come if you're around !

and if you want to, just give me a shout, maybe i'll have a place for you in a car !

brigidibraaaap !

[caption id="attachment_239" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The tower of Gediminas' castle. He was the founder of Vilnius. "][/caption]

In more recent times Lithuania has been ruled by other kingdoms. From Czarist Russia to the Soviet empire to Nazi Germany and back to the Soviets. Lithuania knew little freedom in the twentieth century.

In our down-time before and after camp we toured some of the remnants of those kingdoms- all now a part of history.

Seeing these sights reminded me again of the everlasting nature of the kingdom of God. As awesome as some of these places were- I could not help but think of Hebrews 12:28:

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe..."

It is reassuring and faith-affirming to know that regardless of the attempts of man to rule God reigns and always will!

More pics below:  

This is the 9th Fort in Kaunas. It was built during the Czarist Russian Empire and later used by the Soviets as a prison and as a killing ground by the Nazis. (60,000 Lithuanians and others were mass murdered outside of its walls during WWII)

This is the view from inside one of the lookout towers inside the 9th Fort. The elaborate sculpture in the distant background is a memorial to those 60,000 who were killed on that spot.

Another remnant of a fallen and bygone kingdom- the castle at Kaunas

The Gateway gang mugging it up in Vilnius

 You can read more about Lithuania Christian Camp by clicking here and reading the online article by Erik Tryggestad of the Christian Chronicle. Be sure to listen to the audio attached to the article to hear sounds and songs of camp!

The International Association for the Advancemnet of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) - great acronym - sponsors an essay competition each year. The three best papers are published on the ATRIP Web site. The author of the paper voted the best receives an opportunity to present at next year's ATRIP Conference in Lithuania.  This year's conference was held July 21-23, in Munich, Germany.

International Association for the Advancemnet of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property http://www.atrip.org/ 

Desciption of the Essay Contest from the ATRIP site:

ATRIP's Executive Committee is proud to announce its 2008 essay competition for young researchers in Intellectual Property Law. The paper, which can pertain to any topic related to intellectual property law, should be written in English or French and submitted to the said Committee, care of Professor Jan Rosén (jan.rosen@juridicum.su.se), by August 31, 2008.  The text of the paper should be no longer than 8,000 words, including footnotes.  It should be presented in a way that ensures the author's anonymity when it is circulated to the members of the Executive Committee.  The author of the paper should be no older than 33 years of age as of December 31, 2008.

http://www.atrip.org/upload/files/ESSAY%20COMPETITION.doc

The "little kids" session of Lithuania Christian Camp which was held at Camp Ruta near the town of Moletai is now complete. God certainly blessed us with one of the best sessions yet. We had eighty terrific kids eager to hear and learn about Christ.

This was our tenth anniversary and God helped us celebrate it wonderfully. Only seven of us from Gateway went to staff the session. More and more the Christians in Lithuania are assuming leadership responsibilities.

We appreciate all who have helped support this effective ministry and pray that it will only continue to grow each year. Please be sure to check out the August issue of the Christian Chronicle for more on this camp session.  Here are some more pics for you to enjoy!

Bud Myer teaching with Ilia Amosov who is one of the evangelists in Vilnius interpreting.

Milina and Nicole- sisters from the Warsaw Poland church who served as counselors

Late nite devo at almost 10 pm- notice the sun is still up!

Camp fun!

Alyosha and Rimas- two young Lithuania Christians who served as counselors

Counselor Evalina and two campers

Skit night!

"Cowboy" Scott from Gateway and his campers

Katie and Cherie from Gateway mugging for the camera with campers

Boys Bible class

Campers singing

Gateway's Ed Humphries and company enjoying some good Lithuanian food at lunch!

Arts and crafts time

Ohhhhhh, the blessings come down as the prayers go up!

Last morning- many hugs and tears! Who is that guy in the sun glasses?

BUENOS AIRES, July 19 (RIA Novosti) - Lithuania's president, currently on a visit to Argentina, told a national paper that his country is willing if necessary to host elements of a U.S. missile shield.

The United States said earlier this month that tentative discussions had been held with the Baltic country on hosting an interceptor missile base, after talks with Poland, Washington's first choice of host country, stalled.

Nacion quoted Valdas Adamkus as saying: "Lithuania is not currently engaged in negotiations with the United States on deploying a missile shield on our territory. However, we believe that this anti-missile system is an important element of European and international security. Therefore, if necessary, we are ready to work with our partners to deploy it."

Russia is vehemently opposed to the establishment of the Missile Shield in Eastern Europe claiming it is an escalation of forces in the region and violates Russian national security. Lithuania borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and if the missile interceptors were based in Lithunian territory, they could be as close as within 50 miles of mainland Russia.

July 13, 2008

Russia is considering aiming nuclear weapons at Western Europe for the first time since the end of the cold war.

Defense sources in Moscow say among the schemes being discussed to counter US plans to station a missile defense shield in Europe is the possible deployment of ballistic missiles in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave between the EU countries of Lithuania and Poland, The Times Online reported.

A Russian parliamentary committee visited the enclave 10 days ago to look into how a new generation of nuclear missiles could be based there, the report added.

If a deployment does take place, then it would greatly increase tensions in Europe between Moscow and Washington.

Only last week, the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice signed an agreement in Prague to build a radar station in the Czech Republic.

A deal with Poland is in the works to host a base for 10 interceptor rockets on its border with Russia. The agreement is expected to be signed later this year.

Moscow is strongly opposed to the shield, saying that it is part of an aggressive US military expansion into its own backyard.

A source with close connections to the Russian defense ministry said, "One of the main steps under consideration is a redeployment of nuclear missiles to Kaliningrad and Belarus. These missiles would be pointed at Europe. It would be a perfectly legitimate step. If America wants to expand its military capabilities in Europe, then we have the right to act accordingly".

The source also went on to question the US claim that the shield was intended to intercept missiles only from the so-called rogue states. He said, "How would Washington feel if we placed interceptor missiles on Cuba or Venezuela?"

Experts said the threat of deploying missiles in Kaliningrad was largely aimed at strengthening the opposition to the shields in Poland and the Czech Republic. Experts went on to add that Russia would have to build new long-range ground-based ballistic missiles since it has destroyed most of its Soviet-era arsenal.

U.S. troops to hold exercises in Georgia, Ukraine

AFP
July 14, 2008


Georgian soldiers take part in war games with their US, Armenian, Azerbaijani and Ukrainean counterparts at the Vaziani training area on the outskirts of Tbilisi.

US troops on Monday began military exercises near the Russian border in ex-Soviet Ukraine and were poised to launch them in Georgia, amid tense relations between Moscow and Washington, officials said.

A ceremony inaugurating the Sea Breeze-2008 NATO exercise was held off Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, a Ukrainian defence ministry spokeswoman said, against anti-NATO protests and a hostile reaction from officials in Russia.

The NATO exercises "will increase political and military tensions in Europe as a whole," Sergei Mironov, speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency in Moscow.

Sea Breeze-2008, which lasts until July 26, will also include forces from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Macedonia and Turkey, officials said.

Separate military exercises dubbed Immediate Response-2008 are due to start in Georgia on Tuesday with Armenian, Azerbaijani, Ukrainian and US troops taking part, a Georgian defence ministry spokeswoman said.

"The US-Georgia joint exercises will be held at the Vaziani military base" less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the Russian border with a total of 1,650 servicemen taking part, said the spokeswoman, Nana Intskirveli.

Russia to ‘neutralise’ US missile defence threat: report

AFP
July 14, 2008

Russia’s military is ready to “neutralise” any threat to its nuclear deterrent from US missile defence sites in Europe, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said Monday, according to Interfax news agency.

Read Full Article Here

(Shanghai, North and South, at Sangmen and Haiyang.)

URGENT REQUIREMENTS, ALL DISCIPLINES:

Mechanical, Engineering, Electrical, EC&I, Safety, Compliance, Quality Control & Assurance, Process, Business Development, Commercial Management, Project Management, Process, Planning, Design, Structural and Civil Engineering, New Power Plant Build, Construction, Commissioning, Pre-Commissioning, Construction, Site Management, Waste Management, IT, Document Management, etc.

The Peoples Republic of China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Company (SNPTC) has recently selected the Westinghouse/Shaw Consortium and Westinghouse’s AP1000 passive Generation III technology as the basis for four nuclear power plants.

The AP1000 Consortium will be working closely with Energy Recruitment Solutions Ltd (ERS) in the implementation of the new build program with positions and assignments.

As part of the AP1000 Consortium, Shaw provide engineering, procurement, commissioning, and management services for the four Chinese nuclear generation units. Energy Recruitment will assist in supporting this staffing requirement.

ERS therefore have an ongoing need for staff to fulfill this large scale demand for professional skilled and educated construction and engineering experts.  ERS have positions across all disciplines within construction and Engineering for long term ex-pat staff positions near Shanghai.

ERS would like to hear from candidates with recent and current experience in construction engineering of Nuclear Power Stations across the world.

Experienced candidates from the Ukraine, Romania, South Africa ,Sweden, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Finland, Russia, Lithuania, India, Slovakia, France, Canada and existing personnel from China Nuclear projects are actively sought.

Footnotes:With the fastest growing economy in the world and its population aggressively demanding to catch up with the western world.  Huge demand is placed on the shoulders of the PRC to enable businesses to operate across its vast lands.

With an enormous percentage of its population still living off the land and largely still existing without mains electricity. China has another demand for upgrading the national infrastructure to support the businesses and as the population that converts to working within its factories is looking to emulate its Western counterparts.

Wages enable independence better quality of life with improved towns and buildings.

Mainland China already has eleven nuclear power stations in commercial operation with a further six under construction, and plenty more in the planning stages about to start construction.  China needs more Nuclear reactors if it is to continue its vertical climb in world wide dominance.

China has to reduce its carbon foot print as its the second-largest contributor to energy-related carbon dioxide emissions after the USA.

Nuclear power is a natural choice to support the required power capacity in the coastal areas remote from the coalfields and where the economy is developing quickest

Locations: Shanghai, North and South, at Sangmen and Haiyang.

Background:

At the end of February 2007 a framework agreement was signed between Westinghouse and SNPTC specifying Haiyang in Shandong province  as the site of the second pair of AP1000 units, with Sanmen.

In July 2007, Westinghouse, along with consortium partner Shaw, signed the AP1000 contracts with SNPTC, Sanmen Nuclear Power Company, Shangdong Nuclear Power Company and China National Technical Import & Export Corporation (CNTIC). There were no specific terms released however figures of $5.3 billion for the deal have been widely quoted.

The Sanmen site works commenced in February 2008 and full construction for unit 1 is to start in March 2009, with the first power expected late in August 2013. 

Its is widely acknowledged that EDF will take a 30% share in the Taishan project as joint venture partner with CGNPC.

We understand that the Taishan Nuclear Power Company which will oversee the building, then own and operate the plant.  Cost is estimated for the project, including fuel supply, to total in excess of 8 billion Euros.  The Steam turbine generators alone will cost circa 300 million Euros.

ERS can be contacted on +44 (0) 1454 203 460 to discuss the excellent and attractive remuneration packages in more details, or submit a CV to cv@energyrs.co.uk to register your interest or to apply.

The BNS writes that according to that law, children of Lithuanian emigrants born abroad and Lithuanian nationals who are acquiring citizenship of EU and NATO countries would be able to have two passports.

However, at the same time, the parliament agreed to the amendments to the Citizenship Law as suggested by the president, which amendments restrict the conditions of granting dual citizenship a lot.

According the BNS from now on, dual citizenship can be an option for children of Lithuanian citizens born abroad, dual citizenship can also be granted to citizens of the countries with which Lithuania has dual citizenship agreements. However, so far, Lithuania has not inked any such agreements.

When approving of the president's draft, the provision that Lithuanian nationals are acquiring citizenship of EU and NATO countries would be able to have two passports was dropped out.

In several weeks' time, the parliament had changed its views of the Citizenship Law radically -- on June 30 the parliament's bill was supported by 78 members of parliament.

On July 15, most of them had a different opinion and went along with Adamkus's suggestions.  65 MPs voted in favour of the bill as proposed by the president.

As the BNS reminds, by vetoing the Law last week the president stressed that according to conclusions on the bill, prepared by attorneys of law, it "goes against the Constitution and also goes around a strict resolution made by the Constitutional Court."

In the words of the president, the new Citizenship Law as adopted by the parliament disregarded the constitutional requirement that a Lithuanian citizen can also be a citizen of another state only in exceptional cases. On the contrary - the Law was nothing but enhancing the possibilities to obtain and preserve dual citizenship.

In the fall of 2006, the Constitutional Court found that the country's main law provides for dual citizenship as rare exceptions, declaring laws allowing dual citizenship as running counter the Constitution.

It is a sad day for Lithuania.  However, the Constitution cannot be breached.  Furthermore, I have to agree with the President who pointed out that by granting the nationality to the Lithuanians in the NATO and the EU countries the Law would discriminate against those Lithuanians who live outside of those military and political clubs.  This would also include the Brazilian Lithuanians with who the President is meeting today.

Hence, in order to alter this sad situation the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania should be changed.  The most strait forward way is to call a referendum.  Here I see a proactive action of the Lithuanian émigrés in Lithuania.  One step is to gather 300.000 signatures in three months to call a referendum, another step is to make the people to go to the polling stations to vote.  According to the very strict Lithuanian legislative base in order for the referendum which aims to change the Constitution in order to succeed some 50% of all voters have to express their opinion.

I would not doubt that if referendum would be valid it would have a positive result for the double nationality  However, the most difficult part is to make sure that 50% of those who are eligible to vote would turn up in the voting station.  Since almost every Lithuanian family has a relative living abroad the émigrés could lobby them to participate in the referendum.  Furthermore, I am convinced that the Lithuanian nationals living abroad would also actively participate in voting.

There are other way is to lobby the political parties, but some of the parties are not too keen on the additional voters who would more likely to vote for the centre right political parties but not for the Ex Communists Social Democrats, the Peasants, and the populists of the Labour or the Paksas' Order and Justice.

This is where the electronic voting system would came in handy.  The most realistic time for the referendum could be the presidential elections in 2009.

Hence, where is a will there is a way.  However, the Constitution, how inappropriate it is at the moment should be respected.

Well, of course there is another alternative of moving back to Lithuania...

The Deatmaker is part of our huge breakcore line up.  See him in effect when he plays in Lithuania. The crowd is going wild.

Leaders of 43 countries from the European Union and the Mediterranean region met in Paris on Sunday for a first summit of the Union for the Mediterranean, an initiative launched by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The project is aimed at breathing new life into the existing Euro-Mediterranean partnership, known as the Barcelona process, and will create a more equal dialogue between the wealthy EU and the poorer states that line the Mediterranean.

Membership of the project is open to all states that border the Mediterranean, all members of the European Union, and some others. They represent a total of nearly one billion people.

The only national leaders who were invited but did not attend were Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, a vocal critic of the project and whose country did not send an envoy at all, and the kings of Jordan and Morocco, who both said they could not come for personal reasons.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa also attended.

The new organisation will have co-presidents from each side of the Mediterranean, initially France and Egypt, and a small secretariat, the location of which remains to be decided.

One of the main aims of the Mediterranean Union, which carries the official name "The Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean", is to work on a series of practical projects, with each member state free to work on a project if it chooses.

These projects, outlined in an annex to the final joint declaration, includes:

* Civil protection -- cooperating on the prevention, preparation and response to natural and man-made disasters

* Alternative energy -- exploring the feasibility of a "Mediterranean Solar Plan" to develop solar power as an energy source, and supporting research and development into energy sources other than oil and gas. Lebanon offered at the summit to host the project's headquarters.

* Education -- setting up a Euro-Mediterranean University, based in Slovenia, promoting academic mobility and joint degrees between member states' universities. French officials frequently refer to setting up an "Erasmus of the Mediterranean", referring to a popular EU student exchange programme.

* Mediterranean business initiative -- setting up a body to help small and medium-sized companies by providing them with technical assistance and "financial instruments", using voluntary contributions from member states.

To read the article in its entirety, please click here.

To download the joint declaration (as a pdf file), click here.

Although negotiations with Lithuania over the Missile Shield have reportedly not even begun yet, Adamkus apparently wanted to make it clear that the small Baltic nation would not even discuss the possibility of participation with American officials.

The United States has already signed an agreement with the Czech Republic for the installation of a radar base that would work in accompaniment with 10 missile interceptors in a second Eastern European nation. Poland was the originally planned site for these interceptors, but the unpopularity of the project in both Poland and Czech Republic--where it still has to be ratified by government--has pushed the United States to consider alternative countries.

The U.S. State Department announced it would consider putting the missile interceptors in Lithuania, 50 miles away from mainland Russia, the project's most outspoken opponent. Russia says the project constitutes a new escalation in Eastern Europe on the part of the U.S. and NATO. Russia announced last week that it would respond with the creation of the Missile Shield with an escalation of its own, possibly the redeployment of its own missiles.

Crunched under increased energy prices and internationally isolated (Venezuela and Russia are the few exceptions), Belarus is planning to build a nuclear power plant to meet its energy needs, writes Anya Loukianova for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in an article "Belarus takes a second look at nuclear energy."

That's worrying. Not only should this bother Belarus' neighbors, but this is a major concern for its citizens who in the aftermath of Chernobyl's (Chornobyl) explosion - on April 26, 1986 - saw 23% of the country affected by the nuclear fall-out.

Two decades after the accident, the majority of the Belarusian people still don't want nuclear power--28.3 percent approved of the nuclear plant project and 46.7 percent disapproved, according to a 2005 country-wide government poll DOC.

The three sites under consideration for the future nuclear plant are near Russia, Lithuania and Poland, in Mogilyov (2) and Grodno (1).

Loukianova provides the details:

Belarus' authoritarian president Aleksandr Lukashenko is seeking to build a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant to reduce the country's reliance on imported energy sources, particularly Russian natural gas. His government has indicated that the plant, expected to cost $4 billion, will consist of two generation III water-cooled, water-moderated reactors.

Aside from ignoring the public sentiment which is highly against nuclear power plant construction, Lukashenko's media campaign is shocking for its cynicism:

His public-relations campaign has centered on the idea that the reactors would be safer than those of Belarus' heavily nuclear-reliant neighbors--Ukraine, Lithuania, and Russia.

Lukashenko's insistence on going at it alone is puzzling. He hopes to raise the funding from international institutions and some friendly sponsor states, but $4 billion dollars is a lot of money, and the estimate is no doubt on the lower end of the final cost.

Perhaps recogmizing the volatility of the subject, Minsk is paying attention to the mood of its population. Here is how the regime has attempted to manage public opinion:

Oddly, although Lukashenko could move forward with his nuclear agenda without public consent, his government has carefully monitored public opinion on the issue. Data from the 2005 poll on the issue [see previously cited analysis DOC] has given the government clues about how to tailor its message in order to preempt and co-opt potential public opposition. Therefore, it's no surprise that the government has repeatedly stressed IAEA support for the project--polling indicates that the Belarusian public trusts the information provided by the agency. Similarly, as polls have indicated that the public trusts scientists, Lukashenko has sought to actively (and bitterly) rebut anti-nuclear comments from Belarusian scientists opposed to his nuclear plans.

Loukianova is right: unless an organized front opposing Lukashenko's nuclear ideas emerges, Belarus and its neighbors in Warsaw, Kyiv, Moscow, Riga, and Vilnus may soon find a new nuclear reactor in the region that is based on a Soviet design and ran by a government unaccountable to its people.

SOMETIMES IT PAYS TO BE SELF-CENTERED AND OBNOXIOUS….
   When my husband and I attended church one Sunday, we heard a missionary speak. Since I did freelance writing for the local newspaper, I saw this as an opportunity for a future article. I knew I could get the story later, but I also knew getting a photograph would be difficult later, since the speaker was leaving town. After the service, I told Monte I wanted to take a picture before leaving, but he wanted to leave at that moment.
   “No,” I stated. “I am going to get the picture.”
   I usually try to accommodate Monte’s wants, but this time I objected. And I did it obnoxiously, not caring what his need was.
   Enroute home, he told me a conversation he had with another retired pastor. When he informed Ben that we lived in Laurel Mountain Borough, Ben said he had friends looking for a home in there. The two homes on the market were not appropriate to his friend’s needs.
   I asked Monte if he’d mentioned that our neighbor was preparing to put her house on the market. He said no, he hadn’t thought about it.
   At my encouragement, he phoned Ben to tell him about this prospect. Ben came out and looked at the outside of the house, and with our description, contacted his friends. I mentioned this to my neighbor and the young couple came to town on Tuesday. By Thursday, they’d contacted my neighbor, making an offer.
   Because I was obnoxious with Monte, a contact was made that allowed my neighbor to sell her house without ever putting it on the market, and for a young couple to find the perfect setting for themselves, their children and the wife’s elderly mother.
Perhaps I was wrong to be obnoxious, but as Dr. Noitall stated in Science (V. 20, 1 Dec. 2000, 1693) “Society only gets progress on the basis of error…Error is essential for progress.”

SASSINESS WORKS AGAIN…
   Monte and I were going through a rough time one Christmas. While grocery shopping, I reached the end of my rope, and told him while he checked out I would go to the neighboring dress shop.
   When I entered the store, I was greeted by a sales lady with a foreign accent.
   “Oh, where are you from,” I asked.
   “Lithuania,” she responded.
   What a coincidence! My homemade ornament that year was to feature a Lithuanian background. I was basing the ornament (something I do instead of cards) on the theme the Ninth Day of Christmas. Since my mother was half Lithuanian, it seemed an appropriate honor. I had a photo of my mother in a dance costume, and since she was half Lithuanian, the background idea seemed logical.
   The Lithuanian clerk and I chatted a few minutes, exchanged phone numbers, and agreed to meet later.
   At the coffee shop where we met, we took up the whole back room for a couple of hours. She spread out the myriad of fabric, crafts and jewelry, which she had brought, and over conversation I took a multitude of photographs. And at the last minute (even though I had planned this ornament months in advance) my “cards” were ready to mail.
Had I not been, well, sassy and aggravated with hubby, I would probably still be looking for the Lithuanian background for my Christmas card/ornament!

TREASURES AMIDST CHAOTIC CLUTTER
   Speaking of Christmas cards, since my cards are ornaments, there are limitations to what I can do. The ornament has to be flat, fit in a regular envelope, and cannot contain anything perishable or breakable. Since I also made about 350 ornaments, they required more imagination than time.
   That said, I’m always seeking ideas and materials. I spent two years collecting metal lids from fruit juice cans (which were a little beyond the usual standards, in that they required more postage than normal) on which I was going to hand paint my decoration.
   My daughter Sandy said I cannot throw anything away. She’s right. I come by it naturally. I studied occupational therapy, which teaches that anything can be used creatively. My ecological bent also indicates that anything that can have a use, do not discard for the landfill. Thus, I collect everything non-typical. When our church burned, I collected ash, plaster dust and shingles. When our house burned, I made an ornament from the charred wood (it made great coal for the miniature stockings, which required more postage to send).

So my eclectic, creative side causes, more often than not, chaos. It also provides whatever odd item anyone should need for a craft project.

And I walk a fine line between total control of my environment and utter chaos.

If only I could find a way to recycle the high fertility that governs dust kittens, plastic bags, and the mountains of paper junk that enters my house! Walking a fine line between total control and utter chaos.

For additional reading:

For additional reading:

VOICES OF WILDERNESS: PEACE MEETING

BLACK FLIES AND OTHER INSECTS: Then and Now

OF FIREFLIES AND LIGHTNING BUGS

THE ICE CREAM MAN

KEEPING PEACE IN SOUTH AFRICA Part 1

KEEPING PEACE IN SOUTH AFRICA Part 2

CHILDREN LEFT HOME ALONE (or in cars alone)

ANOTHER HORRIFYING HEADLINE

KILLED STRANGELY: A NEW ENGLAND MURDER STORY

A FATHER-DAUGHTER REUNION

BEAR STORIES ACROSS THE NATION

FLASHY MOON EXPLOSIONS

Kernave, la prima vedere pare a fi un satuc, bine ingrijit, cu case foarte frumoase rustice vopsite in culori calde, cu flori in ograda si diverse decoratii. De fapt este un orasel. Prin ce se destinge Kernave de celelalte localitati din Lituania - aici poti vedea dealuri! Pentru un moldovean aceasta notiune de „dealuri” nu inseamna nimic, cind esti in Moldova. Insa, dupa 10 luni sa vezi doar ses, un delusor ca cel din Kernave ti se pare incredibil. Si cind mai urci pe el si vezi orizontul foarte departe crezi pe citeva clipe ca esti in Moldova. In Moldova, de care ni s-a facut tare dor.

De ce am mers la Kernave doar acum? Pentru ca toata lumea ne spunea ca nu are sens, si chiar zimbeau cind ziceam ca vrem sa mergem incolo. WRONG!!!

Am decis sa mergem acum cind aveau loc manifestatii dedicate zilei incoronarii unicului Rege Lituanian, Mindaugas. Asa ca tot Vilniusul si nu numai pentru citeva zile si-a mutat resedinta in aceasta localitate.

A fost tare frumos. Cel mai mult mi-au placut rochiile fetelor si costumele baietilor, din in natural, si dupa mine, modele ce se poarta si acum, foarte comode. Doinele lor, melodioase, nu am mai auzit asa cintece, batai la sabii caraghioase pentru a cuceri inima unei fete (inscenate desigur), etc.

Mi-a mai placut privelistea, peisajul, aceeasi lume binevoitoare. Am baut duonos gira (cvas de piine) si am mincat Kibinai (bucate tataresti).

Ah, si cel mai bun pentru mine, mai putin bun pentru Alex, el sarmanul fiind tare alergic la florile de cimp, a fost sa tin eu aparatul in mina si sa fac zeci de poze! Iata doar citeva:

Many former states of the Warsaw Pact are trying to access documents related to secret police activities in their countries during the Cold War (informers, arrests, etc). Often there were two copies of these types of documents, one held locally, another sent back to a central authority. Even if one copy of the document was destroyed in one country, it may still exist in another.

The issue of state documents being trapped across the border of a foreign country after the Cold War is not a new one, and I previously reported on attempts by Latvia to reclaim documents in the Russian Archives.

(Source: Lexis-Nexis/Baltic News Service, June 30 2008 )

It's always a great find when one stumbles on a rare article (e.g. a translation from Lithuanian into English). Alan Hendrixson, of With a Grain of Druska blog, translated and posted an article (located here) about corruption in Lithuania. Written by Jurgis Jurgelis for Delfi, the article explores why "cracking down" on corruption is tough.

For example because...

• such crimes are committed by educated people, and
• both sides (the givers and the takers) are making an agreement and for that reason neither side complains.

For Lithuania, it seems that one particular problem may be the lack of a powerful anticorruption agency or since that may be undesirable, the lack of agencies that have authority to fight state corruption. Jurgelis writes:

At this time, several anti-corruption commissions operate in Lithuania. There is on[e] in the parliament, one that is connected with the Interior Ministry, one that is run by the Interior Ministry, and one that is connected with the Cabinet of Ministers. They all do certain jobs. But not one of them has enough authority or the obligation to lead the country's fight against corruption. And for that reason, they do not have to answer for the situation in the country.

You know you’ve been in Lithuania too long, when …
you only eat in restaurant-chains, which start with Čili

you put ketchup on your pizza and think that’s the way Italians do it

half of your friends disappear to work in the British Isles or Scandinavia or the United States and you think that’s normal

you have become tired of explaining to your friends and relatives at home, that you are a.) not in Latvia b.) not in Russia and c.) Riga isn’t the capital of the Baltic

with a meal you drink either beer or tea

basketball has become the most important thing in your life

there is only one beer for you: Švyturys Extra

half of the population working as “managers” seems reasonable to you

tall blonde beauties in short skirts are nothing special for you anymore

during winter, instead of looking for a thermostat to adjust the temperature in your room, you just open the window

you learned everything about the glorious Lithuanian language, and now you get angry about ignorant people denying the existence of a Lithuanian language or, worse, consider it some branch of Slavic languages

you’ve learned the hard way that a triangle means women’s toilet and a triangle upside down means men’s

during a long night of partying you went out pissing in the cold streets because there was only one unisex toilet in the whole pub

you think drunkards shouting at you in Russian are a normal part of life

when you enter a bus and there is no strange smell you think there’s something wrong

buses without antennae seem awkward to you

anything goes wrong you blame the Russians, or the Polish or the rest of the world

you think hot chocolate means melted chocolate and you love it

you see someone smiling in public, you think: well, a bloody foreigner

a meal for you must contain either potato or meat, but usually both

you start leaving out the articles, even in English and your native language

you become scared meeting big old babushkas in furs, because they trample down everything in their way

you are afraid crossing a street, especially at zebra crossings or traffic lights

you feel guilty entering a flat wearing your shoes

you consider cranberry the best flavour for water, juice and vodka

you think beer is a soft drink not an alcoholic beverage, only vodka is

going to the opera, the concert hall or the theatre is just a usual thing to do in the evenings

forenames like Christmas’ tree, mermaid, amber or wind seem normal to you

everything 50m above sea-level seems like a mountain

you start counting the ground floor as first floor

someone, you haven’t known for more than three years, talks to you, you try to get rid of him as soon as possible

you got a one centimetre haircut, bought a fake leather jacket and a black cap (if you are male) OR: you bought a skirt at the size of a belt and don’t leave the house without tons of make-up (if you are female)

you consider smoked pig’s ears a tasty beer snack

you love the Baltic Sea and go swimming there at nearly any temperature

you love going to the Sauna, but always leave your trunks/bikini on

for you, garlic has become an ingredient just like salt or pepper

you consider Lithuania the best and worst place on earth – at the same time

you teach everybody that in medieval times the Lithuanian Duchy ranged from the Baltic to the Black Sea

you put an “as”, “a” or “is” at the end of foreign names, so you can conjugate them

you carry around five cell phones and several cards from eight different phone-companies, so that you always get the best price.

You consider fastening your seatbelt a sign of weakness and are not surprised if a car hasn’t seatbelts at all.

In your eyes Coca Cola is the unhealthiest drink in the world and that drinking lots of beer, sugary juice and bread drink prolongs your life

you haven't seen a bright sky for months and you don't miss it anymore

you consider rain the normality and sunshine a special weather phenomenon

The statement went on to say that Russia would have to "take adequate measures to compensate for threats to its national security."

"This is not our choice," the statement added.

The agreement to construct the radar-base element of the missile shield in Czech Republic was indeed signed today by American Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and her Czech counterpart Karel Swarzenberg, but still needs to be signed by the Czech President, and be accepted in the Parliament where it is expected to face fierce opposition.

About 70 percent of the Czech population opposes the creation of the base and about 1500 protesters marched in opposition to the plan today in Prague.

The original Missile Shield plan called for the creation of a radar base in the Czech Republic and the deployment of 10 missile interceptors in Poland. However, with Polish officials increasingly showing concerns about the project, the U.S. State department announced last month that they may seek to put the interceptors in Lithuania instead.

Russian president Dmitri Medvedev called that option "unacceptable." Lithuania borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. And if it were the chosen location, the installation could be as close as within 50 miles mainland Russian territory, and about 350 miles from Saint-Petersburg--Russia's second largest city.

Although the missiles are defensive in nature, Russia has opposed any new bases or military installations in Eastern Europe as they violate post-Cold War treaties, and represent an escalation of forces in the region.

Furthermore, the Bush administration has steadfastly denied that the Missile Shield is directed at or has anything to do with Russia, although it is understood in conservative circles that such is the case.

In fact, on Republican presidential candidate John McCain's website, he states that the missile defense is important specifically to "hedge against potential threats from possible strategic competitors like Russia and China."

The BBC correspondent covering the story said that what Russia likely meant by "military-technological means" was not a direct military action, but perhaps an escalation of its own, such as redeploying Russian missiles and interceptors.

The threat followed quickly on from the announcement that Condoleezza Rice signed a formal agreement with the Czech Republic to host the radar for the controversial project.

Moscow argues that the missile shield would severely undermine the balance of European security and regards the proposed missile shield based in two former Communist countries as a hostile move.

“We will be forced to react not with diplomatic, but with military-technical methods,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Read the article here.