While the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi visited Russia over the weekend, Prime Minster Vladimir Putin took him for a ride on the Russian water bomber, the amphibious aircraft, the Be-200. See video. “… read more

read more

A major scandal is brewing in Italy over the recent revelation that the heirs of the late Count Giovanni Festari sold the archive of documents and sketches by Renaissance artist and architect Georgio Vasari to Russian firm Ross Engineering for a jaw-dropping 150 million euros ($225 million). Vasari was a fine Mannerist artist and architect in his own right, but today he is best known as the biographer of the most famous artists of Renaissance and Middle Ages.

NO HE IS NOT CANADIAN NO HE IS NOT A BIDDLE-AGED WHITE CONSERVATIVE MALE HOLDING POLITICAL OFFICE SOMWHERE IN NORTH AMERICA YES HE HAS CURRENTLY BEEN IN THE NEWS NO HE IS NOT JEAN CHRETIEN NO HE IS NOT DEAD YES HE IS A HEAD OF STATE NO IT IS NOT AHMADINEJAD NO HE IS NOT MUAMMAR GADDAFI NO HE IS NOT A LIAR WITH A B IN FRONT OF HIS NAME NO HE IS NOT HAMID KARZAI NO HE IS NOT BRITISH NO HE IS NOT NICOLAS SARKOZY.

From Robert Amsterdam’s latest in the Huffington Post : But it is clear to those of us who have watched and listened to Khodorkovsky over these years that his beliefs, spirit and convictions have only deepened. When he first became a political prisoner, he was recognized as a symbol of Russia being on the wrong track: the disappearance of rule of law, corporate raiding and state theft, authoritarian drift, and the Kremlin’s first taste of using stolen assets as an energy weapon.

Below are a few dozen masks that can be downloaded and printed out. And don’t miss: Jell-O Metroid, Eyeball Cocktails, and a few dozen more spooky food ideas . Studious Werewolf mask . Bioshock Splicer mask . Afrodisiac mask . Ki the Healer mask . Laugh-Out -Loud Cats masks . Jason Voorhees mask . Vladimir Putin, Fred Thompson, Britney Spears, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ron Paul, and Barack Obama masks . Sparty the Spartan mask .

  Powered by Max Banner Ads   Since 1947, India has not fully pledged itself to any camp or global pole during the Cold War and as a result was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement (N.A.M.). Since the post-Cold War era that position has eroded. New Delhi has been gradually moving away from its traditional position, relationships, and policies in the international arena for over a decade.

The great Edmond Safra founded Hermitage Capital Management with Bill Browder in mid nineties for investments in Russia. Edmond Safra died in a fire in his home in Monaco in 1999 (his death was a freak accident set up by his own bodyguard, evidently not related to Russia or Edmond Safra’s fight with the American Express corporation). After exhausting all legal venues in Russia, Bill Browder produced this video (via emerging markets ).

Police: Russian security forces foil assassination attempt on Chechnya President Kadyrov (Brandon Sun) MOSCOW – Russian security forces on Friday foiled an attempt on the life of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, the republic’s Interior Ministry said. Russia’s State Duma passes bill on sending troops abroad (People’s Daily) Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, on Friday passed a bill concerning procedures for sending troops abroad, the Interfax news agency reported.

8 October, 2009 — Strategic Culture FoundationIt may seem inconceivable that in such a beacon of democracy as the United States of America, there are “czars.” Not just one or two, but a few dozen. The explanation, however, is quite benign: American political jargon defines “czar” as a special envoy or adviser to the president asked by him to guide a high-priority initiative. Appointed by the president and reporting only to him, “czars” operate largely outside of congressional oversight.

Former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev , on Obama’s receipt of the Nobel Prize and domestic politics in Russia. His support of Putin really shocked me. h/t FP .

Tags People Celebrities High Tech Sports Odd News Top Information Health Business Spoken News News Photos Slideshows 1/138Madonna to launch construction of Malawi girls school (AFP) AFP - Pop queen Madonna will lead a groundbreaking ceremony next week for a girls academy she is building in Malawi, where she has adopted two children, officials from her charity said Friday. (AFP) Click on the image for the actual size or for a fullscreen flash.Click here for more description.

TODAY : Election furore continues; Iran nuclear question hinges on Russian stance? U.S. to back Russian WTO bid; Kudrin blasts Moscow Mayor over salaries; corruption cases. Notes from Gorbachev and Khodorkovsky. A Moscow court has canceled the election results from a polling station that failed to document the votes of Yabloko’s leader and his family, reports the Moscow Times .  The paper has published an article by Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin today, which claims that ‘ the level of falsifications in the Oct.

In early October, President Obama, his wife, and his entourage flew into Copenhagen, Denmark, in hopes of helping their hometown of Chicago secure its 2016 Summer Olympics bid. That didn’t work out very well.

  Midway though his term of office, the President’s imperious ways are provoking a growing outcry. Last night Sarkozy and son were forced into a humiliating climbdown to regain the public’s trust   Never before has a 23-year-old student’s announcement that he’s withdrawing a job application caused such waves of astonishment and relief. Last night Jean Sarkozy, the son of the French President, abandoned his dream of taking over the political leadership of the huge La Défense skyscraper park just west of Paris.

What to make of Russia’s announcement that it will sell stakes in some of its publicly-owned companies next year?  The government has already drawn up a list of 5,500 companies that will be divested, and Bloomberg’s report  suggests that the move could spur growth in companies whose remit had previously been restricted by state ownership.

euractiv.com20th October, 2009Russia has obtained all the permits necessary to build its ‘South Stream’ gas pipeline through Turkish territorial waters, discarding Bulgaria as one of the project’s transit countries, the Russian press writes today (20 October). Background: The Gazprom-ENI South Stream project is seen as a rival to the EU’s Nabucco pipeline and its commissioning term is also nearly identical to its rival EU-favoured project.Until now, Bulgaria was considered key to the South Steam

It’s hard to see how the White House is going to come out well by picking a battle with Fox News. Declaring them not a new organization makes the White House look little. Besides, if the Obama administration can’t handle a few journalists, or whatever they are called, how is it going to do against Putin, Ahmadinejad or al-Qaeda? I sense the real problem is going to come from other journalists. A lot of the White House reporters may not like each other or a competing network, but they are a tight knit bunch.

By: Mike Whitney Market Oracle Oct 20, 2009 The dollar is not going to crash. There may be grumblings in foreign capitals and “secret meetings” between finance ministers but, for now, the dollar appears to be safe. Foreign countries don’t trade in dollars because they like America. They do it because they have no choice. If they want oil, they need dollars; it’s as simple as that. It’s great to talk about a “basket of currencies” replacing the dollar, but that’s still a work-in-progress.

Obama to skip anniversary of the Fall of Communism American Thinker It is pretty clear why the president is refusing to accept the personal invitation of the German chancellor and attend festivities marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It would smack of American triumphalism - our success in defeating perhaps the most odious of all the odious ideologies of the 20th century. Obama doesn’t do “triumphalism.” That would place America above other nations - something that he has explicitly condemned.