• Kansas: As Red As You Think It Is

    Recently through the magic of Facebook an article came to my attention. Bruised Kansas by Jeffrey Ann Goudie laments the transformation of the State of Kansas from a state on the forefront of racial equality and “proud history of women in politics” to a state where Governor Brownback autocratically imposes his “boilerplate political agenda”.

    The only thing missing was one of those before and after photos that get passed around on the internet.

    A15DPtCCYAAyYJ1

    When I read the article, I kept thinking that the author must not be living in the same Kansas I live in; one can argue that Johnson County, KS is not representative of the entire state, but I am fairly familiar with a large part of it, having driven thousands of miles on my semi-frequent road trips to familiarize myself with the state where I made my home for the past 20 years. During that time I have met many Kansans, had candid conversations with countless acquaintances and coworkers not necessarily constrained by Codes of Business Conduct and unnecessary politeness, so I have a pretty good idea about the people I am surrounded with in my daily life, and, boy, is this state RED.

    I’d be the first one to defend Kansas for being unfairly maligned, but not because the criticism and stereotyping is misplaced, but because, in most cases, it’s coming from places that are no better and not much further along on the scale of progress. I will never stop saying that people of Kansas are some of the most kind, helpful, compassionate people I’ve ever met. But boy, is this state RED.

    Continue reading →
  • The West in The Soviet Caricature: Israel

    Yes, I know Israel is not in the West, but, as you will see below, hardly any caricature from the Soviet satirical magazine Krokodil depicting Israel went without bringing the United States into the picture. Having a lot of Jewish friends and/or people who know my email address, I frequently receive emails and links to various examples of anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda being published around the world; recently started Advocacy KC Israel page is keeping me updated on the latest creations of that nature. However, all the newly-minted humorists should stand back in awe and acknowledge the original and still unsurpassed masters of the anti-Israel humor – the Soviet caricaturists and satirists.

    While looking through the images below, published in the late 1960’s – early 1970’s, keep in mind that they express the official position of the Soviet Government. All the press, including Krokodil, was state-owned and 100% censored and vetted by the appropriate branches of the Government and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Frequently the subject of the next outburst of humor was directly dictated by the ideology departments on various levels. What makes these cartoons even more sinister is that at the same time when they were published the USSR was thinking up, creating, financing and arming the PLO and Yasser Arafat. As an aside, recently when I mentioned this in an argument I was told that this is my personal opinion, however, multiple authentic documents (in Russian) exist, clearly demonstrating the Soviet overt and covert support of the PLO’s terrorist activities.

    With that in mind, take a look at these images, most of which are probably shown in the West for the first time.

    Hide and Seek. New York Police pretends not to be able to find the Zionist perpetrators of the provocations against the Soviet establishments and citizens. 1976.
    Continue reading →
  • Behind The Iron Curtain:The Mummy Returns

    On January 21 all that’s left from the “progressive humanity” (mainly two bloggers in Kansas City and a couple of drunks in Moscow) remember Vladimir Lenin who died on this date in 1924. I wrote about Lenin and his preserved body a time or two, but recently while looking for some video I ran into something that truly made me want to gauge my eyes out. Due to graphic and disgusting nature of the video showing some work being done on the Lenin’s corpse I am not embedding it here, if you feel that you need to see it, follow the link.

    Below is the video of the Kremlin Regiment Honor Guard near the Lenin’s Tomb. I could totally march like this but didn’t have the looks, the height and the weight, and I talk too much.

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaVI2GXcUbs

    Continue reading →
  • Old Photos: Santa Claus School In Technicolor

    Previously: Old Photos:Santa Claus School

    Time
    ©Time Ralph Morse
    ©Time Ralph Morse
    ©Time Ralph Morse
    ©Time Ralph Morse
    Continue reading →
  • Found In The Russian Store: Unrefined Sunflower Oil

    When I was growing up© there were 2 kinds of cooking oil: refined and unrefined sunflower oil. Until the 1970’s all the oil was unrefined, but eventually the more expensive refined oil was introduced to the Soviet People. Sunflower was the main source of cooking oil in the USSR which is amazing, considering that the sunflower plant is native to the North America, where it’s currently not nearly as popular. Olive oil was so rarely available that I don’t recall us ever having it at the house. The oil came to the store in giant metal 55 gallon drums, the hand-pump was installed on top so the oil could be dispensed. An oil-seeking customer had to bring his own jar or a bottle – the store couldn’t be bothered with the packaging.

    As a matter of fact, there were hardly any prepackaged foods at that time, store clerks weighed and wrapped everything to order, which contributed to the long lines.

    At the time the unrefined oil wasn’t my favorite because of its pronounced smell and taste of the roasted sunflower seeds, but a few years ago I tried a salad dressed with it and realized how much I missed that taste.

    Unrefined oil is pressed from the sunflower seeds with minimal processing allowing it to retain its natural taste. The byproduct of the oil production used to look like this…

    …and is normally used for feeding cattle. During the starvation years of the WWII it was considered a treat for the people and my parents recalled eating it in their younger ears. I tried it once, it’s just compressed sunflower seed shells and solids and it tastes accordingly.

    *tomato is for the illustration purposes only and does not come with oil.

    Locally the unrefined sunflower oil can be purchased at the Russian store (as much as I advertise for them anonymously I should never have to pay for anything there, ever!).

    Look for the similar words as I underlined on the bottom of this label “нерафинированное” which means “unrefined”. There is usually an English label as well, but the one I have didn’t say if it was unrefined. Refined oil has no taste, so there is no point of making a trip to get it there. 1 liter bottle is $4.19.

    This oil is good on salads as well as for cooking; pan-fried potatoes are my favorite. However, I want to emphasize that it has a fairly strong smell and taste, which may be too much for some people, but if you don’t mind extra virgin olive oil you shouldn’t have a problem with the sunflower oil either.

    On your trip to the Russian store make sure to pick up some smoked fish, a jar of pickled tomatoes and, of course, some candy.

    And now we dance – Natasha Koroleva “Sunflowers”

    httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNm3X76FXD4

    *photo of the Soviet store was taken here.

    Continue reading →