Windows to Russia

I am not old, just my body says so:

Some would say that I am not old! But most of you reading this would say I was older than you are. In fact much older than my core readership and that is a good thing. Age is a mental thing 90% of the time. I do not think I am old, but my body betrays me and it is the little ways that it does, that gets too me…

I have to carry a walking stick. It is a sign of my age and it is a sign of stability. I try to walk many times without the stick and I weave, like a drunk. The stick is not even used, but as a tightrope walker, it stays in my hand and creates balance to my body. Without that extra weight and length, my system wobbles…

At first it really bothered me, but I have learned to keep my favorite walking stick right by the front door. I use it when I walk. I do not need it as I work the yard, but walking with Boza, it is necessary and it is protection, from myself and other things in life…

Age and its effects does not mean you stop doing things, it means you look for ways to compensate for what use to be accepted as normal! – Kyle Keeton

Life is how you see it:

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. – Lao Tzu

Chinese philosopher and writer Lao Tzu was a very wise man and I have studied his writings in the past. Considered the father of Taoism, even though he did not write the bases for Taoism, he is credited with creating what is now Taoism and its means in life. Thus, he is the father of Taoism, as he gave it birth as a meaning within life as we know it…

From a solitary contemplation of nature, far removed from the affairs of men, can emerge a philosophy that has, both in a critical as well a constructive sense — a direct and practical political message. Lao Tzu writes:

Why are people starving?
Because the rulers eat up the money in taxes.
Therefore the people are starving.

Why are the people rebellious?
Because the rulers interfere too much.
Therefore they are rebellious.

Why do people think so little of death?
Because the rulers demand too much of life.
Therefore the people take life lightly.

Having to live on, one knows better than to value life too much.

WtR

Russia and more to the point, Putin is at fault for everything wrong with the world/Universe! Really? I have to say America is making herself look really small and ineffective and if we really feel this way, then we have found a serious flaw…

In the aftermath of the fallout from the DNC server hack, the Democrats have been scrambling how to redirect public anger (especially among Bernie Sanders supporters) from the revelations that not only did the Democratic party try everything in its power to sabotage Bernie Sanders presidential bid, but also colluded with various “impartial” media outlets as well as breach fundraising rules in the process.And, as of this morning, it appears that the solution they have decided upon is not to explain or even justify the scandalous actions, but to simply blame Russia for the hack.Moments ago Hillary’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, appeared on CNN and as David Axelrod pointed out, suggested that Russians are behind the DNC hacking.

and

The Hillary Clinton campaign went there today by connecting the dots and letting voters know that the Russian government is working to get Donald Trump elected president.

and

To put this all into perspective, if Vladimir Putin were simply the CEO of a major American corporation and there was this much money flowing in Trump’s direction, combined with this much solicitousness of Putin’s policy agenda, it would set off alarm bells galore. That is not hyperbole or exaggeration. And yet Putin is not the CEO of an American corporation. He’s the autocrat who rules a foreign state, with an increasingly hostile posture towards the United States and a substantial stockpile of nuclear weapons. The stakes involved in finding out ‘what’s going on’ as Trump might put it are quite a bit higher.

and

Philadelphia (CNN)Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager is alleging that Russian hackers are leaking Democratic National Committee emails critical of Bernie Sanders in an effort to help Donald Trump win the election in November.

Well, of course it was Mr. Putin and the demon laden entity called Russia. He is, after all responsible for everything in the world and since Russians are under his thumb, they bend to his will daily. This is because the US has recognized that he is really Superman, Captain Russia and god. He can be everywhere all at once, he mind controls the entire Universe, he can defy the laws of physics and life… OMG helps U.S. (USA)

Really, they do admire and adore him, don’t they? But? They fear him at the same time? They loath him! They need him! They want him! They wish him dead! They wish and wish and wish…

Then again as always, we use Putin and Russia as a scapegoat for everything. I mean everything and soon when your car breaks down, as you drive to work, just call in and say, “Putin caused me to miss work!” and that will be totally acceptable, kinda like, “The dog ate my homework!”

The Buck does not stop in America anymore, just another wonderful ideology that has been instilled by our government of the USA!

The attacks are full stupid…

The most remarkable words Wednesday were not uttered by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). (Really, is telling people to vote their conscience such a wacky idea?) They came from Donald Trump, who in an interview with the New York Times simultaneously denigrated the United States in terms far harsher than President Obama has ever used, demonstrated his jaw-dropping ignorance and fueled concerns that there is some fishy connection between the Trump team and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Grab the popcorn and lets watch the stupidity roll across America! Yes, there is room in America for more stupidity and we now have proof of that! And people say I am mean for calling Americans stupid! Well it takes one to know one and I am an American and I do know about stupid…

WtR

PS: Links are basically western press links, for I realize that only the western press is news! Right?

Just some photos all taken this morning as I walked around the yard…

Have a nice day, we will get more rain today and the plants are loving it…

WtR

Well we did it!

The T-Rose produced blossoms, now the next trick is to get it to live the winter, all the way up in the Zone 2a…

Zone 2a – -43°C to -45°C and or -45 F to -50 F… (Basically the same at that temperature…)

Cold enough to freeze a witches you know what!

WtR

I use to teach this…

“Think outside the box? Indeed. But to add balance to that, one should not in the process forget what the inside of the box looks like as well. Those who are best at thinking outside the box do it not to puff themselves up, but to see how small they really are. As a contented fish in its fish tank appears to have a small, boring existence to us, imagine a larger, more perceptive kingdom (even by scientific taxonomy) to whom our contented existences may appear to be small and boring. This is where true creativity and massive perceptive abilities spawn a sense of intellectual humility; the kind which God adores.” — Author: Criss Jami

The world would be a much better place. We must be at both places and be humbled to see what is wrong in the world. Too many just hide within the box and it is a box they helped create. Prodded and given parts to make that box, but we hide in that box, for safety and comfort….Better yet, tear the box walls down and realize that they are there to limit your expansion…

WtR

Internet stinks today! Our daily rose shot! We have T-Roses…

Enjoy some images…

WtR

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-authorities-charge-owner-most-visited-illegal-file-sharing-website-copyright-infringement

U.S. Authorities Charge Owner of Most-Visited Illegal File-Sharing Website with Copyright Infringement

U.S. authorities have charged the alleged owner of today’s most visited illegal file-sharing website with criminal copyright infringement and have seized domain names associated with the website.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois, Executive Associate Director Peter T. Edge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

Artem Vaulin, 30, of Kharkiv, Ukraine, was arrested today in Poland and is charged by criminal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, with one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of criminal copyright infringement. The United States will seek to extradite Vaulin to the United States.

“Vaulin is charged with running today’s most visited illegal file-sharing website, responsible for unlawfully distributing well over $1 billion of copyrighted materials,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “In an effort to evade law enforcement, Vaulin allegedly relied on servers located in countries around the world and moved his domains due to repeated seizures and civil lawsuits. His arrest in Poland, however, demonstrates again that cybercriminals can run, but they cannot hide from justice.”

“Copyright infringement exacts a large toll, a very human one, on the artists and businesses whose livelihood hinges on their creative inventions,” said U.S. Attorney Fardon. “Vaulin allegedly used the Internet to cause enormous harm to those artists. Our Cybercrimes Unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago will continue to work with our law enforcement partners around the globe to identify, investigate and prosecute those who attempt to illegally profit from the innovation of others.”

“Artem Vaulin was allegedly running a worldwide digital piracy website that stole more than $1 billion in profits from the U.S. entertainment industry,” said Executive Associate Director Edge. “Protecting legitimate commerce is one of HSI’s highest priorities. With the cooperation of our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively bring to justice those who enrich themselves by stealing the creative work of U.S. artists.”

“Investigating cyber-enabled schemes is a top priority for CI,” said Chief Weber. “Websites such as the one seized today brazenly facilitate all kinds of illegal commerce. Criminal Investigation is committed to thoroughly investigating financial crimes, regardless of the medium. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to unravel this and other complex financial transactions and money laundering schemes where individuals attempt to conceal the true source of their income and use the Internet to mask their true identity.”

According to the complaint, Vaulin allegedly owns and operates Kickass Torrents or KAT, a commercial website that has enabled users to illegally reproduce and distribute hundreds of millions of copyrighted motion pictures, video games, television programs, musical recordings and other electronic media since 2008. The copyrighted material is collectively valued at well over $1 billion, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that KAT receives more than 50 million unique visitors per month and is estimated to be the 69th most frequently visited website on the internet.

In addition, a federal court in Chicago ordered the seizure of one bank account and seven domain names associated with the alleged KAT conspiracy.

According to the complaint, KAT has consistently made available for download movies that were still in theaters and displayed advertising throughout its site. KAT’s net worth has been estimated at more than $54 million, with estimated annual advertising revenue in the range of $12.5 million to $22.3 million, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that the site operates in approximately 28 languages. KAT has moved its domains several times due to numerous seizures and copyright lawsuits, and it has been ordered blocked by courts in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Belgium and Malaysia, according to the complaint. KAT has allegedly operated at various times under the domains kickasstorrents.com, kat.ph, kickass.to, kickass.so and kat.cr, and relied on a network of computer servers located around the world, including in Chicago.

Several motion pictures currently available for download and sharing on KAT are still showing in theatres, including “Captain America: Civil War,” “Now You See Me 2,” “Independence Day: Resurgence” and “Finding Dory,” according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that Vaulin, who used the screen name “tirm,” was involved in designing KAT’s original website, oversaw KAT’s operations and, during the latter part of the conspiracy, Vaulin allegedly operated KAT under the auspices of a Ukrainian-based front company called Cryptoneat.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

HSI and IRS-CI investigated the case with substantial assistance from the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center, the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the Polish Border Guard and National Prosecutor’s Office.

Senior Counsel Ryan K. Dickey of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William E. Ridgway and Devlin N. Su of the Northern District of Illinois are prosecuting the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance in this case.

There is no excuse for us to stifle what made even our country great. Before the day, life expanded because of copying what other parts of the world did, does and perfected. Always from expansion of knowledge comes better knowledge and comes a better life. We are creating our own conditions to squelch advancement of our societies…

Bottom line fact is’ If someone had stifled the US, like the US wants to do to the world, then the US would not be the powerhouse as it is today. This includes many other countries doing the same thing. Examples of stolen ideas and utilized by all…

Rockets, Methamphetamine, Cruise missiles, Jet-powered aircraft, Synchropters, Airborne Operations, Radio, Lasers, Steamboat, Telephone, Moving Picture, Intermittent Windshield Wipers, Graphical User Interface, Television, Sewing Machine and Monopoly to name just s very few items or ideas…

So what is our hangup and why are we trying to stifle progress? Why do we not embrace and utilize opportunities that are presented to us?

I know why! Do You?

WtR

Duh! As you have gathered, I love to try (the word is try) to take images of birds, especially the big birds. I have thousands and thousands of images of eagle, but the perfect shot eludes me. I try though…

Had to make a trip to the Big Village, Vova it seems promised a woman friend of his that he would take her to the Big Village to get some paperwork done on her village home. It seems that when he promised her, I was included in that promise and thus, I ended up driving her and him to the Big Village. Five hours later, we got home to the (TRV) Tiny Russian Village!

Don’t-ya just love when you get volunteered? 🙁

Oh and our strawberry patch is really doing good. I lost count after over a hundred new strawberries growing right now and who cares? I ate ten delicious fat juicy strawberries yesterday and that means I get to eat many more. Yummy…

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Ever had the weather beat you into the ground?

Well it is stomping my butt and it is winning!

Going back to bed in a little while, even though I have ten million things to do. Boza is already asleep again and chasing lion, tigers and bears in his sleep!

WtR

This morning as I walked Boza, I saw happiness….No! Not just the coffee I was sipping…

I am positive that in doggy heaven, dogs get to chase kitties all day and all night. There is simply just not anything in the whole world that is more important, than kitty chasing….At least to Boza…

Boza is sleeping soundly right now, but before he went back to bed this morning, he got to chase a cat all over the lower fields and after about an hour of running, jumping, chasing and tracking. Boza wore out, the cat ended up on the roof of a barn and Boza was satisfied that he ran the scourge of the known world off and saved the day. For to Boza kitties are the ultimate dream. Especially cats that run. If they stand and fight, Boza decides life has better things to do. Smart dog…

I sat on my bench in the lower field and let Boza run and watched the cat stay one step ahead of him the whole time. cats are smart and this cat knows Boza, but Boza does not know he is part of the game. Boza just knows that he has to chase this cat and send it away. With that simplistic thought going, Boza is always successful and in the cats eyes, it is always successful…

That is a win win situation and makes the world happy…

I was happy, for if Boza is happy, my world is perfect. Just as if Svetochka is happy, my world is more than perfect…

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Our weather station says sunny and cool. That is happiness…

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A turnip grown in our garden as big as a softball. That is happiness…

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A flowering T-Rose…Is happiness…

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A white tailed eagle….is happiness…

The Heron are scared to death of this eagle. Yes first image is of the huge Heron bird and mamma eagle is a behemoth, for a Heron is one big bird and as you can see in the slightly blurry image, she looks like a crow against a sparrow. This female eagle is one monster and 10 Heron’s had a darn heart attack as she swooped and played with their minds…

White Tailed Eagle: Steller’s sea eagle? 99% sure:

Steller’s sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus)^[2] is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found in coastal northeastern Asia and mainly preys on fish and water birds. On average, it is the heaviest eagle in the world, at about 5 to 9 kg (11 to 20 lb), but may be below the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) and Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) in some standard measurements.^[3] This bird is named after the German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller.^[4]

Simply put, this girl is a scary monster and I have been keeping an eye on it when she is out and about. Lets hope she eats lots of fish… 🙁 – For we all look small next to her… Yes it is a girl! How do I know? She is a mean Russian woman, that is how I know… 😉 And I see she has a mate and he is smaller. And he does irritate her at all. He has a white tail also…

By the way! A mean Russian woman is happiness, I know that too!

This eagle is rare this far North, but we have the lakes to feed her and I am glad. The Heron’s are not glad, but I am…

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That is happiness, for Boza got to chase a kitty and I got to watch the eagles and you get to see our rose blooming…

What more do you want?

WtR