EXCERPT:
USA lures another country into Afghan trap
Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic, will now send its military men to Afghanistan. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at USA's Manas airbase on the outskirts of Bishkek that Kazakhstan had agreed to add its military advisers and field engineers to the international forces in Afghanistan.
Kazakhstan originally intended to send only a group of military interpreters to Afghanistan. The nation did not even consider an opportunity of sending a military contingent to the country. Now it seems that the Americans have got what they wanted.
It seems interesting that the president of Kazakhstan has not said anything about the news. If Hillary Clinton had not made the announcement, the departure of Kazakh military men to Afghanistan would have been reflected in the media post factum. Kazakh media quote a source at the nation's defense ministry, which confirms Clinton's information.
Therefore, Kazakhstan's agreement marked a serious concession, which the Asian nation made to Washington. Most likely, it goes about the servicemen of the Kazakh Brigade, who already have the experience of the war in Iraq. In Iraq, the Kazakh soldiers cleared minefields and supplied water to local residents. The brigade lost one man during the entire stay in Iraq.
http://forum-msk.org/english/material/eng_news/676849.html
EXCERPT:
Only in the current year Kazakhstan should pay about $13 billion of external debts! Whence it could take money on development of the country and for citizens? Besides, the EU blocked way to WTO for Kazakhstan to punish for increase of the customs on export of crude oil. The Italians till now thirst for "vendettas" for at the suggestion of the current chief of administrative services of the president Nazarbaev B.Utemuratov they were done out being sold in 2007 Kazakhstan "АТF Bank of Kazakhstan" to the Italian bank "UniСredit" for 1,7 billion euro ($2,275 billion). Common stock was redeemed at the price of $84,4 for the share, preference one - at $47,05 for the share. Moreover, in July 2007 bank was forced to take more loans on $100 million. Now market cost of this bank has fallen in price many times and shares - in 14 times! Nazarbaev won't be forgiven for such lay of things just for fun.
http://forum-msk.org/english/material/eng_news/676849.html
EXCERPT:
Only in the current year Kazakhstan should pay about $13 billion of external debts! Whence it could take money on development of the country and for citizens? Besides, the EU blocked way to WTO for Kazakhstan to punish for increase of the customs on export of crude oil. The Italians till now thirst for "vendettas" for at the suggestion of the current chief of administrative services of the president Nazarbaev B.Utemuratov they were done out being sold in 2007 Kazakhstan "АТF Bank of Kazakhstan" to the Italian bank "UniСredit" for 1,7 billion euro ($2,275 billion). Common stock was redeemed at the price of $84,4 for the share, preference one - at $47,05 for the share. Moreover, in July 2007 bank was forced to take more loans on $100 million. Now market cost of this bank has fallen in price many times and shares - in 14 times! Nazarbaev won't be forgiven for such lay of things just for fun.
http://roberts-report.blogspot.com/2008/03/puppet-master-mr-utemuratov-comes-out.html
EXCERPT:
In the last twenty-five years, Bulat Utemuratov, who is from Atyrau, has risen from the deputy director of Almty’s “Yubeleinyi” supermarket during the late Soviet period to be one of the most powerful people in Kazakhstan. He is widely seen as one of President Nazarbayev’s closest confident and his fixer, holding a host of positions within the presidential administration. One announcement of his entry into Kazakhstan’s billionaire club even referred to him as Nazarbayev’s “consigliere,” drawing from one of my favorite analytical devices for understanding Kazakhstan’s power structure – The Sopranos. The aspect of Utemuratov’s job within the Kazakhstan power structure that fascinates me most, however, is his role vis a vis political opposition and media. While Utemuratov is an advisor and close confident to the president, allegedly part of his job in the past has been to ostensibly control the two most visible information outlets in Kazakhstan that take more critical stances towards the government – the television station Channel 31 and the newspaper Vremya.
Hillary's Soprano Parody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shKJk3Rph0E
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/usdiplomacywikileaksaustraliarussia
Clinton describes Putin as a "puppeteer" in cable
AFP/POOL – United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton viewed Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, seen here … SYDNEY (AFP) – United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton viewed Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as a "behind the scenes puppeteer" dissatisfied with his role, a diplomatic cable revealed by WikiLeaks shows.
"The Secretary said Medvedev was looking for legitimacy and positioning vis-a-vis PM Putin," the confidential cable from the State Department said.
"...even as Putin was dissatisfied with the role he has carved out for himself -- behind-the-scenes puppeteer and lead on energy policy -- but somewhat bound through 2012 since he had ceded other issues to Medvedev."
When Rudd asked whether Medvedev could be more liberal than Putin, Clinton "indicated Medvedev's desire for status and respect could cause him to be."
"Rudd agreed," the cable continued, "opining Russians' awareness of how their leaders were viewed internationally could help improve Medvedev's domestic standing."
The first of some 250,000 confidential US diplomatic cables to be leaked by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks have already described Russia as a virtual "mafia state".
They included comments that all the power and decision-making authority rests with the former KGB agent Putin and not the more liberal formal leader Dmitry Medvedev.
One cable referred to Putin as an "alpha dog" who made all the decisions in the Russian president's place, adding that Medvedev -- described in one dispatch as often looking indecisive and pale -- simply "plays Robin to Putin's Batman."
In a more recent release, the European Union's former external affairs commissioner Chris Patten once said that Putin had the eyes "of a killer" when talking about Chechnya.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2010/09/putin_valdai
EXCERPT:
THE Valdai club is an annual meeting of academics, historians and commentators who have an interest in Russia. Yesterday we met Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. The moods of the participants were very different. Most of the Valdai club members were pessimistic about Russia's future, but a relaxed Mr Putin seemed chipper.
Before meeting Mr Putin, the group had held anguished discussions about where Russia was heading. Even the Russian members were mostly glum, with many saying that the country’s size, climate and history made autocracy and lack of freedom almost inevitable. The economic prognosis was equally downbeat. A survey of opinion among the club’s members, called the Valdai index, came to some harsh conclusions. It suggested that there was a “tendency toward stagnation in Russia.” And it commented that “there is practically no real modernisation, restructuring or diversification, oil and gas remain the main sources of revenue, corruption continues unchecked and there is almost zero innovation.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdai_International_Discussion_Club
The Valdai International Discussion Club is an international framework for the leading experts from around the world to debate on Russia and its role in the world. It was setup in 2004 by the Russian news and Information Agency “RIA Novosti”, Council on Foreign and Defense Policy and Russia Profile magazine.
The club’s mission is to create an international framework, where representatives for the Russian elite could debate on the development of the country and its role in the world with leading foreign experts.
The club’s main goals are:
The club’s first conference “Russia at the Turn of the Century: Hopes and Realities” was held on September 3–4 in the city of Veliky Novgorod. It consisted of five discussions devoted to Russia’s domestic and foreign policies, economic development, defense and security and humanitarian problems. To demonstrate the professionalism of Russian regional executive government, the club organized a meeting with Governor of the Novgorod Region Vladimir Prusak. This started the tradition of holding some sessions in one of Russia’s regions and meeting its governor.
The club convened its second meeting “Russia in 2005 – Political Kaleidoscope” in Tver in September 2005. The main aim was to show the diversity of Russia’s political and socio-economic landscape and a wide range of expert opinions.
By virtue of many objective and subjective factors, Russia has again found itself in the focus of global history. Democracy or autocracy, a new Cold War or continued international cooperation with respect for mutual interests, a deadlock in the political development or regrouping of forces, return to the traditional model of government – these and other questions were on the agenda. Club members voiced very different views – from pro-government to opposition.
Governor Dmitry Zelenin hosted the meeting in Tver and told them about his region.
The club’s third conference in 2006 “Global Energy in the 21st Century: Russia’s Role and Position” was devoted to energy security – the main issue on the agenda of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg. Its meetings took place in Moscow and Khanty-Mansiisk. The club members met with executives from Gazprom and a number of Russian oil companies, and top officials from the Ministry of Industry and Energy and the Federal Agency for Nuclear Power. They also visited Russia’s major oil-producing region – the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area in Western Siberia, where they met with its Governor Alexander Filipenko and learnt about local social projects and the work of one of Russia’s key oil-producing businesses – Yuganskneftegaz, a subsidiary of Rosneft.
In 2008 Tatarstan hosted the conference. This republic is one of Russia’s most advanced economic, scientific and cultural centers, and a vivid example of a multi-religious community. In Tatarstan, RIA News presented Russia as a versatile and dynamic country with centuries-long history, inhabited by people of different religions and nationalities. In Moscow, the guests were invited to meetings with decision-makers, where they had the opportunity to discuss parliamentary elections'07 and the 2008 presidential race. One of the founding members of the club, the historian Michael Stürmer used his interviews with Vladimir Putin conducted during the annual meetings of the club as the basis of his 2008 biography of Putin.
48 experts from academic, media and political background from Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the USA will debate the topic of Russia and the West turning round the last years’ trend of the souring relations with 33 leading Russian experts.
Four panel discussions - on withering prospects of the New Cold War, new mutual challenges, as well as the potential of the “reset” with the new US administration and the new European security architecture – will take place in the picturesque vastness of the Yakutian landscape.
The participants will then head back to Russia’s capital – Moscow – for the traditional rendezvous’ with top Russian representatives from the government, the business and the society to express their concerns and opinions and get up-to-speed to what the Russian elites think.
The confidential State Department cable details a March 2009 discussion between Clinton and Australia's then prime minister Kevin Rudd in Washington, in which Rudd asked for insights into Russian politics given he was soon to meet President Dmitry Medvedev.
"The Secretary said Medvedev was looking for legitimacy and positioning vis-a-vis PM Putin," the confidential cable from the State Department said.
"...even as Putin was dissatisfied with the role he has carved out for himself -- behind-the-scenes puppeteer and lead on energy policy -- but somewhat bound through 2012 since he had ceded other issues to Medvedev."
When Rudd asked whether Medvedev could be more liberal than Putin, Clinton "indicated Medvedev's desire for status and respect could cause him to be."
"Rudd agreed," the cable continued, "opining Russians' awareness of how their leaders were viewed internationally could help improve Medvedev's domestic standing."
The first of some 250,000 confidential US diplomatic cables to be leaked by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks have already described Russia as a virtual "mafia state".
They included comments that all the power and decision-making authority rests with the former KGB agent Putin and not the more liberal formal leader Dmitry Medvedev.
One cable referred to Putin as an "alpha dog" who made all the decisions in the Russian president's place, adding that Medvedev -- described in one dispatch as often looking indecisive and pale -- simply "plays Robin to Putin's Batman."
In a more recent release, the European Union's former external affairs commissioner Chris Patten once said that Putin had the eyes "of a killer" when talking about Chechnya.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2010/09/putin_valdai
EXCERPT:
Vladimir Putin's Valdai vision
Sep 7th 2010, 10:06 by The Economist | SOCHI
THE Valdai club is an annual meeting of academics, historians and commentators who have an interest in Russia. Yesterday we met Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. The moods of the participants were very different. Most of the Valdai club members were pessimistic about Russia's future, but a relaxed Mr Putin seemed chipper.
Before meeting Mr Putin, the group had held anguished discussions about where Russia was heading. Even the Russian members were mostly glum, with many saying that the country’s size, climate and history made autocracy and lack of freedom almost inevitable. The economic prognosis was equally downbeat. A survey of opinion among the club’s members, called the Valdai index, came to some harsh conclusions. It suggested that there was a “tendency toward stagnation in Russia.” And it commented that “there is practically no real modernisation, restructuring or diversification, oil and gas remain the main sources of revenue, corruption continues unchecked and there is almost zero innovation.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdai_International_Discussion_Club
Valdai International Discussion Club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (September 2010) |
The club’s main goals are:
- to create an international venue where foreign experts could receive information about Russia and Russian society from reliable sources;
- to demonstrate the diversity of social and political views on key issues in domestic and foreign policies;
- to give international experts an opportunity to meet with top Russian leaders.
[edit] History
The club owes its name to the location of the first meeting, which took place on Lake Valdai, at the Valdai holiday hotel, on September 2, 2004.The club’s first conference “Russia at the Turn of the Century: Hopes and Realities” was held on September 3–4 in the city of Veliky Novgorod. It consisted of five discussions devoted to Russia’s domestic and foreign policies, economic development, defense and security and humanitarian problems. To demonstrate the professionalism of Russian regional executive government, the club organized a meeting with Governor of the Novgorod Region Vladimir Prusak. This started the tradition of holding some sessions in one of Russia’s regions and meeting its governor.
The club convened its second meeting “Russia in 2005 – Political Kaleidoscope” in Tver in September 2005. The main aim was to show the diversity of Russia’s political and socio-economic landscape and a wide range of expert opinions.
By virtue of many objective and subjective factors, Russia has again found itself in the focus of global history. Democracy or autocracy, a new Cold War or continued international cooperation with respect for mutual interests, a deadlock in the political development or regrouping of forces, return to the traditional model of government – these and other questions were on the agenda. Club members voiced very different views – from pro-government to opposition.
Governor Dmitry Zelenin hosted the meeting in Tver and told them about his region.
The club’s third conference in 2006 “Global Energy in the 21st Century: Russia’s Role and Position” was devoted to energy security – the main issue on the agenda of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg. Its meetings took place in Moscow and Khanty-Mansiisk. The club members met with executives from Gazprom and a number of Russian oil companies, and top officials from the Ministry of Industry and Energy and the Federal Agency for Nuclear Power. They also visited Russia’s major oil-producing region – the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area in Western Siberia, where they met with its Governor Alexander Filipenko and learnt about local social projects and the work of one of Russia’s key oil-producing businesses – Yuganskneftegaz, a subsidiary of Rosneft.
In 2008 Tatarstan hosted the conference. This republic is one of Russia’s most advanced economic, scientific and cultural centers, and a vivid example of a multi-religious community. In Tatarstan, RIA News presented Russia as a versatile and dynamic country with centuries-long history, inhabited by people of different religions and nationalities. In Moscow, the guests were invited to meetings with decision-makers, where they had the opportunity to discuss parliamentary elections'07 and the 2008 presidential race. One of the founding members of the club, the historian Michael Stürmer used his interviews with Vladimir Putin conducted during the annual meetings of the club as the basis of his 2008 biography of Putin.
[edit] Valdai 2009
In 2009 year the Valdai goes to Yakutsk, a city 9000 km (5590 miles) away from Moscow and the capital of the largest subnational administrative territory in Russia and the world – the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The area of 3,100,000 km2 (1,200,000 sq miles) is populated by less than 1 million people.48 experts from academic, media and political background from Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the USA will debate the topic of Russia and the West turning round the last years’ trend of the souring relations with 33 leading Russian experts.
Four panel discussions - on withering prospects of the New Cold War, new mutual challenges, as well as the potential of the “reset” with the new US administration and the new European security architecture – will take place in the picturesque vastness of the Yakutian landscape.
The participants will then head back to Russia’s capital – Moscow – for the traditional rendezvous’ with top Russian representatives from the government, the business and the society to express their concerns and opinions and get up-to-speed to what the Russian elites think.
Just a Small Town Girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAXPpDihQMc
Small Town Girl Lyrics
DON'T STOP BELIEVING
Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world
Took the midnight train going anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit
Took the midnight train going anywhere
I seen her in a smokey room, a smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers, waiting... walkin' down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Street lights... people
Living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night
Working hard to get my fill
everybody wants a thrill
Betting anything to roll the dice just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some are born to sing the blues
oh the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers, waiting... walking down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Street lights... people
Living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night
Don't stop... believin'
hold on to that feeling
Street lights... people
Don't stop... believin'
hold On to that feeling
Street lights... people
Don't stop... believin'
hold on to that feeling
Street lights... people
dont stop
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