of its losses from Thursday on international exchanges, where it is now trading at USD1.4611, up 0.06 percent from USD1.4602 at 10 a.m. at the previous session.
Russia’s upper house concerned with surge in motor fuel prices:
RBC, 07.12.2007, Moscow 10:30:51.The Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, intends to address Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov in connection with a steep rise in motor fuel prices. A group of deputies proposed to add the item to the agenda of today’s plenary session of the upper house. The proposal was drafted in collaboration with the Federation Council’s budget committee.
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Kyle
Russia is combating software piracy in its schools by choosing to go completely: Linux over Microsoft Windows.
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Since Russia is entering the World Trade Organization they no longer can ignore software piracy. The Country has chosen to go completely open source. (Due to cost of legalizing all school software.)
I’m sure other countries want to see how this works out for Russia. They are starting with the Russian education System. Then if successful will move on to the rest of the Government.
“One possible decision was to buy licenses for all the software being used: but so much software was being used, it proved too expensive… so the decision was taken to use free software, although not immediately, but over three years.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7034828.stm(link bbc)
This great news for Russia and I really think that they will pull it off. We use nothing but open source at home. It is the wave of the future! Once Russia accomplishes it, Then China will be next!
Now you know why the Penguin is dancing!
Kyle
comments always welcome.
Hello,
I have always told you that we take lots of pictures. Well we take lots of videos also. Here is a video of Ukraine from a train window. (just pardon my humming)
Enjoy!
Kyle
comments always welcome.