Should We Nuke Russia?
The title of this post is not a serious question in the way you think it is.
I was thinking about how we control Russia in its expansion into Ukraine and wondered how much gas we buy from the country. Google found me this article on the Forbes web site. It has the title of Nukes Best Option Against Russian Gas. It however did give some interesting facts about Russia and its gas, particularly with respect to the sale of the gas. The article contained the answer that I wanted in this sentence.
Russia gets about €300 billion a year (US$417 billion/yr) from fuel exports to Europe, almost 20% of its GDP
So it looks like that by its policies and purchases, the EU is strongly supporting Russia. The article also contained these paragraphs.
It is unfortunate that Germany closed down almost half of their nuclear plants in the wake of Fukushima, 8 out of 17. Nukes really come in handy during this kind of energy conflict. It would behoove Germany to rethink that decision and to postpone their plans to shut down the remaining nuclear plants over the next ten years, to give them more leverage to address the Russian aggression as they continue transitioning to alternatives.
Until recently, Germany’s 17 nuclear plants produced power exceeding the energy produced by all of the Russian gas entering Germany. With eight shut down, the amount of nuclear energy produced still offsets much of that produced by Russian gas. If Germany insists on prematurely shutting the rest of its nuclear fleet, then the amount of gas needing to be imported into the country will double, even with projected increases in renewables.
This explains the title of the article.
The writer has a point. Whether we like it or not, Europe and especially Germany is playing the Russian’s game, by buying more gas and giving Putin the funds to be aggressive.
The sooner we stop buying gas from Russia the better. We need to start fracking and build more nuclear power stations.
The Computer Software Update Problem
I don’t like automatic updates of computer software and this story from the BBC about Kaspersky Labs and their anti-virus software is vindication of my view . Here’s the first two paragraphs.
Thousands of computers running Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system were unable to connect to the internet after installing an anti-virus update.
Users said they were also unable to access their internal company networks.
I only update my software, when I find the current system has a serious bug, as I’ve been stung so many times in the past. And then I update software, when I want to, so I have time to test it before it drops me in the doo-dah.
Another question thatr has to be asked here, is given the current political situation, why would anybody use Russian anti-virus software.
Do I Feel Sorry For President Putin?
You spent all this money on bringing the Winter Olympic Games to Sochi, so you can laud it over the world and especially when your beloved Russia, win the gold medal in your favourite sport; ice hockey.
But then your team gets knocked out in the quarter finals by the Finns.
I think we should all remember that the Russians don’t have a good record against the Finns in the winter.
I used to play real tennis with a Finn. He was very proud of the part his father had played in halting the Russians. He still had the white cotton ski suit his father had worn, stuffed with straw for warmth. This sentence from the Wikipedia article describes the Finnish resistance.
The Finns used effective guerrilla tactics, taking special advantage of superior skiing skills and snow-white layered clothing and executing many surprise ambushes and raids. By the end of December, the Soviets decided to retreat and transfer resources to more critical fronts.
I suspect there was a lot of celebration in Finland after the ice hockey victory.
Russia’s Biggest Problem
A few years ago, I read a book called PeopleQuake, which talked about how some countries like Russia have a birthrate that is not enough to sustain the population. Apparently, in Russia, the women didn’t want to have children, as the men might not be there to be a good father.
This article illustrates the problem with Russian men and their drinking and other bad habits. Here’s the first paragraph.
The high number of early deaths in Russia is mainly due to people drinking too much alcohol, particularly vodka, research suggests.
PeopleQuake reckoned that putting the drunk; Boris Yeltsin in charge, was the real problem, as he reversed all of the previous reforms, that were aimed at cutting down on cheap vodka.
The BBC article says this.
In 1985, the then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev drastically cut vodka production and did not allow it to be sold before lunch-time.
Researchers say alcohol consumption fell by around a quarter when the restrictions came in, and so did overall death rates. Then, when communism collapsed, people started drinking more again and the death rates also rose.
So what is Putin doing about improving Russian society? Spending billions on the Sochi games and clamping down on those, who don’t fit the Russian stereotype!
You could also argue, that he doesn’t have a good grasp of foreign policy!
Twin Toilets
This story from the BBC is summed up by a related tweet.
Two toilets – 28,000 roubles, Olympic media centre – 1.5bn roubles. Global embarrassment – priceless.
If this is the standard of humour for Sochi 2014, then we’re in for a treat.
An Unusual Cold War Story
I’ve just read this story on the BBC, about the personal relationship between Nikita Krushchev and John F. Kennedy and especially about a puppy given to the Kennedys by Krushchev.
You can draw a lot of interesting conclusions.
Berlusconi And Putin
This story in the IBTimes is also in The Times and is almost unbelievable. Here’s the first three paragraphs.
Vladimir Putin has met Pope Francis in Rome, amid rumours in the Italian media that he is set to appoint the disgraced former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi as Russia’s Ambassador to the Vatican.
Berlusconi is to face a period of community service after his conviction for tax fraud, but could be offered an escape route by his long-term Russian friend.
As ambassador to the Vatican, Berlusconi, who is also appealing a conviction for sex with an underage prostitute and facing new allegations of a £2.5m bribe to a senator, would receive diplomatic immunity from any custodial sentence and be free to maintain his lavish lifestyle.
At least the one thing you can say about Berlusconi, is that he isn’t gay, which is probably why he appeals to the Russian, who Peter Tatchell called the Czar of Homophobia. I hope the Pope is sensible and brave enough to give the dwarf Italian lecher, the Papal Order of the Boot.
Remember that Berlusconi and Putin at 1.65 m and 1.70m are both shorter than my 1.71.
Thieves Target Sochi 2014
I found this story in the Moscow Times after being pointed to the thefts by the headline in The Times of Thieves Try To Scrap Winter Olympics. here’s the first paragraph of the story.
With less than three months left until the Winter Olympic Games, city authorities in Sochi are embroiled in a battle with an unexpected vice: the theft of manhole covers by metal scavengers.
Some 800 manhole covers were stolen in the last couple of weeks, most of them sold as scrap metal to any one of 20 recycling companies, city officials said.
I suppose President Putin is blaming gay thieves.
Bank Customers To Share Pain Of Cyprus Bail-Out
The Eurozone and the IMF have agreed a deal to bail out Cyprus to the tune of €10 billion, as is reported here on the BBC.
What is different though in this bail-out, is that bank depositors will also have to take some of the pain. The comment from the BBC correspondent; Andrew Walker is as follows.
It has been a long and difficult negotiation, partly because of the reluctance of other Eurozone countries to use taxpayers’ money to help foreign customers of Cypriot banks. Many of them are wealthy Russians.
There are concerns around Europe about whether all that money was legitimately acquired and also about how effective Cyprus is in dealing with money laundering.
The deal involves a levy on bank deposits intended to ensure those investors contribute to the bailout. But it will apply to all deposits – at a higher rate on amounts above 100,000 euros.
I’m personally not that sorry, that laundered money will be effectively taxed, but it does strike me, that this crisis could get a lot bigger, if the Russians get annoyed.
How Many Russians Will Fail Dope Tests In Gothenburg?
I’m watching the athletics from Gothenburg at the moment. You do wonder with their record of the previous years, as detailed in this article on the BBC, how many Russians will be caught cheating?
The Anonymous Widower 