Moscow rocked by a terrorist bombing……..

Demonstrating that terrorism knows no bounds……..Two female suicide bombers  set off bombs in Moscow today…….The expolsions took the lives of 37 people……..and reminded the world the even Russia has it problems with Islāmic terrorists…..

The first attack occurred as commuters were exiting a packed train at a station near the headquarters of the F.S.B., the successor to the Soviet-era K.G.B. Officials said they suspected that the attack there was intended as a message to the security services, which have helped lead the crackdown on Islamic extremism in Chechnya and other parts of the Caucasus region in southern Russia.

The two explosions spread panic throughout the capital as people searched for missing relatives and friends, and the authorities tried to determine whether more attacks were planned. The subway system is one of the world’s most extensive and well-managed, and it serves as a vital artery for Moscow’s commuters, carrying as many as 10 million people a day.

“The terrorist acts were carried out by two female terrorist bombers,” said Moscow’s mayor, Yuri M. Luzhkov. “They happened at a time when there would be the maximum number of victims.”

Mr. Luzhkov said 23 people were killed in the first explosion, at the Lubyanka station, and 12 people were killed 40 minutes later at the Park Kultury station. At least two others died later. More than 100 people were injured.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility.

Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, the country’s paramount leader, cut short a trip to Siberia, returning to Moscow to oversee the federal response. Mr. Putin built his reputation in part on his success at suppressing terrorism, so the attacks could be considered a challenge to his stature.

Mr. Putin vowed that “the terrorists will be destroyed.”

President Dmitri A. Medvedev, Mr. Putin’s protégé, was in Moscow and was briefed on the blasts by top law enforcement and security advisers.

More……..

Update…..President Obama condemns the attacks……link……..…

Russian secrets for sale, no questions asked……

[ Anything from porn to secret databases is openly for sale at Savyolovsky market in downtown Moscow. ]

The Dog wonders if the CIA gets a discount?

They are selling secrets along the shining corridors of the Savyolovsky Market: Unlisted numbers. Tax returns. Customs declarations. Wanted lists. Police reports. Car registrations. Business permits.

Wrenched from the bowels of government by the forces of runaway capitalism and corruption, the hush-hush databases have made their way to this market in central Moscow where the windows of tiny shops glitter with cellphones, pirated DVDs and porn.

Compressed on discs, frozen in Cyrillic letters, is a trove of petty squabbles and personal tragedies that make up the fabric of this vast and often lawless land.

In a country where you have no right to know, but really you can know anything, anybody can anonymously buy discs burned with private information such as rape victimization, financial holdings and the suspicion of CIA involvement. Asking price (it’s negotiable): $40 to $60.

Nobody asks whether the buyer is looking for a competitive edge, an address to plan a hit, research for a newspaper article. The sale of these databases is illegal, sure, but nobody seems to care. A few beat cops browse lazily among the stalls, studying cellphones.

“Krysha,” a vendor with matted dreadlocks and bloodshot eyes says slyly, stretching a flat hand over his head. “Roof” — the word Russians use to denote protection.

The roof is the person who has enough connections, and enough muscle, to shelter underlings from the authorities. When Russians talk about operating in Moscow — opening a business, or even working as a journalist — they will, almost inevitably, say the same thing: What you need is a roof.

“It’s cool, right?” the vendor prods, jabbing a cigarette at the wall displays advertising available databases. “It’s cool.”

A reporter settles on two discs: one purporting to contain all police reports in Russia throughout 2009, the other an amalgamation of cellphone numbers, addresses and professions. Both are packed with data technically off-limits to the public.

“They get leaked, or else somebody hacks into official databases,” says another vendor, a swarthy young man who gives his name only as Alexander. “It’s not legal.”

The buyers might be concerned that a used car they’re looking to buy was stolen, or maybe they’re trying to track a license plate or find long-lost relatives or friends. Or, Alexander adds ominously, they are “people conducting their own investigations.”

A browse through the database of phone directories turns up full names, addresses and telephone contacts for employees of the FSB, the secretive intelligence service that is a successor to the KGB.

Other bits of information come to light: A Russian colleague discovers that his name and his father’s were found among the papers of a woman who was slain.

Capitalism in the heart of Russia…..Things have changed!

Putin loses one…..will it matter?

Russian’s highest court ruled against the imprissonment of Planton Lebedev, a business partner of  Mikhail Khodorkovsy, who most believed was sent to jail by Vladimr Putin for have a big mouth, and not going along with Putin’s program of giving the Russian government control of its natural resources…..

The action came under pressure from a 2007 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which said Russia had violated Mr. Lebedev’s rights in the way the court handled his pre-trial detention.

Russia is bound by treaty to honor the Strasbourg court’s rulings, which in recent years have frequently come against the Russian government.

The prosecutor at Wednesday’s hearing had asked the court not to strike down the rulings but to issue a non-binding finding against the officials who had been involved in the cases. Prosecutors declined to comment on the ruling, beyond saying that it will not lead to Mr. Lebedev’s release.

Stay tuned for more……

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin offers to help and join the countries Judo Team….

No kidding!

The 57 year old Putin, who will probably ascend to the Russian Presidency, again,  can kick some butt.….check it out!………

The United States and Russia will extend the START 1 (nuclear weapons) treaty…..

With the old START 1 treaty running out tomorrow, Satuarday…that’s good news for both countires and the planet…..

Russian Prime Minister Putin on leaving politics….."Don't hold your breath"…..

Here’s a link from the BBC and another one from AP,  about the annual Q & A session that the Russian Prime Minister holds with his countrymen and women…….

If I was the current Russian President, Dimitry Medvedev….I’d have my retirement home fixed up…….

Russian Prime Minister Putin on leaving politics…..”Don’t hold your breath”…..

Here’s a link from the BBC and another one from AP,  about the annual Q & A session that the Russian Prime Minister holds with his countrymen and women…….

If I was the current Russian President, Dimitry Medvedev….I’d have my retirement home fixed up…….

Memo to the President:…Being the President of the United States doesn't mean other countries are going follow the White House script….

Over the last 300 days or so I have watched President Obama try his Chicago style community organizing routine on the world stage…..And right now, with him coming out of China, it seems to me that things are not working out too good…..

The new foreign policy under this president has been to try to find an opening (by even apologizing)…then work top find a ‘consenus’ on small issues and use that to find a ‘comfort factor’ to move to larger issues….

But as with his trip to China, his fruitless attempts to get a deal with Iran on nukes, to stop settlement building by the Israeli’s and broker a agreement with Honduras, his pull back of a missle shield for the Russian’s…things are a not so easy…Americans in particular, don’t grasp the concept that there are other sovereign nations out there that act in their own interests…they act for their own self preservation, and political needs……and then there is the recent economic problems…..the Chinese, who feel like they should always be looking down on the West…have found it hard to listen seriously a young black American President that just got his country saved by their infusion of money….they have repeatedly smiled, and gone their own way, with Obama, who is looked at increasingly as ‘out of their league’ by a lot of leaders….I’m afraid that most of these leaders are reacting to something Obama is trying very hard not to do…use the’ iron fist.’…

While George Bush was a pain to most people’s of each one of these countries..their leaders respected the fact Bush, and Cheney would never hesitate to use the full force of ALL of their cards to get what they wanted…..Obama does not seem ready for this…..

And so why we watch him go from summit to summit and watch him agonize over troop movement decisions……I may be beginning to see an american president that is marginalizing his ability to project american political power outside this country….

You can be the good guy as an American President, and be liked….but no one likes to get rolled …and President Obama is starting to look like one who is indeed getting ‘rolled’……

You’re not in Illinois Mr. President…wake up…and get tough…..

Memo to the President:…Being the President of the United States doesn’t mean other countries are going follow the White House script….

Over the last 300 days or so I have watched President Obama try his Chicago style community organizing routine on the world stage…..And right now, with him coming out of China, it seems to me that things are not working out too good…..

The new foreign policy under this president has been to try to find an opening (by even apologizing)…then work top find a ‘consenus’ on small issues and use that to find a ‘comfort factor’ to move to larger issues….

But as with his trip to China, his fruitless attempts to get a deal with Iran on nukes, to stop settlement building by the Israeli’s and broker a agreement with Honduras, his pull back of a missle shield for the Russian’s…things are a not so easy…Americans in particular, don’t grasp the concept that there are other sovereign nations out there that act in their own interests…they act for their own self preservation, and political needs……and then there is the recent economic problems…..the Chinese, who feel like they should always be looking down on the West…have found it hard to listen seriously a young black American President that just got his country saved by their infusion of money….they have repeatedly smiled, and gone their own way, with Obama, who is looked at increasingly as ‘out of their league’ by a lot of leaders….I’m afraid that most of these leaders are reacting to something Obama is trying very hard not to do…use the’ iron fist.’…

While George Bush was a pain to most people’s of each one of these countries..their leaders respected the fact Bush, and Cheney would never hesitate to use the full force of ALL of their cards to get what they wanted…..Obama does not seem ready for this…..

And so why we watch him go from summit to summit and watch him agonize over troop movement decisions……I may be beginning to see an american president that is marginalizing his ability to project american political power outside this country….

You can be the good guy as an American President, and be liked….but no one likes to get rolled …and President Obama is starting to look like one who is indeed getting ‘rolled’……

You’re not in Illinois Mr. President…wake up…and get tough…..

Russia anyone?……a media look……

I’ve found this section in the Washington Post that offers an eye on all things Russian…..I like this  part about Aftghanistan…..

The WestDoes Russia’s Dirty Work For The First Time

Sergei Markedonov, Vremya Novostei

The project ofbringing democracy to Afghanistan has so far failed. Not oneof the intractable problems on the Afghan agenda has been resolved since the NATO operation began. However, Russia should not be happy with the United States’ failure, especially since they have agreed to reset bilateral relations.

Afghanistan is exerting substantial influence on the political situation in Russia. Drugs from Afghanistan are invading Russia, and the countryborders three Central Asian members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Russia should be aware of the danger of a powerful Islamic front on its border.