OCTOBER 2006

From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 10/22/2006 7:33 PM
Saturday, October 21, 2006

EU: Bloc's Energy Talks With Putin End Inconclusively

By Ahto Lobjakas

Russia/EU -- Russian President Vladimir Putin after a meeting with EU leaders, Lahti, Finland, 20Oct2006
President Putin speaking to journalists after the Lahti meeting on October 20
(epa)
BRUSSELS, October 21, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Talks between European Union leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Finnish town of Lahti have failed to settle the parties’ differences over future energy cooperation.





After the dinner meeting on October 20, the two sides reiterated their familiar positions and put off attempts at reconciliation until further talks.

EU Holds Its Fire

The 25 EU heads of state and government appeared to have achieved their aim of presenting Putin with a united front, but they also refrained from any direct criticism of Russia.

Not for the first time, the talks between EU and Russian leaders in Lahti were described by participants as having been “open and frank” -- diplomatic code for persistent differences.
Putin did not give ...
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From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 10/24/2006 9:08 PM
Putin Urged By Italy To Brush Up His Manners
Publication time: 24 October 2006, 13:52
Italy condemned on Monday the anti-Italian insults by the Putin when challenged by EU leaders on his rogue country's poor human rights record during a EU summit last week, the dog struck back at his critics, saying "Mafia is not a Russian word".

Italian politicians stewing over a new gaffe by the Putin urged the dog on Monday to brush up his manners and resolve the human rights issue in his country before commenting on the mafia. The flak erupted on Sunday when the Spanish daily El Pais reported that Putin had lost his cool at a European Union leaders' summit in Lahti (Finland) on Friday, singling out Spain and Italy for his caustic jibes .

Reacting to criticism by European Parliament President Josep Borrell over Russia's human rights record, the dog struck back, saying that Italy was "the cradle of the mafia" and that "a ...
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From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 10/26/2006 7:33 AM
Russia As a Ship of Fools
Publication time: Today at 12:04 Djokhar time

Opinion

"Russians living abroad and willing to return to their homeland will first of all be sent to regions with a workforce deficit, the Russian president Putin said Wednesday", according to numerous Russian news reports.

Russian president, speaking at his annual televised question-and-answer session, said: "Primarily it will be border regions - the Primorye Territory and the Khabarovsk Territory, and some central regions, which lack a workforce."

Well, these are exactly the zones where the infamous Russian GULAG was located. And be sure, it is still there now, under the rule of the Putin, waiting for "compatriots".. Is Putin a fool or does he taken foreign citizens of Russian origin for fools? No Russia's Russian ever wanted to live and work in those areas. Are foreign Russians something different?

Speaking at the "Second World Congress of Russians Abroad" Tuesday, Putin said his "government "will allocate 4.6 billion rubles (1.13 million) ...
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From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 10/26/2006 7:56 AM
Thursday, October 26, 2006

Germany: Schroeder Throws The Book At Bush, Praises Putin

Germany/Russia -- Putin and Schroeder, Pres Vladimir, PM Gerhard 2
Gerhard Schroeder (right) shares a laugh with Russian President Vladimir Putin (file photo)
(CTK)
PRAGUE, October 26, 2006 -- Controversy sells. And the political memoirs of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are selling well.





That’s because they’re anything but bland and diplomatic.

Many of the famous personalities Schroeder mentions in “Decisions: My Life In Politics” -- be they German politicians or world leaders -- come off negatively.

Tough Words For Bush, Cheney
Schroeder portrays Putin as a modest and disciplined leader with what he says is “one of the hardest jobs on Earth.”


Schroeder, who fell out with U.S. President George W. Bush over Iraq, paints the U.S. leader as a religious fanatic. He writes that he got the impression Bush made his decisions based on what Bush thought were conversations with God.

He has even stronger words for U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, calling ...
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