Tag: Russia

Respect our Speakers

lanative1Leave a comment

When a certain well-educated, poised, and cultured Emmy award-winning investigative journalist said that Putin censors the media in Russia, he was probably not expecting a Russian freshman to get up and forcefully contradict him. I guess OVS is full of surprises.

When we invite a speaker to our school, it is expected that we will be polite and kind. However, when Terry McCarthy visited, a few students were upset by what he said and did not hesitate to speak their minds. McCarthy stated that Putin regulates the media in Russia, and then defended this statement by pointing out that stories told one way in the US are told a different way in Russia, and you can see this by watching their news. A Russian kid sitting behind me immediately became upset and started saying things, quite loudly, to his friends. Eventually he grew so angry that he raised his hand and asked our guest how “he could say this” about Russia.

I understood that he was upset, but I thought what he said to our speaker was incredibly rude. Not only was I embarrassed for McCarthy, who was shocked, but I was also embarrassed for our school. In the future, we should be more respectful towards our visitors and appreciate the time they take to share their stories with us, instead of trying to argue with them.


Photo credit: Telegraph.co.uk

Russia $#%^# Up

frog3Leave a comment

Russia has violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine by using force and overt threats. Russian troops now occupy Crimea, a southern region of the Ukraine, home to a large population of ethic Russians. The western world, which includes NATO (North American Treaty Organization) and the EU ( European Union) have denounced this territorial violation as unacceptable and a detriment to world peace.

The official Russian explanation is that Crimea is home to a population of mostly ethnic Russians (which is true) whom wish to join Russia and that Russian troops are only there to protect millions of ethnic Russians. Meanwhile the Russian military remains in control of civilian and government building in Crimea.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, says that Russian troops will only
remain in Crimea until the political stability of the Ukraine is stable. I believe that to be a lie.

The background of this conflict is obviously closely connected to the Ukraine Revolution which occurred when Viktor Yanukovych, refused to sign an agreement which would allow the Ukraine to join the EU. Now with the Revolution over and Yanukovych,
out of office the provisional Ukrainian Government wishes to join the EU.

I believe that Putin will attempt to absorb the rest of the Ukraine into Russia in order to prevent the Ukraine drifting from a Russian influenced nation into a EU influenced nation. Putin’s excursion in the name of protecting ethic Russians is nothing but a sham.

Russia’s Slim Future

infamousdolphinLeave a comment

The Russians have found what seems to be the way of solving at least one of America’s problems.

In the subway station of Vystavochnaya in western Moscow, the people are allowed to pay their fare by doing 30 squats. They are placed in front of a machine that counts the squats and makes sure you are in a correct position.

This was implemented to promote a healthy and sporty life style in honor of the Olympic games that will take place in Russia.

If this system was to be implemented in the US, not only in the subway but in a lot of public services, America would benefit from a healthier population and a great decrease in obesity.

Sources: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57611796-1/to-ride-the-moscow-subway-for-free-do-30-squats/

A snake bites a tiger

frog3Leave a comment

4g4g

The nation that rides the East and the West is a serpent to all.

It is large, powerful, and not easily defeated.

Not even the western tiger can hope to quell its fang.

Kindness, grace, or even hope for the future does not calm the serpent’s fury.

It must bite and poison all of mankind to be satisfied.

No law is strong enough, no punishment is harsh enough.

The western tiger claws at its elongated body, the serpent squeezes tighter.

The western tiger loses breath, and begins to fall.

The tiger pleads for compromise, the serpent’s squeezing stops.

They return to their lands and the cycle begins again.

The Space Races Finish Line

frog3Leave a comment

The U.S. Space Program if floundering to say the least. Obama, in an effort to cut spending, has cut much of NASA funding. This decline has led to other countries, in this case Russia, to advance their own space programs. They have started conducting unmanned missions, even sending craft as far as Mars.

Russia like many countries in Europe is not alone in their efforts, but has received some support from the European Space Agency. (Even though they are not members.) Russia has assisted the ESA on numerous occasions, most recently locating a lost Mars probe.

The name of the once missing probe is Phobos-Grunts and shortly after its launch on November 9th it disappeared. The accepted theory was that it was not powerful enough to break out of Earths orbit and thus became trapped. On  November 22nd a Russian Space Station picked up a signal from the probe.

They were able to determine exactly were it is and the ESA have several plans to bring it back to Earth. Unfortunately for Phobos-Grunts it will no longer be able to complete it mission to go to Mars. Not only has it missed its window of opportunity but also has very little fuel left.

I for one am glad that countries have banded together to further advance Space technologies

Terror on Moscow Airport Leaves 31 Dead and 168 Wounded.

yrreskrapLeave a comment

Today, in Moscow, families are mourning for their loved ones that never made it home. Children are waiting without a purpose for their mom or dad, brother or sister. Innocent lives were taken, stolen, by a suitcase carrying explosives. A suicide bomber entered the Domodedovo Airport earlier this day and murdered 31, and injured 168.

People saw things that weren’t ever meant to be seen. Severed legs, fingers, arms, and even heads were flying across the airport due to the power of the impact.

Artyom Zhilenkov witnessed this gruesome sight firsthand stating, “The guy standing next to me was torn to pieces.”

President Obama has offered American assistance whenever needed by the Russians. However, this bombing raises many questions on the Russian‘s ability to safe keep their public from terror attacks. Just a few years back, an explosion erupted inside the airport. Last year, a suicide bomber killed 40 people and wounded around 100. Does Russia really need to turn to America for national safety issues? Will this lack of security, will they be disqualified from hosting the 2014 Olympics? Only time will tell.

Tanning Bed for the Notorious Russian Prison

vabenissimoLeave a comment

Prisons in Russia are known to be notorious. But, this particularly infamous Moscow’s Butyrskaya prison has decided to make a significant contribution to the prisoners, a tanning bed.

The origin of this idea is stunning.

After the death of prisoner Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 due to his pancreas disease, federal prisons service Viktor Dezhurov became increasingly concerned about the prisoners’ health, leading to his decision to install tanning beds on the prison’s 240 anniversary celebration day. This plan is also considerably profitable with an estimated cost of $1,000 a month or 33 cents for every minute.

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Roommates.

theycallmedameLeave a comment

When I first went to OVS I had no idea how I would live with another person in the same room as me. The last time I did that was when I was eight and shared a room with my big brother. It was almost a year and a half ago when I met roommate. I walked into the room, number 207, with no idea of who would be in there or how I would react to them: that was when I met Polina.

She was relatively quiet at first, and I only really heard her talk when she was on her phone at night, speaking rapid Russian to her mother. But we slowly grew closer to one another, starting our conversations about music and then leading them on into the unknown. She became one of my closest friends.

When we had separated from each other at the end of our freshman year, her going to Russia and me staying in southern California, I didn’t know the effect it would have on me. I would be talking to my friends about school and instead of calling Polina, “my roommate,” I called her, “my Russian.” (I later found out that she refers to me as “my Aria” when she’s home in Russia)

This year, I was very grateful to have Polina as a roommate again. We already knew each others likes and dislikes, we never had an argument, and we practically knew what the other one was thinking. We had already been through and gotten over the awkward faze of living with a new person, and I never thought I’d be able to get on so well with someone so different than me.

I don’t know how I would have been able to make it through the long years at OVS without my roommate to help me through them.

Я люблю тебя сосед по комнате!

Qatar and Russia Beat out US and England to Host WC

therightliberalLeave a comment

Today, 22 FIFA members voted to put the World Cup in Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022. This comes as a bit of a surprise when there were countries like the US and Australia bidding against Qatar. Russia receiving the 2018 bid was not a huge shock after allegations surfaced that England FIFA members had possibly participated in unethical business practices (To put it nicely).

Sepp Blatter hands over the world Cup to Russian minister of Sports Vitaly Mutko

So some stats on Qatar. First for all of you who have never even heard of it, it is in the Middle East, a peninsula sticking off of Saudi Arabia. The population is just over 1.5 million with 4, 416 square miles of land, making it the smallest country in land and population to ever host a World Cup. Qatar has the second highest GDP per capita in the world, with wealth coming from its large amount of oil and gas reserves. The country is an absolute monarchy, being ruled by the al-Thani family since the mid-19th century.

Qatar

Obviously Qatar has the resources to build stadiums and other necessary infrastructure for the World Cup but there are some potential problems. First Qatar is a strict Muslim country, and soccer hooligans have a tendency to make religious people upset.

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