Comments on: British Air Force intercept Russian 'spy' plane

By: Krusenstern

Krusenstern — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:05:38 +0000

Today is the launch of the world’s first ever dual-language “Blog-Carnival Russian media”. All English-speaking and German-speaking bloggers are invited to publish contributions on the Russian media on their weblogs between 1 and 30 June 2007 (see more http://www.krusenstern.ch/p716.html).

The launch date for the “Blog-Carnival Russian Media” has not been chosen by chance for today, 11 May 2007 , the “Novaya Gazeta”, one of the last independent newspapers in the Russian Federation , is to be awarded the renowned “Henri Nannen Prize” 2007 in Hamburg for its services to press freedom.

The aim of the Blog-Carnival is to gather together as many different viewpoints and pieces of information as possible on the subject of the Russian media. Behind this initiative is the notion that the closer we get to the Russian parliamentary elections in October 2007 and the presidential elections in March 2008, the more the Putin government is clamping down on the media in Russia.

This Blog-Carnival is an opportunity for bloggers of both East and West to learn about the media that appear in the Russian Federation or report on it from abroad. The Blog Carnival will therefore bring the contributing bloggers new information, new contacts and a stronger network transcending national borders and language barriers (see more http://www.krusenstern.ch/p716.html)

Poka, poka!

By: Aleks

Aleks — Fri, 11 May 2007 11:03:05 +0000

There’s quite a market in flying current and ‘classic’ jets: http://www.incredible-adventures.com/capetown.html

The Bear will still be in service when the Tornado is scrapped, though whether it will out last the B-52 in service is one for the bookies….

By: Tim Newman

Tim Newman — Thu, 10 May 2007 21:57:51 +0000

Daft maybe onto something here. Renacting medieval battles is very popular in the UK. Maybe the Brits and Russians could get together and put decrepit, outdated, aircraft in the air to renact the old Cold War stand-off.

It’ll be about all the respective airforces are good for these days.

By: daft

daft — Thu, 10 May 2007 21:52:31 +0000

ageing fighter versus flying scrapheap…could be entertaining.

By: Tim Newman

Tim Newman — Thu, 10 May 2007 21:00:26 +0000

Can we still put a Tornado in the air? I’m surprised we weren’t scrambling Spitfires from a nearby museum.

By: Aleks

Aleks — Thu, 10 May 2007 18:46:21 +0000

The tabloids have got it the wrong way around! Quoting unnamed Kremlin sources, I can categorically say that the Bear is escorting the Tornado (see picture)!

Hopefully now that the russian armed forces are getting adequate funding, their equipment will stop killing their users (the Indians for example were having major problems with their widowmaker Mig-21s), though they still have along way to go on living conditions, pay and discipline for the troops….