Logic & Sanity

Jokers at Pravda

In a clear sign of its intent to reign in dissident American media personalities, and their growing influence in American culture, US War Leaders this past week launched an unprecedented attack upon one of their most politically 'connected', and legendary, radio hosts named Don Imus after his threats to release information relating to the September 11, 2001 attacks upon that country. According to European reports of the events surrounding Don Imus that have gripped the United States this past week, it was during an interview with another American media personality, Tim Russert, who is the host of a television programme frequently used by US War Leaders, wherein while decrying the state of care being given to American War wounded stated, "So those bastards want to keep these boys [in reference to US Soldiers] secret? Let's see how they like it if I start talking about their [in reference to US War Leaders] secrets, starting with 9/11."

A rather fascinating claim coming out of the russian rag Pravda and one can expect it to end up all over conspiracy blogs and forums.  The reality is  that the attacks on Don Imus did not come from the "US War Leaders", but from the likes of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, both of whom, incidently, happen to oppose the "US War Leaders".  Russians, it seems, still haven't figured out that the US government does not control the media. The most hilarious manifestation of that phenomena was Putin's statement that Bush is the one who fired Dan Rather.

Hazing in the Russian army

Anyone who've served in the russian army will tell you that the biggest problem, bad food and corruption aside, is hazing. Russian army is made up of conscripts who are called to serve right after finishing high school. Hazing is so bad that a huge chunk of them end up with permanent internal organ damage by the time they are done serving mother Russia. My father had enough street smarts to go through all that and come out in one piece. Came out an officer, was second in command of a battalion in the Soviet army by the time he was done, actually. But anyway, not everyone is so lucky.

The latest scandal has to do with private Andrei Sichov (pictured above). The soldiers from Andrew Sychev's unit celebrated the holidays by beating him for three hours straight. On January 4th, Andrei requested medical help from the army, but was refused. Soon after his conditioned worsened and he was admitted to the municipal hospital of Chelyabinsk.

Long story short, due to gangrene, Andrew Sychev ended up having several digits, both of his legs, and his sex organs amputated. His family is currently suing Russia's Department of Defense, and the authorities are investigating.

"Dimitry, was ist dass?"

(Translated from "Novi Vestnik" by Carl)

"Dimitry, was ist dass?"

Dmitriy Trofimovich Chirov speaks of his life easily and with wit, as if he was not recalling his own past, but telling about an amusing book. Although... it really is a book. A year ago the recollections of this Karaganda retiree were set to print in Austria, in the German language.

In Dmitriy's past there is everything: a guardian angel who saved the Karagandan's life, fascists who took him prisoner, Austrians for whom our countryman worked during captivity, and whom he befriended to this very day.

Do you believe it?

Dmitriy Trofimovich (Chirov) looks pretty good for his 83 years - not a day over 75. This retiree with his crafty smile and thick, full beard had been answering our questions for several hours. At just the right moment, he pulled out a fat album with his photographic archives, as well as newspapers and books to confirm his story. Ever more frequently, he used the word 'lucky'.

She knows her only by name

(Translated from "Novi Vestnik" by Carl)

The story of Karaganda resident Valentina Grigor'evna Mikhno, who was born in a German concentration camp in 1945, is similar to a scene from a Soviet war film, but with a very touching ending. An ending which in a real life has yet to be. Still, Valentina hopes and waits for it. Through the television program Zhdi menya ("wait for me"), the Karaganda resident is searching for a female Soviet spy who was working right under the very noses of the Germans. She wants to meet her so that she could bow low before the person who helped a newborn girl survive German captivity..

Valentina's mother Maria died in 1996. But long ago in 1941 the still young 'Masha' worked as a telephone operator in her home town of Lubna in the Poltava district in the Ukraine.

"Mama was the first to find out that the war had begun," Valentina quietly says. "On the 22nd of June she was working on the telegraph and received a message for the district party committee. On that very day they took mama to the front. She didn't even get to say goodbye to her parents."