In the city's oldest marina, "Karabelinaya", is the Pacific Fleet Memorial Submarine Museum located inside a World War II S-56 submarine. The Submarine S-56 was built in 1936. S-type ships (Stalinist) were recognized as the most effective ships of World War II. This submarine sank 10 enemy ships in the war.
Fort Ross
Fort Ross in California, about one hundred miles north of San Francisco, gets its name from ‘Rossiya’ (the Russian word for ‘Russia’) as it was a group of Russian settlers who first arrived here on 15 March 1812.
The expedition, sent by the Russian-American Company and chartered by the tsarist government, came ashore the coast of Spanish California to establish trade relations and hunt sea otters for Russian settlements in Alaska. The land all around Fort Ross was bought from the local Kashaya Indians for three blankets, three pairs of breeches, two axes, three hoes and some beads.
Ivan Kuskov, the founder of the settlement, laid the foundation of the first house of the wooden fortress which was built in traditional Russian architectural style. Most of the structures at the fort were made of local redwood. Today, only one original structure survives – the Rotchev House. It is one of the oldest buildings in western North America and is a National Historic Landmark. Many other buildings have been reconstructed.
Not many Russians actually lived at the fort. Many intermarried with the California natives and the Alaskans. But the place still retained some of its Russian heritage and today there are many Russian surnames in the area and numerous Orthodox Russian churches.
The Russians left the settlement in 1842 as trade declined and the fort was sold several times to various owners, but the structures of the fort remained and in 1906 the site was turned over to the State of California for preservation as a historical monument. It is now a State Historical Park. Every year the park hosts a Cultural Heritage Day. Celebrations include Russian music and dancing, traditional costumes and Russian dishes.
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Mar 13 11:50 PM US/Eastern
NAHA, Japan, March 14 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Two U.S. Marines were arrested Sunday in Okinawa, one on suspicion of drunken driving and another for allegedly obstructing official police duties, police officials said.
Both lance corporals at the U.S. Marines' Makiminato Service Area in Urasoe denied the allegations, they said.
Jamel Gary, 23, is suspected of drunken driving in Naha shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, while Christopher Brooks, 24, in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, allegedly obstructed a police officer's attempt to conduct an alcohol test on Gary by throwing himself at the officer, according to them.
The police eventually detected 0.75 milligram of alcohol in 1 liter of Gary's breath, five times the permissible level, but he denied drinking, they said.
Published: March 14, 2010
SEOUL, South Korea — Henry Kissinger, the former United States secretary of state, was released from a hospital on Sunday after treatment for stomach pains, said a spokesman for Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital in Seoul.
Mr. Kissinger, 86, was seen off by Dr. Park Chang-il, the head of the hospital, on Sunday morning. He did not speak to reporters waiting outside.
Mr. Kissinger was brought to the hospital on Saturday morning for abdominal pains, said Lee Seong-man, a hospital spokesman. But his condition quickly improved, Mr. Lee said.
Mr. Kissinger reportedly headed for the airport to continue a trip to China. He had arrived in Seoul on Wednesday and the next day delivered a speech at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies. On Friday, he met with the South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak.
Frommer's:
Ocean World does not compare with its rival, Tiger Beach Ocean Park, but the addition of a polar aquarium and the world's longest underwater aquarium tunnel (116m/380 ft.) may make it a worthwhile stop. Call ahead for free English-speaking guides, who will explain which of the animals in the tanks are edible. Take bus no. 801 from Qingniwa Qiao (30 min.).
China National Tourism Administration:
The Shengya Marine World is a world-class aquarium with 118-meter-long courses under the sea. The marine world with transparent arch courses provides a fantastic and mysterious view under the sea. It is home to more than 10,000 fish of 200 rare species from all over the world. The service facilities in the Shengya Marine World include an exhibition hall of model ships and boats, a rock pond, a coffee, a Western fast food restaurant, a supermarket catering to aquatic products, and bathrooms and lounges for children.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
By DAVE HUESTON, Kyodo News
OSAKA — Things just got really lonely at the top.
After perennial troublemaker Asashoryu quit sumo following allegations he attacked a man outside a Tokyo nightspot, Hakuho remains as the sole yokozuna and hot favorite to cart home the Emperor's Cup at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament getting under way on Sunday.
Alas, sumo without Asashoryu, who took time out from his reputed street brawling to also win the New Year's meet, could be a lot like watching a one-man show—predictable and lacking the unique pizzazz that the Mongolian firebrand brought to the sport.
Hakuho, who broke down in tears when his countryman made his bombshell announcement last month, became the ninth sole yokozuna and first since Asashoryu reigned alone at the 2007 summer meet.
The fierce rivalry (not to mention all of the juicy playoff encounters) now gone, who, if anybody, can step in to fill the shoes of the 25-time Emperor's Cup winner?
"I am so happy to be able to meet everybody here in Osaka, the city I love. Although I won the title (in January), unfortunately I must apologize for causing such a scandal," Asashoryu said at a pep rally for his former Takasago stable ahead of the 15-day meet at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium. "I am 29 now. This year, I'll turn 30 and I want to make the best of my second stage of my life," he said.
With fans already reluctant to purchase tickets because of tighter wallets in this economic downturn, the absence of Asashoryu will only cause a further drop in attendance.
In fact, according to the Japan Sumo Association, whereas tickets had been sold out for nine days at last year's Osaka Basho after Asashoryu's big comeback to win the New Year's meet, tickets for the final day of competition this year that would normally be gone still remained ahead of the tournament.
"For sure, there is nothing positive about it (Asashoryu's resignation)," said stable master Fujigane, an organizer for the spring meet.
Advanced ticket reservations were largely unaffected from the end of last year through January, but the effect of Asashoryu leaving was palpable from the beginning of February, with roughly a 10 percent drop compared with last year.
In order to boost ticket sales, the JSA even continued taking phone calls for ticket reservations up until three days prior to the meet, though it usually is finished one week before the first day of competition.
Hakuho, known for his softer approach more in line with the tradition of the ancient Japanese sport, finished with a 12-3 record in January, one win behind Asashoryu.
Other than Asashoryu, few have challenged his dominance after a record-breaking year in 2009. Hakuho won three out of the six meets and set a new record with 86 wins against only four losses.
One possible headliner this time could be sekiwake Baruto.
The Estonian man-mountain has a shot at gaining promotion to ozeki for the first time after winning 12 bouts in January but is nursing an injury to his left thumb.
Whether ozeki wrestlers Harumafuji, Kotooshu and Kotomitsuki can make a run in the title race remains to be seen.
Komsomolskaya Metro Station, Moscow
On 14 March 1954, the circle line of the Moscow underground was completed. Originally, all the existing lines were arranged in the form of the sun, spreading from the center and further away in all directions; the circle line bridged them all to provide easier access from one line to another by adding more change points.
The construction started in 1950 and was undertaken in three stages. Initially, when the underground was still on paper, there was no talk of laying the circle line, but once the second set of lines came into operation in 1938, the traffic overload at the transit stations became evident, and after the Second World War, the need for the circle line was finally admitted.
As legend has it, when Stalin saw the map of Moscow with the underground amelioration plan, he gazed at it for a while, and then put his cup on the center of Moscow, leaving a coffee ring on the paper, and said: “Here’s the major flaw in your scheme. Fix it.” Since then, all maps have the circle line marked in brown.
The first suggestions of building an underground transportation system were voiced in the late 19th century, but authorities shrugged them off. Moreover, for some church elders, the idea was an outrage: to build an underground facility was akin to inviting oneself to hell. The project was finally approved in 1912, but was put on hold until 1927 because of the First World War.
Many stations of the Moscow underground, particularly the ones on the circle line, are works of art, fashioned in the Stalinist Imperial style. The gigantic sizes, intricate forms, and lavish adornments of the stations were meant to wow people and invoke faith in the Soviet Union’s grandeur and might. For such a noble purpose, money was not an issue: stations were built using 20 types of marble and granite and decorated with mosaics, frescos, sculptures, and ceramics. The collection of works on display at every station is united by a single theme to coincide with the historical background of its location, turning the underground into a unique history museum and a popular tourist attraction.
For that matter, some may also call it an attraction even for the Russian people. The Moscow underground still bears secrets, which are very unlikely to ever be revealed. It is known that a second secret network exists, built in the Stalin era for security purposes. It connected facilities designed for the Soviet government and Stalin himself in case they had to relocate due to war or any other disaster. Some of the lines are said to even stretch outside Moscow. The construction work of this “Metro 2,” as it is called, is still in progress, but qualified as top secret, and only vague signs, such as ever-closed exits and never-used rails, suggest there is something beyond our knowledge. The underground also has a number of so-called ghost stations which were in construction but never opened or fell into disuse.
Today, the underground is growing and thriving. New stations are in development, and lines are being stretched further and further out into the Moscow region. Due to the overload of the circle line during rush hour, it has recently been decided to start work on a second circle line, about three stations wider than the existing one. With this measure, city authorities hope traffic will be divided between the two circles, making life a little easier for commuters.
Vladivostok Railway Station was built in the Russian architectural style of the 17th century and modeled after the Yaroslavsky Railway Station in Moscow (the beginning of the Trans-Siberian Railroad). It is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Russia and won several prizes for design.
Here you can see the last milestone of the Trans-Siberian Railroad the inscription on it:
Here is the terminus of the Great Trans-Siberian Railroad. Distance to Moscow is 9288 km (5771 miles).
Across from the train station you will find the main post office building and the only Lenin monument left in the city.
LONELY PLANET:
A good swimming spot is Fujiazhuang Beach, a deep bay with pebbly sand. Take bus 401 (Y1, 20 to 30 minutes) from the northwest corner of Jiefang Lu and Zhongshan Lu
FROMMER’S:
A few kilometers west is the relatively clean Fu Jia Zhuang Beach (¥5/65¢/35p). This is where the city's serious swimmers gather for a brisk dip before work. Take bus no. 5 (25 min.) from Qingniwa Qiao (north of Shengli Guangchang).
TOKYO — When an official at the Imperial Household Agency suddenly announced last week that 8-year-old Princess Aiko was refusing to go to school because of bullying, he did more than just disclose a mundane problem facing a member of Japan’s ancient and secretive monarchy.
He also added a new twist to one of the most riveting but mysterious dramas in Japan, the seven-year depression and seclusion of Aiko’s mother, Crown Princess Masako, the Harvard-trained former diplomat. Aiko is the only child of Princess Masako and her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, and is widely known to be one of the few sources of joy for the troubled crown princess.
The episode has once again put Princess Masako’s unhappy story into the harsh glare of Japan’s tabloid press. The news media here portrayed her 1993 wedding as the fairy-tale marriage of a commoner to a prince but then grew increasingly critical of her inability to bear a male heir for the Chrysanthemum Throne. The mounting pressure is widely seen as contributing to what appears to have been a breakdown.
Since last week’s announcement, Princess Masako, 46, has emerged to take her daughter to school and even to sit with Aiko in her second-grade classroom. Some commentators speculated whether her mother’s problems had made Aiko overly sensitive or emotionally frail.
The question now is whether the report that her daughter was bullied will make Japanese more sympathetic to the princess’s plight, or only add to the criticism of her. Some said Aiko’s troubles might even feed growing calls by conservatives for her father, 50, to step aside as the successor to his father, Emperor Akihito, 76.
“Many people won’t want such an unhealthy family to become emperor and empress,” said Akira Hashimoto, a former schoolmate of Emperor Akihito who has written several books about the imperial family. “If Aiko’s problems continue, this will only put more pressure on the crown prince.”
The renewed attention began on Friday, when the Imperial Household Agency’s grand master, who manages the affairs of the crown prince and his family, said at a regular news conference that Aiko was staying home because of stomachaches and anxiety attacks. The grand master, Issei Nomura, then revealed that the agency believed that the princess had suffered “violent acts” by boys in her elementary school, though he did not elaborate.
The apparently unscripted outburst was unprecedented from someone in the usually tightlipped inner circles of Japan’s tradition-bound imperial family, and it immediately set off a frenzy of coverage in the Japanese media. Some reports have criticized the grand master for overreacting to a common problem faced by parents of other social classes.
However, the harshest words have been reserved for Tokyo’s elite Gakushuin Primary School, which was created more than a century ago to educate Japan’s prewar aristocracy. Tabloid weeklies have reported in scandalized tones how the school had allowed students to run, yell in class and tussle on the playground — roughhousing common at other schools but unacceptable at a school patronized by the imperial family.
Responding to the grand master’s comments, a director at the school, Motomasa Higashisono, said that Aiko was scared after two boys nearly collided with her by accident as they rushed down the hallway to get lunch.
“My understanding is that we have heard nothing about any acts of violence or bullying directed at Her Highness Princess Aiko,” Mr. Higashisono said. Still, there has been talk of whether the incident may prompt the imperial family to cut its ties to the school.
In an indirect way, the saga has also added to concerns of some conservatives about whether Prince Naruhito is fit to take the throne. Some court watchers, like Mr. Hashimoto, have begun to ask how the crown prince would be able to fulfill his duties as emperor with his wife incapacitated and now his daughter unable to attend school on her own.
Naruhito has also shared the blame for his wife’s failure to have a boy, which prompted a politically charged debate about whether to break with centuries of tradition and allow a woman to assume the Chrysanthemum Throne, one of the world’s oldest hereditary monarchies. This debate was halted three years ago when the wife of the crown prince’s younger brother, Prince Akishino, bore a son, ensuring a male successor for at least one more generation.
Others, however, said the school incident might have the opposite effect of making the public feel more compassion for Princess Masako. They said it could make the crown princess seem less distant if she was seen as a concerned mother facing her child’s bullying, an all-too-common problem in Japan’s high-pressure educational system.
“This will impress upon the public psyche that Princess Masako has problems just like the rest of us,” said Takeshi Hara, a professor specializing in the monarchy at Meiji Gakuin University here. “This could generate more support for her and the crown prince.”
Thu Mar 11, 2010 2:15pm IST
By Toshi Maeda
TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - In search of Mr. or Mrs. Right, dozens of Japanese are attending a newly launched school in Tokyo that aims turn them into marriage material.
The Infini school offers various classes for wannabe brides and grooms at a time when many people in Japan are either shunning the institution of marriage or are finding it very difficult to hook up with a partner.
The school, which is open to men and women, teaches students how to talk, walk and present themselves elegantly in a bid to capture the hearts and minds of prospective partners and their parents, who are often a major obstacle to successful unions.
Infini, which opened last month, now has about 30 female students. An almost equal number of males has signed up, but those who actually turn up to class are much fewer than their female counterparts.
"I had never even thought that my boyfriend's mother could play such a big role in my relationship, but now I've realised I need to start thinking seriously about how to impress my future in-laws," said Kozue Sugawara, 29, who joined the school after her previous marriage plans failed.
With women wielding increased economic clout and changing social attitudes towards marriage, more Japanese in their 20s and 30s are single than ever before.
Government statistics show nearly two-thirds of women under the age of 34 are unmarried, despite some 3,800 firms in Japan offering match-making services.
The average age of the school's female students is 30 years.
"Before, people would find it easy to get married because families and society would connect them in some way, sometimes pushing them to get married. But nowadays, people have too many choices and cannot seem to make up their minds," said Etsuko Satake, principal of the Infini marriage prep school.
Instructors provide critiques about students' dress, posture and even details such as how they cross their legs or get out of a car. Men and men are taught different skills, which range from how to set a table well to how to be more emotionally expressive.
Students also simulate dates, during which their instructors grade their performance and point out what they did wrong.
The school charges an annual fee of 200,000 yen ($2,217) for unlimited access to its classes.
And some students, such as 32-year-old Mei Oda, seem to think it's an investment worth making.
"I'm looking for a man who makes more than 10 million yen (110,000 dollars) a year, doesn't ask me to live with his parents and takes good care of me," said Oda, a contract office worker.
Experts say that with Japan's economy plunged deep into recession, many women are taking a renewed interest in marriage and the economic stability it could provide, and are actively seeking a partner through "konkatsu" or spouse-hunting activities.
(Editing by Miral Fahmy)
An unidentified woman opens the door at the entrance of the Hump Restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif. on Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Federal prosecutors have filed charges against the owner of the restaurant and its sushi chef that marine mammal activists say served illegal Sei whale meat. The charges follow a video sting orchestrated by the producers of the Oscar-winning documentary, "The Cove." (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON (AP) – 6 hours ago
LOS ANGELES — Federal prosecutors filed charges Wednesday against a sushi chef and a Santa Monica restaurant on allegations that they served illegal and endangered whale meat.
Typhoon Restaurant Inc., which owns The Hump restaurant, and sushi chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, 45, were charged with illegally selling an endangered species product, a misdemeanor.
According to a search warrant, marine mammal activists were served whale during three separate visits to the restaurant. Federal labs confirmed the meat came from a Sei whale, an endangered species protected by international treaties, documents said.
Agents also seized some suspected whale meat during a search of the restaurant Friday but are awaiting test results to confirm it was Sei whale, U.S. attorney spokesman Thom Mrozak said.
In October, two activists posing as customers went to The Hump and ordered "omakase," which means they let the chef choose the choicest fresh fish. They also requested whale and pocketed a sample.
The young women worked with Louie Psihoyos, director of the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove," to record the meal with a hidden camera and microphone.
"These are endangered animals being cut up for dinner," Psihoyos said. "It's an abuse of science."
Psihoyos took their findings to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which started an investigation.
Activists claim the whale meat came from Japan's scientific whaling program and was illegally exported, but the U.S. attorney's office is still investigating the source of the meat.
Japan kills hundreds of whales in Antarctic waters each year under its research whaling program, which has triggered violent protests by conservationists and caused strong objections by diplomats in recent years.
An attorney for Typhoon, Gary Lincenberg, said the restaurant accepts responsibility for serving whale and will agree to pay a fine. If convicted, the company could be fined up to $200,000.
Court records say agents interviewed Yamamoto, a Culver City resident and a chef at The Hump for the past seven years, and he admitted serving whale to two young women.
Yamamoto's attorney, Mark Byrne, declined to comment on the charges, saying he hadn't had time to review them. If convicted, Yamamoto could face a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
During the October restaurant visit, animal rights activist Crystal Galbraith, 27, and a friend who spoke fluent Japanese racked up a bill of $600, feasting on increasingly exotic dishes to gain the confidence of the waiters and chef.
"It was heartbreaking to eat an endangered animal, but I knew that I was doing it to save" the whales, said Galbraith, a vegan. "We were there eating for four hours. I felt so full and sick."
The waitress brought out a dish of whale sushi, identifying the whale in English and Japanese, court documents said. The dish was listed as whale on the check and cost $85.
The team sent samples to Scott Baker, a professor and cetacean specialist at Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute, for genetic testing. The results showed the meat was from a Sei whale, court records said.
The Sei whale is a baleen whale found throughout the world's oceans, and known for its graceful and quick swimming and its long, low vocalizations, Baker said. Fully grown, the mammal is longer than a bus.
Eating Sei whale meat is common in Japan, Korea and Norway and among native peoples in Alaska and Canada, but it is illegal to export the meat because of the Sei whale's endangered status.
In late February, when Psihoyos and the rest of his team were in Los Angeles for the Academy Awards, Galbraith and another friend returned to The Hump twice more.
This time, agents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sat at the bar and watched Yamamoto at work, court records said. During the third visit, another agent watched the chef go to his car and retrieve a package wrapped in clear plastic.
(Sinopix/Rex Features)
March 11, 2010
Leo Lewis, Asia Business Correspondent, From The Times
Japan's popular pachinko parlours are looking forward to a boost from fathers enriched by government benefits for their children
Japan's gambling industry is expected to be an unlikely beneficiary of a national child subsidy scheme, which aims to shower parents with cash and encourage young couples to start families.
Pachinko parlours — the cacophonous pinball arcades that claim about 23 trillion yen (£171 billion) in illegal gambling revenues every year — are expected to perform especially well. The monthly family benefit payments are perfectly suited to fuel a couple of hours' play.
Several sectors of the Japanese economy are tipped to benefit from the Y2.2 trillion programme, through which families will receive payments of Y13,000 (£97) every month for each child if the new Government is able to push its much-vaunted programme through parliament.
Payments will rise to Y23,000 a month in the second year of the scheme as part of the Government’s effort to demonstrate that the State will permanently be on the side of families and childrearing.
The past two decades have witnessed relentless declines in the Japanese birth rate, prompting a range of demographic concerns, from a lack of elderly care provision to long-term fiscal catastrophe.
The sectors associated with the child subsidy scheme that have already attracted investors' attention include obvious beneficiaries, such as makers of children’s clothes, baby goods and private educational establishments.
Theme park operators, Nintendo and other toy and videogame makers also appear in the “benefit basket” of stocks that could gain as parents finally have the cash to succumb to their children’s nagging.
However, in a note to investors, Daiwa Securities analysts also point out the reality of what happens when governments suddenly make generous cash payments, especially if the subsidy money is paid into the father’s bank account. Because the money is not disbursed in the form of vouchers, Daiwa says, the child allowance represents a “hidden” bonus for the gambling industry.
Largely because of the legal grey zone in which they thrive, pachinko parlour operators are not listed on the stock exchange. The producers of the machines, however, are tipped to perform strongly. Stocks of Heiwa, Sankyo, SegaSammy and Aruze all appear on Daiwa’s list of “stocks to watch”.
The filter-through of stimulus cash to the pachinko parlours has historical precedent. Last April, the Government’s wider stimulus programme involved £140 cash handouts to families and was intended to trigger general spending across the retail and services sector in Japan. Pachinko stocks were the best-performing equities in the market over the following six months. In 2007, pachinko revenues are thought to have surpassed those of the entire Japanese restaurant industry.
Other analysts have questioned the wisdom of the child subsidy proposal. Research by the Kansai Institute of Social and Economic research found that only slightly more than half of Japanese were positive about the idea and more than a third intended simply to churn any cash they received into savings or paying-off loans. Of those who said they would save the money, 37 per cent said they would actively save it for their children’s future.
Page last updated at 06:50 GMT, Thursday, 11 March 2010
By Roland Buerk
BBC News, Tokyo
Japan's 98th airport has begun operations - offering just one flight a day.
Ibaraki airport cost 22bn Yen ($220m, £147m) to build and is being seen in Japan as a prime example of wasteful public expenditure.
It is located 80km (50 miles) and a long bus ride north of Tokyo.
The airport was conceived as a hub for budget carriers but the check-in counters were almost deserted as operations began.
There is just one plane a day, to South Korea. Another flight, to the Japanese city of Kobe, will begin next month.
The airport has become a symbol of decades of public spending to prop up the economy that has left Japan studded with bridges to nowhere and unneeded dams.
The new centre-left government, which came to power last year, has criticised the links between previous conservative administrations and the construction industry, and vowed to cut waste.
International travellers tired of long queues and crowded departure lounges should perhaps consider flying to Ibaraki.
But Ibaraki itself has little to commend it to Korean tourists who might be thinking of catching the single daily flight from Seoul.
Apart from one well-known Japanese garden the prefecture's main claim to fame is the locals' skill in making natto, a fermented soy bean dish that many consider an acquired taste.
A family in the city of Ginowan looks over the controversial Futenma airbase
March 11, 2010
Bronwen Maddox, Okinawa; From The Times
On a humid March evening in Okinawa young American men with crewcuts and thick necks sprawl out from the bars and lap-dancing clubs that cluster near US military bases across the island.
“Marijuana — it’s like alcohol, but . . .” reads one T-shirt. A young white man weaves his Honda Saloon at speed through cars heading for a junction. “We all pull clear,” one Japanese driver says. “There are so many accidents.”
The US has slapped tough rules on the 22,000 Marines and 24,000 other personnel on its vast bases on Okinawa, the southernmost island of Japan, after the rape of a 12-year-old girl by three servicemen in 1995 brought tens of thousands of people on to the streets in protest.
Two other alleged rapes in 2008, a rash of robberies and assaults and cases of drink-driving and trespassing brought an apology from Condoleezza Rice, then Secretary of State.
But Washington has been slow to wake up to the mounting local anger about the sheer scale of its operations, which take up a tenth of the island, and to the new Japanese Government’s intention to take a cold, hard look at the 50-year-old security treaty between the two nations.
US forces “still have the mentality of conquerors”, said Kuniko Tamioka, a government expert on Okinawa and member of the lower house of parliament. “They train when they like, never mind the rules, so that, for some people, the morning alarm call is the sound of a helicopter.” Yoshiyuki Uehara, the director of the governor’s secretariat in the Okinawa administration, called it a “vast presence — too many, too much”.
On Monday senior government officials convened to try to find a new site for Futenma, the most controversial airbase, which lies in the centre of Ginowan, one of Okinawa’s busiest cities. In 2004 a helicopter crashed in the grounds of the university; two years later Japan and the US struck a deal to shift the base to Henoko, a tiny fishing village on the pristine east coast.
After the election last August, in which the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) overturned decades of one-party rule, Yukio Hatoyama, the new Prime Minister, scrapped parts of the 2006 pact on the status of US forces, acknowledging local passions and hinting that Futenma could be moved off Okinawa altogether.
Ichiro Ozawa, the DPJ’s secretary-general and the power behind the Hatoyama throne, said this week that the party could lose crucial elections in July if it tried forcibly to rebuild the base anywhere else on the island.
“Even if the Government in Tokyo now decides to relocate the base within Okinawa, people will stop it physically, with boats, with protests,” said Hiromori Maedomari, an editorial writer at Okinawa’s Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper.
Adding to the internal pressures to resolve the issue quickly, Kurt Campbell, the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs, arrives in the region on Sunday. He has already warned that if Futenma’s fate is not decided by May relations with Washington could worsen sharply. For Mr Hatoyama, who campaigned with a call for “more equal” relations with the US, decision time is looming.
The American presence on Okinawa dates back to the spring of 1945 when US forces used it as a foothold for invading the mainland. Photographs of the 89-day Battle of Okinawa, the last major Pacific War campaign, show the bays filled with US ships and the explosions of kamikaze pilots. Of the 200,000 people killed, more than half were civilians.
In an episode still vivid to Okinawans, although absent for years from mainland textbooks, the Japanese Army slaughtered many locals, throwing grenades into the caves where they were hiding or forcing them to commit suicide rather than surrender.
Masako Nakazato, 82, one of a famous group of schoolgirl nurses during the battle, echoed the widespread anti-war sentiment on Okinawa. She said: “I don’t think badly of Americans but all military attracts war to itself, and war is disaster.”
The islanders have a strong separate identity and like to remind you that they have been part of Japan for only 400 years.
Mr Uehara, of the Okinawa government, said: “If you had taken a poll after the war most Okinawans would have preferred to join the US.”
If American rule was their wish, they got it — more than they wanted. The US occupied Japan until 1952 but refused to hand over Okinawa until 1972. Those extra two decades brought the Korean and Vietnam wars, along with a huge expansion of the bases to more than 30.
The bases, as set out in the 1960 US-Japan Security Treaty, support the US commitment to protect Japan, as well as giving the US access to much of the Pacific. Officials argue that the distant US territory of Guam is no substitute as a deterrent to North Korea or to China’s ambitions towards Taiwan.
Futenma is not the biggest base but it is a key cause of tension, embedded as it is in the city of Ginowan. The larger Kadena airbase is only slightly to the north. Military air traffic is constant, even on weekends, and the signs of US expat life are everywhere, from the fleets of yellow school buses to the shops proclaiming: “We buy second-hand American furniture,” to the 30ft (9m) declaration on the side of the United Christian nursery that “Jesus is Lord”.
The Marine Corps handbook for new arrivals, written with some wit, warns those with tattoos that they might be mistaken for yakuza, or Japanese gangsters, if they strip off their shirts. However, given the 20-odd traffic offences a month, it stretches the joke too far with its advice that “unlike the US, people drive on the left side of the road, which requires some getting used to. The slow lane is on the left, and the fast lane is on the right, although there usually isn’t a significant difference between either”.
“It’s a long, long time since the war ended,” said Michiko, 77. “Personally, I like the Americans, and when I graduated from school — which the US paid for, not my parents — I felt the US had helped me, like a rich person helps a poor person. But younger people might not have any relationship with the American people.”
Mr Maedomari agreed that “there is a huge generational gap, and while older people think that Okinawa cannot survive without the US, the younger ones think we can be self-sufficient”.
Apart from the emotions roused by the US presence on Okinawa, the 2006 plan to move Futenma to Henoko and to build two airstrips out into the bay, has also provoked a rare thing — a Japanese environmental campaign in defence of stunning coral reefs and the dugong, a sea mammal akin to the manatee.
Mr Hatoyama, who badly needs to win a majority in the parliament’s upper house in July, has responded with a flurry of conflicting statements. He has led the citizens of Ginowan to assume that Futenma will close while alarming other islanders by keeping alive the possibility of other sites, such as Kadena or Camp Schwab, inland from Henoko.
He has promised the US that Japan is committed to the alliance, but caused concern with his talk of seeking warmer relations with China. US officials dismiss calls for “equality”, noting that Japan, barred by its Constitution from anything but self-defence, is not offering to defend America.
In the coming months they may be able to agree a fudge, probably merging Futenma with another base. But the US has a job to convince Japan that, 65 years after the end of the war, it is not taking its support — or its territory — for granted.
03.10.10, 10:18 PM EST
By KELLY OLSEN, Associated PressSEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's central bank left its key interest rate at a record low Thursday amid international sovereign debt concerns and as the institution prepares for a leadership change.
The Bank of Korea said it kept the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate at 2 percent. The decision came at the last monetary policy meeting chaired by outgoing Gov. Lee Seong-tae.
In the winter, the port of Vladivostok is kept open by icebreakers like this.
Dalian Railway Station (Dalian Zhan) is in the center of town, opposite Shengli Guangchang (Victory Square). located in the bustling commercial center near Qingniwaqiao.
Portrait of Paul I by Borovikovsky Vladimir
Throughout his life, Russian Emperor Paul I was afraid of being poisoned, particularly during the time he was still a successor to the throne. Disfavored by his mother Catherine the Great to be the one to take the crown, Paul even had a chef from England preparing his meals. But it was not poisoning that ended his life on the night of 11 March 1801.
It was Russia’s high society; Counts Palen and Benigsen, Dukes Zubov and Volkonsky, and General Uvarov did not accept Paul as the ruler of the country and planned a coup. At first their plan was to arrest Paul and force him to give up the throne in favor of his son, but things took a different turn.
Drunk on champagne, the conspirators arrived at St. Michael’s Palace, where the emperor resided, knocking down objects and servants on their way. Paul had heard them coming down the corridor to his rooms and tried to escape through the door that lead to his wife’s private rooms, but it was locked. So he dashed for the window and hid behind the curtain.
Not finding the emperor in his bed, the conspirators panicked. They thought their plot has been discovered and this could be a trap, but Count Palen approached the bed and as he touched the sheets, exclaimed “the nest is still warm, the bird cannot be far.” They searched the room and found Paul helpless in his nightgown.
After a short argument, a struggle began and Paul was hit in the head and fell to the floor. He was then beaten and choked with a scarf. For the rest of the night, a medic worked on Paul’s body to cover the bruises and make it look like a natural death. But despite the make up, the black and blue marks on Paul’s face could still be seen as he lay in his coffin. He was succeeded by his son Alexander I. It is believed that Alexander gave the conspirators his approval to carry out their plot to kill his father.
The Shabolovka TV tower
On 10 March 1939, the Shabolovka Radio and TV Broadcasting Center (it owes its name to its location on Shabolovka Street) began functioning on a regular basis. Occasional broadcasts, produced by temporary TV stations in Moscow, had already been occurring since 1931. Before it was replaced by the much larger and better-equipped Ostankino Center in 1967, Shabolovka had been the flag ship of Soviet broadcasting. The studio marked its birthday with the broadcast of a documentary on the opening session of the 18th Congress of the Communist Party. As of that moment, the station began broadcasting regularity four times a week, for two hours.
At that time, there were approximately 100 TV sets in Moscow. The first Soviet TV set was designed in 1932, but the most remembered and loved version, the KVN, wasn’t introduced until 1949. It had a tiny screen and the lens inside had to be filled with distilled water in order for it to function. The development of television technology was growing proportionally with skyrocketing interest in television broadcasting. The first color TVs appeared in the Soviet Union in 1967. To compare, in the United States, the first batch of color TVs was sold in 1954.
During WWII, broadcasting was interrupted, but Moscow was the first city in Europe to start broadcasting again after the war.
The Moscow Broadcasting Center on Shabolovka was birthplace of the Central Television Station of the USSR in 1951. Originally, Central Television had only one channel; it was broadcast occasionally, and its content varied each time from music, news or movies to cartoons for children. Only in the 1960s did Central Television add more channels.
The Shabolovka TV tower itself also deserves attention: 150 meters in height, the cone-shaped piece of art seems to be fashioned from fine steel lacework. It was built in 1921, and its creator, Vladimir Shukhov, an outstanding engineer and architect, planned to make it even taller, but the country ran out of steel. A most extraordinary and beautiful building, it is considered the symbol of the country’s television.
What's for lunch?: Siberian tigers, which evolution has fitted with protective "eye" markings on the back of their ears, need 8 kg of meat a day to survive. JOHN GOODRICH PHOTO
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010
By PATRICK EVANS
After leaving Kolya's cabin, I visit the remote village of Krasny Yar on the River Bikin. This is one of just a handful of settlements in this vast region still partly inhabited by indigenous hunter tribes — the Udege and Nanai. The original Dersu tribe — whose eponymous member traveled with czarist Russian mapmaker and naturalist Vladimir Arsen'ev through this wilderness, and later figured in the title of Akira Kurosawa's 1975 film, "Dersu Uzala," about those explorations — was closely related to the Udege. Many so-called Northern Peoples were killed or deported during the years of repression under Josef Stalin. The Udege now number only 2,000.
In Krasny Yar an ambitious World Wildlife Fund project aimed at protecting the Bikin drainage, which contains some of the world's richest old-growth forest, is already nine months into a three-year plan. The project, worth some ¥144 million, is helping local people establish forms of income from nontimber-derived products such as eco-tourism and textiles. Unfortunately, though, it is beset with controversy.
The head of Krasny Yar, Vladimir Shirkov, represents the project on behalf of the village. According to a number of local residents, he is also masterminding local illegal logging operations on the Bikin. The WWF's man on the ground, Ivan Rogov, says his organization is planning expeditions to gather evidence to help prevent violations in the sector. During a day out in the forest with a young Nanai hunter, I see evidence immediately: big trucks heading deep into the forest along well-worn trails. The following day, I see trucks leaving the forest fully laden.
The WWF project is set to last until 2011, after which, unless more funding comes in, the Udege and other people of Krasny Yar will have to fend for themselves among the corruption that continues to eat away at their dwindling ancient resource.
To find out more about the ongoing WWF project in the Bikin drainage system, visit www.panda.org
Svetlana Alliluyeva
Svetlana Alliluyeva, the daughter of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, was on a trip to India to bring her late husbands Brajesh Singh’s ashes back to his native land when, on 9 March 1967, she formally petitioned for political asylum at the US Embassy in New Delhi. She moved to the United States and became a citizen, causing an international uproar.
Svetlana grew up amid troubled times in her country. Her mother committed suicide when she was only six years old leaving Svetlana mostly in the care of nannies, while her father, Stalin, ruled the mighty USSR and his daughter’s life as well. Svetlana wanted to pursue a degree in languages, but instead, she was enrolled to study history, according to her father’s wishes. Her love life was under control as well. Svetlana’s first romance with Aleksey Kaplin ended when Stalin sentenced Aleksey to a Siberian labor camp.
During the war Svetlana married her school friend Grigory Morozov with whom she had a son, Joseph. Stalin was against their union and they were divorced in 1947. Stalin then chose a husband for his daughter – Yari Zhdanov, the son of his right hand man, Andrey Zhdanov. But for Svetlana it was a marriage without love and not long after the birth of their daughter Ekaterina, their marriage dissolved.
Disappointed by two failed marriages, Svetlana met an Indian student, Brajesh Singh, in 1963. Singh, a young communist, was a translator at a foreign language publishing house. Svetlana was a lecturer at the University of Moscow at the time. Singh was her most sincere and long-lasting love, but he suffered from an incurable illness and died in her arms in 1967. Svetlana was allowed to travel to India to execute her husband’s last wish – to have his ashes delivered to his homeland.
In the United States, Svetlana married William Wesley Peters, an architect, and changed her name to Lana Peters. They had a daughter named Olga, but soon divorced. In 1982 she moved to London and later returned to the Soviet Union where she settled in Tbilisi. From here, she again moved to the United States where she currently resides in a retirement home.
Svetlana has not spoken to her children in Russia since she moved to the U.S. Her son Joseph lives in Moscow and willingly talks about his childhood memories while Ekaterina Zhdanova, who also lives in Russia, refuses to talk about her family. Svetlana’s youngest daughter, Olga, does not see her mother much either.
Kim Jong-il is known for his love of drinking and fine dining
Page last updated at 04:17 GMT, Monday, 8 March 2010
By Bethany Bell
BBC News, Vienna
A former North Korean colonel, Kim Jong-ryul, has described how he spent two decades shopping in Europe for the dictatorship in Pyongyang.
His story is the subject of a new book published in Austria, where the colonel says he has lived under cover since his defection in 1994.
Colonel Kim Jong-ryul says he spent 20 years doing business in Europe for the North Korean regime.
His story is told in a new book, At the Dictator's Service.
In the book, he says Vienna was one of his regular destinations - the hub for his shopping sprees.
He says he bought everything from spy technology and weapons to luxury goods like carpets, sidestepping the trade embargoes.
WHO IS KIM JONG-IL?
N Korea's "Dear Leader" is a reclusive character, at the centre of an elaborate personality cult
Succeeded his father Kim Il-sung, founder of North Korea, who died in 1994
Mr Kim is seen in the West as both a master manipulator, and delusional madman
He has a reputation as a drinker, a playboy and a hypochondriac
The book describes the deep divide between the lavish lifestyles of North Korea's leaders - and the poverty of its people.Colonel Kim says it was this injustice that led him to fake his own death in 1994 and defect to Austria.
Now he says he is risking his life by going public.
He fears that the North Korean secret services will hunt him down and hurt his family back in North Korea.
But he says he has no regrets about breaking his silence.
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FROMMER’S:
Bangchui Dao was once the exclusive playground of Communist Party higher-ups and is now a pristine, hedge-lined country club only accessible by car (15 min.; ¥20/$2.60/£1.30). The city's nicest beach is a 30-minute walk past the gate (¥20/$2.60/£1.30).
Kim Young-kwang, 79, has been trying to find the remains of Ahn Jung-geun, who in 1909 killed Ito Hirobumi, the Japanese resident-general in Korea, then occupied by Japan. (John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times / March 7, 2010)
March 8, 2010
By John M. Glionna and Yuriko Nagano
Kim Young-kwang has spent years trying to locate the remains of the Korean nationalist who assassinated a Japanese statesman 100 years ago.
Reporting from Tokyo and Seoul - As a former South Korean intelligence agent, Kim Young-kwang knows all about subterfuge, secret documents and international intrigue.
But that's just soulless spy craft compared with what he considers the most engaging case of his life. It's a 100-year-old riddle that involves heroes from two nations, a Chinese prison, a Buddhist monk, a dose of Seoul politics--and a voice from the grave.
For more than two decades, Kim has traveled across the region to sift through yellowing archives, interview witnesses and amass a vault of evidence, all in hopes of answering a nagging question:
Where are the remains of Ahn Jung-geun?
On Oct. 26, 1909, the 30-year-old Korean nationalist walked into a crowded train depot in Harbin, China, and fired six shots at Japanese statesman Ito Hirobumi. Three of the bullets hit their mark; Ahn had killed the man he blamed for Imperial Japan's move to annex his homeland. Five months later, an unrepentant Ahn was hanged in a prison in Japanese-occupied northeastern China.
Before going to the gallows, Ahn asked that his body be returned to his native Korea, a request denied by his captors, according to Japanese diplomatic documents.
From there, the record fades. Papers kept by Ahn's captors are unclear about where his body was buried.
The uncertainty has kept alive visceral feelings among both Japanese and Koreans--about the assassination and Japan's 20th century record of imperialism. The emotions can't be put to rest, many feel, until Ahn receives a proper burial.
"This mystery is complicated because Ahn is such a polarizing historical figure," said Kim, now 79. "He is revered in Korea, but demonized in Japan."
As an agent in South Korea's Central Intelligence Agency, Kim never lost his appetite to solve his nation's biggest cold case, spending hours in libraries researching Ahn's troubled life.
Then, in 1987, as he began the last of three terms as a national lawmaker, Kim decided he wanted to see the prison where Ahn died. There was one problem: South Korea didn't have diplomatic relations with China at the time, so he couldn't get a visa.
But there was no stopping this old spy.
The man Ahn killed is considered the father of modern-day Japan. Ito established Japan's Cabinet system in 1885 and became the country's first prime minister, a post he held four times. In the early years of the 20th century, he served as his country's first resident-general in Korea, which was then a Japanese protectorate. For years, Ito's image graced the nation's 1,000-yen note.
Ahn, who was born in what is now North Korea, has mythic status of his own. Viewed as a martyr for Korean independence, he has been the subject of a film, play, musical and opera. He once cut off part of a finger in a pledge to avenge Japanese atrocities in Korea.
Kim's interest in Ahn dates to his youth. As a teenager, he played the lead role in a high school play about Ahn. Later, Kim began reading widely on the man he considers a political visionary. He became intrigued by the mystery surrounding Ahn's remains.
In 1987, tired of speculation, Kim decided to see whether he could find the grave himself.
Bribing a Chinese Foreign Ministry official in Hong Kong, he sneaked into China and managed to reach Lushun prison, near the northeastern city of Dalian, before being arrested and deported. "The only thing I accomplished was getting reprimanded by the Chinese," he said.
He would make nearly a dozen other forays across the border, visiting the prison and archives in nearby cities.
In 1989, he tried a different tack. He visited Ito's great-grandson in Japan and proposed that he meet and shake hands with Ahn's grandson. Kim hoped the publicity would draw attention to his cause and shake loose information about the location of Ahn's remains.
Ito agreed to the meeting, but Ahn's grandson, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, refused, Kim said. The grandson did not respond to requests for an interview.
Kim Young-kwang, 79, has been trying to find the remains of Ahn Jung-geun, who in 1909 killed Ito Hirobumi, the Japanese resident-general in Korea, then occupied by Japan. (John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times / March 7, 2010)
March 8, 2010
By John M. Glionna and Yuriko Nagano
Kim Young-kwang has spent years trying to locate the remains of the Korean nationalist who assassinated a Japanese statesman 100 years ago.
Reporting from Tokyo and Seoul - As a former South Korean intelligence agent, Kim Young-kwang knows all about subterfuge, secret documents and international intrigue.
But that's just soulless spy craft compared with what he considers the most engaging case of his life. It's a 100-year-old riddle that involves heroes from two nations, a Chinese prison, a Buddhist monk, a dose of Seoul politics--and a voice from the grave.
For more than two decades, Kim has traveled across the region to sift through yellowing archives, interview witnesses and amass a vault of evidence, all in hopes of answering a nagging question:
Where are the remains of Ahn Jung-geun?
On Oct. 26, 1909, the 30-year-old Korean nationalist walked into a crowded train depot in Harbin, China, and fired six shots at Japanese statesman Ito Hirobumi. Three of the bullets hit their mark; Ahn had killed the man he blamed for Imperial Japan's move to annex his homeland. Five months later, an unrepentant Ahn was hanged in a prison in Japanese-occupied northeastern China.
Before going to the gallows, Ahn asked that his body be returned to his native Korea, a request denied by his captors, according to Japanese diplomatic documents.
From there, the record fades. Papers kept by Ahn's captors are unclear about where his body was buried.
The uncertainty has kept alive visceral feelings among both Japanese and Koreans--about the assassination and Japan's 20th century record of imperialism. The emotions can't be put to rest, many feel, until Ahn receives a proper burial.
"This mystery is complicated because Ahn is such a polarizing historical figure," said Kim, now 79. "He is revered in Korea, but demonized in Japan."
As an agent in South Korea's Central Intelligence Agency, Kim never lost his appetite to solve his nation's biggest cold case, spending hours in libraries researching Ahn's troubled life.
Then, in 1987, as he began the last of three terms as a national lawmaker, Kim decided he wanted to see the prison where Ahn died. There was one problem: South Korea didn't have diplomatic relations with China at the time, so he couldn't get a visa.
But there was no stopping this old spy.
The man Ahn killed is considered the father of modern-day Japan. Ito established Japan's Cabinet system in 1885 and became the country's first prime minister, a post he held four times. In the early years of the 20th century, he served as his country's first resident-general in Korea, which was then a Japanese protectorate. For years, Ito's image graced the nation's 1,000-yen note.
Ahn, who was born in what is now North Korea, has mythic status of his own. Viewed as a martyr for Korean independence, he has been the subject of a film, play, musical and opera. He once cut off part of a finger in a pledge to avenge Japanese atrocities in Korea.
Kim's interest in Ahn dates to his youth. As a teenager, he played the lead role in a high school play about Ahn. Later, Kim began reading widely on the man he considers a political visionary. He became intrigued by the mystery surrounding Ahn's remains.
In 1987, tired of speculation, Kim decided to see whether he could find the grave himself.
Bribing a Chinese Foreign Ministry official in Hong Kong, he sneaked into China and managed to reach Lushun prison, near the northeastern city of Dalian, before being arrested and deported. "The only thing I accomplished was getting reprimanded by the Chinese," he said.
He would make nearly a dozen other forays across the border, visiting the prison and archives in nearby cities.
In 1989, he tried a different tack. He visited Ito's great-grandson in Japan and proposed that he meet and shake hands with Ahn's grandson. Kim hoped the publicity would draw attention to his cause and shake loose information about the location of Ahn's remains.
Ito agreed to the meeting, but Ahn's grandson, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, refused, Kim said. The grandson did not respond to requests for an interview.
By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea and the U.S. kicked off annual military exercises Monday, a day after North Korea denounced the training as a rehearsal for invasion and threatened to attack the allies.
About 18,000 American soldiers and an undisclosed number of South Korean troops are taking part in 11 days of drills across South Korea, according to U.S. and South Korean militaries.
The exercises, dubbed Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, are aimed at rehearsing how to deploy U.S. reinforcements in time of an emergency on the Korean peninsula, U.S. military spokesman Kim Yong-kyu said.
The U.S. and South Korea argue the drills - which include live-firing by U.S. Marines, aerial attack drills and urban warfare training - are purely defensive. North Korea claims they amount to attack preparations and has demanded they be canceled.
The North's military warned Sunday that it would bolster its nuclear capability and break off dialogue with the U.S. in response to the drills.
It also said it would use unspecified "merciless physical force" to cope with them, saying it is no longer bound by the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korea's military has been closely monitoring Pyongyang's maneuvers but hasn't seen any signs of suspicious activities by North Korean troops, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday.
Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, dismissed North Korea's statement as rhetoric. "The North's strong protest is not unusual as it also protested during previous drills," he said.
The training comes as the U.S. and other regional powers are pushing for the North to rejoin international disarmament talks on ending its atomic weapons program in return for aid. The North quit the six-nation weapons talks and conducted its second nuclear test last year, drawing tighter U.N. sanctions.
The North has demanded a lifting of the sanctions and peace talks with the U.S. on formally ending the Korean War before it returns to the negotiations. The U.S. and South Korea have responded the North must first return to the disarmament talks and make progress on denuclearization.
The U.S. stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea.
__
Associated Press writer Kwang-tae Kim contributed to this report.
President Reagan delivers "Evil Empire" speech.
On 8 March 1983, in his speech to the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida, U.S. President Ronald Reagan introduced the term “evil empire” to describe the Soviet Union.
Reagan exhorted the audience to “pray for the salvation of all of those who live in that totalitarian darkness – pray they will discover the joy of knowing God.” He subjected the Soviet leaders to criticism, as the embodiment of the “darkness” and reproached the “aggressive impulses of the evil empire.”
The Soviet Union, for its part, accused the United States of being the center of imperialism, holding out for world domination; it was the Soviets’ duty to fight this in the name of communism.
In Moscow, the Soviet press agency TASS said the use of the words “evil empire” only proved that the Reagan administration “can think only in terms of confrontation and bellicose, lunatic anti-Communism.”
Reagan, however, genuinely believed that all he had done was call a spade a spade, the only right thing to do under the circumstances; any euphemisms would signal the concession of the free world to totalitarianism. His approach to the problem was vastly supported by conservatives, but was showered with criticism by pacifists. The latter viewed such an attitude as perfectly capable of triggering a nuclear war between the two superpowers.
The “evil empire” concept received a warm welcome in Europe, threatened by the strengthening of the Soviet foreign and domestic policies that General Secretary Yury Andropov* brought with him. In the USSR, Reagan’s formula was favored by the dissident movement, and particularly, by the academician Andrey Sakharov **. It was also popular among Soviet émigrés.
During his second term in office, three years after the phrase “evil empire” had first been pronounced, Reagan paid a visit to the new reformist General Secretary of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, who took office in 1985. When asked by a reporter whether he still thought the Soviet Union was the “evil empire,” Reagan admitted that he no longer did. The time when he used the term was a “different era,” that is, the period before Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost reforms. Still, throughout his career, Reagan’s antagonism against the Soviet regime, with its absence of democratic institutions, persisted.
*Yury Andropov – General Secretary of the Communist Party from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later. A hardliner and former head of the KGB, he is renowned for his brutal suppression of political dissidence.
**Andrey Sakharov – an eminent Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and reforms in the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.
March 7, 2010 4:36 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Russian security forces killed eight militants that it said were connected to a 2009 terrorist attack, the head of Russia's domestic security and anti-terrorism agency said Saturday.
The Russian forces also detained 10 militants in connection with the 2009 attack, in a special operation in the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia earlier this week, the head of the Russian security agency said.
In a televised meeting on Russia's state media, Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that the operation happened on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Bortnikov said that "DNA tests of the militants have been carried out to establish their involvement" in a November 2009 Moscow to St. Petersburg train derailment that killed 28 people and injured about 90 others.
Following that attack, the Federal Security Service examined this "illegal armed group" in Ingushetia, Bortnikov said, "which was justifiably suspected of this crime."
"Investigative measures helped us obtain more materials confirming this theory," he said.
Among those killed in this week's operation was Alexander Tikhomirov, also known as Said Buryatsky, a prominent rebel leader in Russia's North Caucasus. Russian investigators link Tikhomirov to Chechen separatist leader Doku Umarov, who claimed responsibility for the 2009 train derailment.
According to the state-run RIA Novosti and ITAR TASS news agencies, Bortnikov said that police found an explosives laboratory and seized more than a ton of explosives -- including small arms and ammunition -- at the site of this week's special operation in Ingushetia.
Bortnikov said the site was in Ekazhevo, a village in Ingushetia's Nazran district.
State-run news media reports link Buryatsky's group to other large-scale attacks, including an assassination attempt on Ingushetia's president, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, in June 2009 and a suicide bombing that killed at least 20 policemen in Ingushetia last August.
CNN's Amir Ahmed contributing to this report.
RELATED TOPICS
An ideal woman is a careful mother, a housewife or an attractive mistress
VLADIVOSTOK, March 7, vladivostoktimes.com Russian people create an image of an ideal woman and chose the main features of her. The Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) reported it and presented the information about what qualities, according to Russians, an ideal mother, wife, mistress, lady friend, lady colleague, and lady boss should have.
Woman image is very diverse among Russians.
Thus, a good mother should be
An ideal wife should be
The image of an ideal mistress is different: she should be
Woman friend should be
The main quality for lady boss and lady colleague is
For lady boss ambition is more important than decency (41% and 31% respectively) but for lady colleague it is vice versa (31% and 41% respectively).
In comparison with the year 2001 Russians appreciate more
in mothers
in wives
in lady boss
in lady colleague.
Less important qualities are mistress’ temperament (from 39 to 30%), lady boss’ appearance (from 22 to 15%) and lady friend’s faithfulness (from 40 to 29%).
For men a woman’s appearance is very important but they appreciate less
A wife’s appearance is more important for men than for women (36 and 28% respectively), the same thing about a mistress (53 and 45% respectively), and lady colleague (20 and 14% respectively).
But women appreciate more than men decency and empathy of both lady friend (37 and 47% respectively, 41 and 54% respectively) and lady colleague (37 and 49% respectively, 11 and 19% respectively).
The research was made by VCIOM on February 27-28 of the year 2010. The respondents were 1600 people from 140 cities and villages in 42 areas, territories and republics of Russia. Statistical error is not more than 3.4%.
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