Professor Igor checked in over night from Vladivostok, indicating the students there await my geo-political missives, as understanding the loaded slang in my written is like a cross-word puzzle to them. I played the claranet as a child, I like all music, still have the gold bobbles from the disco days, but them Russians love the classics, and the ballet there is so so great, and we turn up the music really loud, when Im in town!!! Rebels and their music, eh? God is coming back to Russia, economy is building, the confluence marches on, Russia will do just fine.
I recall once in Ukraine, about 1995, in Khrakov, watching a French produce opera, in Itialian, in a Russia city, by an American, hey, I guess that international eh. This was when Chenchya exploded, and the ethic russian there were absolutely enranged, kinda like 9/11 for you lefties who may have conveninently forgot we are in a real war. I also visited Chernostie in western Ukraine and the Carpathian range. Western Ukraine is ethically Ukrainian where Eastern Ukraine is ethically Russian, mostly, and the problems of dividing the Black Sea Fleet was at issue. Ukraine could have exploded, but did not, a very good thing. What ever happened to my buddy Kuchma anyway, Putin's little pupet? Kinda miss him, he was so fun to analyize.
Little story, I met a young couple in Kharkov who were thrilled to speak with a real american, and the slang, they just loved it. The gal was an english instructor at the local military academy, and she insisted I give a lecture there, and so I gave a lecture, to artillery students (males 17-19) on US civil war military organizations and weapons used then, dressed in a full-on, major general civil war era uniform, for about 2 hours, after which I asked for questions, and all these boys wanted to know was how cute really are the so-cal chicks, is it ture what they see on TV, really true, do they all have big teets???. I roared, we are all not so different. Imagine, I, a patent attorney for a US fed research lab on spy satillites, giving a lecture at a military academy, which one year earlier was a SOVIET military institution. THE WORLD IS A CHANGING fast my friends, as the confluence marches on. Later that trip, over x-mas, I went to a church Russian orthodox, and they had the boys choir, singing silent night in english, so beautiful, I jump up afterward, bravo!!!! bravo!!!, just stunning.
Four of us were walking about the tenement buildings in Karkov Ukraine, looking like a bombed out city from WWII at night, to be honest. That was a shocker when I first went there. I quickly began to realize the hostile under current in their manner discussing US foreign policies. They really do feel the US destroyed their nice little commie world, and resent us deep down for it. I picked up on that really quick. They dont like the fact that American presence is everywhere about the globe, or so it seems to them, in stark constrast of their lost empire now confined to only the Russias. Karkov is in eastern Ukraine and is mostly ethic Russians. Anyway, it was a bright sunny day, the four of us walking on the snow, at -20C among the slum lord looking buildings. I am not well suited for the snow at that cold temperature being from southern california, always froze to the bone threre during the winter, they got that really quick to. As we were walking along, I saw a dead mouse laying stiff, upon its back, in the snow, with its four little legs pointing upward, and I thought, there is me if I dont dress well, and thinking how they love little jokes, especially those that demean the US, I pointed at the dead mouse, and exclaimed, "Americanski Meesh". They roared!!!!
http://tcode.tinro.ru/dmr/ <----- check it out
http://imcs.dvgu.ru/main/putin.html#russian
Note the prediction of Russia coming back strong economically, well, that was no brainer, after I checked it out in person. Last time there, Vladivostok city was covered with building craines as viewed off the coast fishing, I wish tuna would run near there, but I guess the Japanese has that market covered. My condo (I purchased for babushka) there increased 100% in value over the last two years, look out, the Russian bear is coming back, a very good thing.
Another little story, on new years day, 2004, as new years is their big holiday of the year, in my civil war US major general yankee uniform, I was standing under the city monuments in the city center, passing out candy to kids, with a huge sign, C chaslievum nova godem Vladivostok!!, (happy new years vladivostok) with US/Russian flag crossed over karashaw drooka (good friends) promoting peace, of course. Mom did not want their children to take the candy and the kids were pulling toward me to get some, well hey, after 80 years of the KGB, you would be careful to. Anyway, many young student were curious, and kept asking why I was there, and asked questions. What do you think of Bush? Moya Boyshoy Geroy, my great hero, WHAT?? and I explained why. Many had little bottles of voldka with them, and gave me a hit, time and time again, until, I was absolutely toasted. A militia officer (police) came up and asked for my passport, which I always leave in the condo, so as to not loose it, and he took me to the police station, and after 1 hour interrogation, they threw me in a jail cell, the little one gave me a big push into the cell, kinda like revenge for losing the cold war, with a huge window, so they could eye me and monitor me, I got on my knees in a praying position for two hours, like christians in the collosium, laying the guilt trip on them. Well I thought I was thrown in jail for being drunk in public. The jailer banged on the window, your wife found your passport, you will be free soon, banging on the window so vigorously, the guilt trip obviously work well, I laughed hard, so funny. I found out, they arrested me for not having papers (BUT I AINT NO WET-BACK), only to discover that drinking vodka in public on new years, is a Russian Tradition!!! Unless you understand people, sometimes, you have no clue whatsoever.
WOW 1/2 million russian hits.
http://tcode.tinro.ru/dmr/11082007.pdf
http://imcs.dvgu.ru/news/dmr/globalconfluence.html