A Hurricane Approaching New York

A huge hurricane Sandy approaching  New York City. A situation seems alarming. The whole world is watching news and sharing the same concern. Me too, I'm watching live broadcast from the web, for example these webcams located in New York (click the blue words).

My friend Mr. Bao who lives in the city, wrote me few hours ago:

"Here in New York City, everybody is preparing for the coming of hurricane Sandy, which is expected to cause lots of damage. People have been rushing to stores to buy food and other daily necessities. I didn't do much in this regard because I don't think the storm will cause so much damage that people will be confined to their houses for a long time. But I will still pray that everything will turn out to be fine.
The city has taken a lot of precautions in preparation for the coming hurricane. Right now all public transportation, including subways and buses, has suspended its services. Hope everybody will be safe and sound after the storm hits New York City later today."

Please, keep us up to date, Bao. Stay safe and take care of yourself, my friend. We all pray for New York. May God save the City!

(This article is written at 6:52 PM in N.Y. time, Oct. 29. Some of the pictures added later.)

 

Russia and Finland back to better relations

The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin (left), and the president of Finland,
Sauli Niinistö, in June 2012. They are laughing because they have just
agreed to play ice hockey together. Who won? Both of them, because
they played on the same side. This is the right policy! :)

Regarding the relations between Russia and Finland, since yesterday there have been some good signs of recovery. Perhaps the worst "media war" is over now. (See my previous article.) Yesterday, Russian media released three excellent and even-handed articles. I add links here for them who want to know more or check these things by themselves:

Komsomolskaya Pravda

Rosbalt

Third article was released by ITAR-TASS.

In short, some false information has been corrected. Now Russian media knows that Finnish criminologist Johan Bäckman has spread disinformation to them.

Finally, I want to take one great quote from the article written by Sergei Selin (Rosbalt). I can only say "amen" for this and hope the case is closed. I think misunderstanding was the biggest reason for this conflict. Peace! :)

«А вот совсем другой участок — российско-финляндский. В реальной плоскости отношения двух стран выглядят буквально идиллическими. Никаких военных и территориальных споров. Товарооборот близок по величине к российско-французскому или российско-британскому. Именно по выдаваемым финнами шенгенским визам (около миллиона в год) жители российского Северо-Запада в основном и путешествуют в Европу. Сотни тысяч петербуржцев регулярно выезжают в приграничные Лаппеенранту и Иматру, чтобы прошвырнуться по магазинам или сводить детишек в аквапарк.

Но пропагандистская картинка совсем о другом. Она о бедствиях в Финляндии нескольких бывших россиянок, конфликтующих с мужьями или ставших объектами финской ювенальной юстиции. Поставщик и оформитель всех этих историй – финский юрист Йохан Бекман. Он регулярно присылает свои доклады в российские средства информации, и его сообщения приводят в действие всю российскую государственную машину. Негодует детский омбудсмен, возвышает голос протеста министр иностранных дел. Официально выдвигается требование учредить российско-финляндскую комиссию, которая занялась бы разбором конфликтов, происходящих, надо напомнить, в чужом государстве и с людьми, добровольно туда переселившимися.

Вопрос не в том, хороша ли ювенальная юстиция, и во всем ли правдив Бекман. Тут другое впечатляет. Что публичная повестка отношений между двумя странами полностью состоит из сообщений одного человека, каждодневно доводимых российскими властями до сведения всех россиян. Вряд ли реальное сотрудничество с Финляндией и бурное пропагандистское ее обличение смогут мирно сосуществовать до бесконечности. И тут тоже хвост уже виляет собакой.»

The English translation:

"But then a very different area - a Russian-Finnish. To the point where the relationship between the two countries looks just idyllic. No military and territorial disputes. Turnover is close to the Russian-French or Russian-British. It is for a Schengen visa issued by the Finns (about one million per year) residents of Russia's North-West in the ground and travel to Europe. Hundreds of thousands of St. Petersburg regularly travel to the border Lappeenranta and Imatra to tax free shopping or set their kids to the water park.

But the propaganda picture is something else. It is a disaster in Finland several former Russian women in conflict with their husbands or trafficked Finnish juvenile justice. Supplier and designer of all these stories is a Finnish lawyer, Johan Bäckman. He regularly sends his reports to the Russian media, and his messages drive the entire Russian state machine. Resents children's ombudsman, exalt the voice of protest foreign minister. Officially put forward the demand to establish a Russian-Finnish commission that would deal with analysis of conflicts taking place, it must be recalled, are going in a foreign country and among the people who settled there voluntarily.

The question is not whether good or juvenile justice, and is Bäckman truthful in all what he is saying. Instead, it is astonishing that the public agenda of relations between the two countries is completely based on the messages of the one single person who is communicating with all Russians through the Russian authorities. It is unlikely that real cooperation with Finland and its denunciation of violent propaganda can coexist indefinitely. And here, too, the tail is wagging the dog."

 The presidents Putin (left) and Niinistö are playing ice hockey.
Ice hockey is like a "national sport" in both Russia and Finland.

Media war between Russia and Finland very unfortunate

During the last couple of days, there has been a quite serious "media war" between Russia and Finland, and I'm very sorry for that. In my opinion, the words are bigger than the actual things in this case. In short, this case has grown too big. :( What is it all about? I'm talking about the case, in which four children were removed from the custody of their Russian mother in Finland. The story sparked outrage and received extensive media coverage in Russia, and I can understand that. But every story has two sides.

What are the real reasons behind the custody of the Russian woman’s children, we cannot know that. The Russian mother has told her side of the story, but the child protection services of Finland cannot tell their version. Why? Because in Finland, it is legally forbidden to provide any children related information for unauthorized parties, such as the press. Anyway, it is not common for authorities to take children away from their parents. There has to be serious reasons for that, way more serious than just "one small slap". (In Finland, it is illegal to even slap your children. Law is very strict, but also valid in this case. Its purpose is just to protect children.)

But of course authorities make mistakes, too. Finland is not a perfect country. Sometimes the bureaucracy gets too heavy, and so on. Yet, it is not fair to think that Finland's custody services take away your children too easily. No, no, it is not common. Finland is a safe country for foreigners. Russians are the biggest immigration group in Finland. Approximately 55 000 Russians live here (the entire population of Finland being 5.4 million). Usually, our relationships are good. No problems at all. Our cultural differences are small. Russians like to live here.

There are no big differences between Russians and Finns. In most of the cases, Finnish-Russian marriages work very well. Spouses are satisfied with each other. There are even university researches about this topic, for example these two: 'Russians and Russian culture in Finland' by Veronica Shenshin (University of Helsinki, 2008), and new dissertation of Finnish-Russian families by Pirjo Pöllänen (University of Eastern Finland, 2012).

Regarding this current clash, I think there is "much ado about nothing" (много шума из ничего). Media have exaggerated the controversy in Russia and Finland, and some people have overreacted. Especially one Finnish "expert" has spread lots of disinformation (false information) regarding this case. His name is Johan Bäckman, a Finnish political author, legal sociologist and criminologist. He is telling unbelievable things to the Russian media. I know many of them are clear lies.

I only wonder why he is doing that, what is his purpose, why is he tarnishing the reputation of his own country? Now this Finnish man urges Russian people to boycott Finnish products. Huh! Actually, many Finns think that Bäckman is the worst kind of a traitor. In fact, his provocative claims are causing a lot of damage to the good relations between our countries.

Regarding a boycott of Finnish products, this video is sad to see:

Really, this "war" has already gone too far. It has a negative impact on the economy and tourism, etc. No good to anyone. I still want to believe, what Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja say: "The ongoing clash between Finland and Russia over a controversial child custody case won't change practical relations between the two countries."

For my part, I love both Russians and Finns. Peace. Мир! :)

Finally, I add here some good and factual articles about this topic in Russian media:
Newsru
Novaya Gazeta
Rossiyskaya Gazeta

P.S. Thanks to Gilmore for proofreading this article.

Attachment:

Посольство Финляндии: Что должен знать иммигрант из России о защите детей в Суоми

Посольство Финляндии в России опубликовало на своем сайте информацию о том, что должен знать иммигрант из России о законе о защите детей в Финляндии. В форме вопрос-ответ в материале объясняется, почему к гражданам России в Суоми применяют финское законодательство, как происходит процедура изъятия ребенка, почему власти не комментируют отдельные случаи и т.д. Также подчеркивается, что в Финляндии запрещено телесное наказание.

Вопрос: Я считаю, что легкое телесное наказание со временем пойдет ребенку только на пользу – он научится уважать родителей и правильно себя вести. Пусть посторонние не вмешиваются.
Ответ : В соответствии с законодательством Финляндии, любые виды телесного наказания запрещены.

Полный текст на сайте посольства

Source: http://fontanka.fi/articles/7424/

 Usually Finnish-Russian couples are getting along well.

Sweet victory in Chess

Last Friday I beat my friend Mayakovsky in Chess. I played with black pieces, the game took one hour, and I lost only one piece (bishop). My friend lost three pieces: one knight and two pawns. It was a quite high-quality and peaceful game. No stupid moves at all. Finally, I did checkmate with the queen (h1) and knight (d4) and pawn (g3). The white king has no place to escape. (See the photos below.) Ah, that felt good! Hahaha.

Me and my chess opponent Mayakovsky (nickname), we are equally good in Chess. This time it was "my turn" to win. Usually our game takes 70-90 minutes. The battle is never too easy nor relaxing. That's why we don't play so often. Hehe. By the way, I bought this chessboard from Leningrad, Soviet Union (the current name: Saint Petersburg, Russia) in 1989. Chess has been my favorite game since my childhood.

Mooncakes from Hong Kong

Today I got a parcel from Hong Kong. My good friend Wendy sent me a traditional Chinese candies and mooncakes with lotus seed paste and yolks from salted duck eggs... yummy! Taste is really good. This is my second time to eat mooncakes. :)

According the Wikipedia, mooncake (月餅; yue bing) is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu). The festival is for lunar worship and Moon watching, when mooncakes are regarded as an indispensable delicacy. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four most important Chinese festivals.

Thank you very much for these cakes and candies, Wendy. You are very kind, and your lovely parcel made me really happy. Be blessed, dear friend! 非常感谢, 孟儀。 保重。 祝你快乐！ （＾—＾）

This beautiful tin box includes four mooncakes.

 

 Chinese mooncake (lotus seed paste and yolks from salted duck eggs).

Some traditional Chinese candies.

The Sea Calls Me

 

MS Isabella. Length: 169.40 m. (Photo from Wikipedia.)

Tomorrow (Thursday) I'm going on a little cruise to the neighbor country Sweden. Name of the ship is MS Isabella (click the name and you'll see the article in Wikipedia). Hopefully the winds will be favorable. I'll be back on Saturday. See you then, my friends. Blessings to everyone. :)

 

Autumnal archipelago between Finland and

Sweden. Photo is taken from my previous

cruise in November 2011.

P.S. Later addition (7th October, 2012): Now you can see the video I filmed from my trip: