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Lutheran Churches in Eastern Europe have added their voices to those of Lutherans worldwide who are critical of the decisions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to endorse same-sex unions and to allow pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships. The leaders of the Lutheran Churches in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania met Nov. 3-4. The bishops issued a message noting the crisis of faith and fellowship caused by the actions of the ELCA and the Church of Sweden in endorsing same-sex sexual relationships. These churches are all members of the Lutheran World Federation. “At the present time a common witness...

Financial Armageddon In Sweden? By Rocky VegaTuesday, 6 October, 2009 10/06/09 Stockholm, Sweden – Personally having a Swedish bank account with SEB, and having recently visited the Latvian capital of Riga, this piece from Naked Capitalism hits home…literally. According to the article, worsening financial conditions in Latvia could lead to an economic crisis and collapse similar to Iceland’s recent devaluation and potentially a major default. The blowback would hit Sweden especially hard because its major banks have lent substantial funds to the Baltic nation. Latvian loans from Swedbank have totaled roughly 61 billion kroner, 40 billion kroner from SEB, and...

American economist Michael Hudson predicted in his article “Iceland’s debt repayment limits will spread” published in The Financial Times yesterday that other nations will follow Iceland’s lead on Icesave and limit the repayment of their states’ debts in accordance with their payment ability. Audio link to interview. Listen to this interview, Iceland is now refusing to meet the demands of the charlatan resident in Westminster

Baltic economies - a painful downfall after years of prosperity In the first six months of 2009, the Baltic states' GDP shrank by nearly 20%, which was the worst result in Europe. As a consequence of job cuts in private enterprises and the public sector, the unemployment level has tripled in comparison with the preceding year to exceed 15% in all three countries. It is still unclear from the economic data for the past few months whether recession in the Baltic states will continue to worsen. However, it seems that the economic indices will not fall so rapidly in the...

An Open Letter to the Obama Administration from Central and Eastern Europe 2009-07-15 by Valdas Adamkus, Martin Butora, Emil Constantinescu, Pavol Demes, Lubos Dobrovsky, Matyas Eorsi, Istvan Gyarmati, Vaclav Havel, Rastislav Kacer, Sandra Kalniete, Karel Schwarzenberg, Michal Kovac, Ivan Krastev, Alexander Kwasniewski, Mart Laar, Kadri Liik, Janos Martonyi. Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Adam Rotfeld, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Alexandr Vondra, Lech Walesa. We have written this letter because, as Central and Eastern European (CEE) intellectuals and former policymakers, we care deeply about the future of the transatlantic relationship as well as the future quality of relations between the United States and the countries of...

Latvian Banker Taking Souls as Collateral Reuters | 03 Jul 2009 | 08:45 AM ET Ready to give your soul for a loan in these difficult economic times? In Latvia, where the crisis has raged more than in the rest of the European Union, you can. Such a deal is being offered by the Kontora loan company, whose public face is Viktor Mirosiichenko, 34. Clients have to sign a contract, with the words "Agreement" in bold letters at the top. The client agrees to the collateral, "that is, my immortal soul". Mirosiichenko said his company would not employ debt collectors...

RIGA, June 1 (RIA Novosti) - A blonde parade will be held annually in the Latvian capital at the end of May, the country's Chas news website reported on Monday. Some 1,000 people participated in the first blonde parade held on Sunday under the motto: Make the world a brighter place. "People need positive emotions, especially in hard times. We held this event for the first time and will make it a tradition and hold it annually at the end of May," the website quoted Marika Gederte, the head of the Latvian Blondes Association, as saying. Sunday's parade was followed...

Riga - The economic gloom afflicting the Baltic states got several shades darker Tuesday with a fresh forecasts revising expectations downwards. Until mid-2007 the so-called 'Baltic Tigers' of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia recorded Europe's fastest growth rates, but their economies have stalled spectacularly in the wake of the global downturn. According to a spring forecast from the Estonian Ministry of Finance, the economy in the smallest of the Baltic states will contract by 8.5 percent in 2009. "Estonia is undoubtedly at a difficult time. At the same time this gives us a real opportunity to use the downturn to create...

A China-based cyber spy network has hacked into government and private systems in 103 countries, including those of many Indian embassies and the Dalai Lama, an Internet research group said here Saturday. The Information Warfare Monitor (IWM), which carried out an extensive 10-month research on cyber spy activities emanating from China, said the hacked systems include the computers of Indian embassies and offices of the Dalai Lama.

“For socialists, not just the wealth, but the guilt, must be redistributed” – Andrew Sandlin The article entitled World Bank Offers Dire Forecast for the World Economy, as published in the Harold Tribune, would have been more accurately titled as as “Greedy American Capitalist System Destroys Economies of Innocent Poor Nations of the World”. Wow, is GUILT a powerful tool or what? This is the kind of journalism that IGNORANT liberals love to grab onto as PROOF (for dummies) that the “conservatives” with their free-market philosophies are the terminators of the universe as we know it. Take a look at...

Latvia's sovereign debt has been cut to junk status as its economy struggles with the financial crisis. The credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's has reduced its rating to BB+/B, which is below investment grade. S&P predicted that Latvia's economy would contract by 12% this year, following its 4.8% decline in 2008. The Baltic nation was once the fastest growing economy in the European Union, but in the last three months of 2008 it was the worst-performing.

Latvian Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis and his centre-right government have resigned, amid turmoil triggered by economic crisis in the Baltic state. President Valdis Zatlers has accepted the resignations and is beginning talks to try to form a new administration. The country's economy is in recession and is set to contract by up to 12% in 2009, with unemployment rising by 50%. Latvia's is the second European government, after Iceland, to fall as a direct result of global economic woes. Earlier, the two largest parties in Latvia's ruling coalition, the People's Party and the Union of Greens and Farmers, both demanded...

RIGA (Reuters) – Hundreds of youths destroyed police vehicles, smashed windows and looted stores in Latvia's capital Tuesday when an anti-government protest turned into a riot. The violence, after a peaceful protest by thousands calling for early elections in a country which last year had to seek a multi-billion economic rescue deal, was the worst seen since the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991. Hundreds of protesters marched on the parliament of the EU and NATO nation. Some tried to storm the building but were dispersed by riot police using teargas and truncheons.

Over 400 Lativans have signed a letter addressed to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich asking him to buy their country, Latvia's novonews.lv website said on Monday. (Richest Russians - Image gallery) The letter, posted by an unknown person on the petitonline.com website, reads, "Dear Roman Abramovich. As you may already know our homeland Latvia went bankrupt and is currently holding talks with the International Monetary Fund on the sale of our country for 7.5 billion euros ($10.7 billion)." "I would like you to consider the possibility of purchasing Latvia: the population are hard working and pleasant, environmentally clean area and plenty...

The Georgia Watershed By Leon Aron Posted: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 RUSSIAN OUTLOOK AEI Online   Publication Date: November 12, 2008 Fall 2008On August 8, following Georgia's reckless attack on the Russia-supported separatist enclave of South Ossetia, Russia invaded Georgia. For the first time in post-Soviet history, Russian troops crossed the internationally recognized border of a sovereign neighboring state. Yet there were several other lines that may have been crossed. This short war looks more and more like a culmination and an emblem of the troubling evolution in the Kremlin's values and priorities and, by extension, its vision of the...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2008 – The number of daily attacks in Iraq has dropped nearly 95 percent since last year, a U.S. military official said yesterday. Iraq suffered an average of 180 attacks per day this time last year. But over the past week, the average number was 10, Army Brig. Gen. David G. Perkins, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said. “This is a dramatic improvement of safety throughout the country,” Perkins told reporters during a wide-ranging news conference in Baghdad yesterday. He added that the country’s murder rates have dropped below levels that existed before the start of American...

The upcoming meeting between President-elect Barack Obama and his onetime rival Sen. John McCain was set in motion during a phone call over the weekend between Obama and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), McCain's closest friend. In an interview Friday, Graham said that Obama requested the meeting during a 20-minute phone call that the South Carolina senator described as a "pleasant" discussion about how they could work together effectively. "We just talked about the desire to find something meaningful to work on," Graham said. "He was very nice to me, said that he considered me a serious, reform-minded senator that he...

The Baltic states are sliding into a deep recession, new figures indicated on Friday. Moody’s cut its credit ratings for Latvia, the most exposed of the three to the global financial crisis. The Latvian economy – in technical recession since the start of this year – contracted by a much higher-than-expected 4.2 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, the country’s statistics office estimated. The rating agency downgraded Latvia’s foreign and local currency ratings one notch to A3 and placed neighbouring Estonia and Lithuania alongside Latvia, because of negative outlook as the global liquidity crisis worsens. “Latvia’s status as a...

Latvian government takes control over No. 2 bank to save it from bankruptcy Latvia's government has decided to take over the nation's No. 2 financial institution after the bank ran into a liquidity crisis, an official said Sunday. The government decided late Saturday to take a 51 percent stake in Parex Bank, the Baltic state's second largest bank by total assets, based on data that indicated the bank was headed toward insolvency, said Krists Leiskalns, press adviser to Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis. On Saturday, Godmanis explained that Parex was functional but in need of liquidity. He also said the government...

HOHENFELS, Germany - The pairing of state National Guards with former Warsaw Pact nations to train Afghanistan National Army soldiers has been "a huge success" during its early stages, officials report. The first group - a task force of Latvian soldiers supplemented by members of the Michigan Army National Guard - debuted during the just-concluded Operational Mentor and Liaison Team exercise. They will deploy together to Afghanistan next month. "The partnering of these nations is really establishing this holistic approach to the global war on terror," said Maj. Frank Buchheit, director of training at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. "There...

TBILISI, Georgia (CNN) -- The leaders of a former Eastern Bloc nation and four former Soviet republics showed support for Georgia in its conflict with Russia at a massive rally in Georgia's capital Tuesday night. The presidents' appearances came shortly before France's leader announced that Georgia had accepted a Russian-French plan to end the conflict. Thousands cheered as the presidents of Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia stood with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili at a rally in Tbilisi, Georgia, late Tuesday.

WARSAW (AFP)--The presidents of five ex-communist countries will travel to Georgia to back Georgia in its war with Russia, a senior aide to Poland's President Lech Kaczynski told AFP Monday.

Russia's neighbours put on edge by war threat (AFP) 10 August 2008 WARSAW - The conflict between Georgia and Russia has stunned eastern European nations who can still feel the scars of their domination by the former Soviet Union. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland called on the European Union and NATO to oppose Russia's "imperialist" policy towards Georgia. And even countries such as Sweden, which was not part of the Soviet bloc, expressed extreme concern at the conflict, making comparisons to Adolf Hitler's tactics as leader of Nazi Germany. Russia has in turn been vocal in criticising neighbours such as...

Stockholm, Jun 19, 2008 / 04:05 am (CNA).- A Latvian priest has been awarded the title “Righteous among the Nations” by Yad Vashem for risking his life to save Jews during World War II. Father Kasimir Vilnis was parish pastor in Riga, Latvia during the war. He hid Jews from Nazi persecution in his church and in houses belonging to the church. The heroic actions of Fr. Vilnis were attested to by David Packin, a man who later left for the United States.When the communists were about to occupy Latvia in 1944, Father Kasimir had to flee to Sweden,...

An international manhunt was launched last night for a Russian-born British media magnate whose mysterious disappearance has possible links to the murder of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko.

A study of how Europe integrates immigrants has exposed wide variations in the welcome foreign workers receive. The European Union-backed research found Sweden doing the most to help migrants settle - and Latvia the least. Overall, EU nations are only doing half as much as they could, said researchers acting for a consortium of 25 organisations across Europe. The study of policies across the continent ranks countries on key factors affecting immigrants' lives. The Migration Integration Policy Index is produced by a consortium of European organisations, led by the British Council and the Migration Policy Group in Brussels. It measures...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday the European Union was ignoring moves by the bloc's members Estonia and Latvia to glorify Nazism. Putin, speaking in the Kremlin to members of the European Jewish Congress, said he was shocked by an annual Waffen SS parade which took place in Latvia last March. "Some facts which we come up against in several countries of Eastern Europe have provoked open astonishment and incomprehension," Putin said on national television. "The activities of the Latvian and Estonian authorities openly connive at the glorification of Nazis and their accomplices. But these facts...

TALLINN - Doudou Diene, the United Nations special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, has recommended that Estonia move toward a multilingual society with more than one official language. Diene, who is drawing up a report on the Baltic states due to be delivered next year, told reporters Sep. 28 that Estonia should move toward a multicultural and multilingual society. "The requirement to be able to speak Estonian is normal," said the Senegalese, adding that all Estonian citizens had to be able to speak the language. At the same time, the special rapporteur added...

Riga - An outspoken critic of the Baltic States will visit the three small nations this week. Rene van der Linden, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, will visit EU members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for talks about human rights, democracy, and national minorities. Linden criticized Latvia and Estonia for their minority policies, including Estonia's decision to relocate the Soviet-era monument last spring. 'I have repeatedly criticized the Baltic states for their attitude toward the Russian national minorities,' he said on his visit to Moscow in August. He said during his visit to the Baltics this...

Prague (dpa) - Daniel Novy, a spokesman for the Czech embassy in Washington, did not celebrate when US President George W Bush signed into law a bill that introduces new rules for visa-free travel to the United States. "It is the way it is," Novy tells Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa matter-of-factly. "It is neither a complete victory nor a complete defeat." That is the gist of what the Czech Republic and five other former communist nations - Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia - said in a recent statement. They billed the new US visa rules a step in the right...

Latvia's Economic Growth Hits 11.3 Percent in Second Quarter RIGA, Latvia (AP) -- Latvia's economy, the fastest growing in the European Union, grew at an annual rate of 11.3 percent in the second quarter, the statistics office announced Thursday. The result, which is based on preliminary data, surpassed analysts' expectations and is even higher than first quarter growth of 11.2 percent. The announcement was made hours after the chief of the central bank, Ilmars Rimsevics, acknowledged in a televised interview that Latvia's economy is overheating due to high inflation and double-digit gross domestic product growth. On Wednesday the statistics office...

Latvia's capital risks becoming a "Baltic Bangkok" and local girls need to be steered away from one night stands with tourists, according to a media campaign to stop sex tourism. Like other eastern European capitals, Riga has become a popular destination for groups of men on "stag nights", celebrated by a groom with his friends before getting married. This has led to a boom for pubs, clubs and strip bars, and concern over a growing sex industry. "Riga is at risk of becoming a 'Baltic Bangkok' and I'm starting to worry about the image of my country abroad," said Martins...

What is a fair voting system for the European Union? It looks as though, thanks to Poland, European leaders will be forced to debate this difficult question at their summit this week. Since the simplified draft treaty is substantively identical to the old and rejected constitution - minus some cosmetics - the voting system proposed is going to be the same one: passage of legislation requires a coalition of countries representing at least 55 per cent of the member states and 65 per cent of the population. The Poles have threatened a veto unless the second of those two numbers...

Kazakhstan and Belarus topped the list of the countries perceived to be the friendliest to Russia while Estonia was named the iciest country by an overwhelming number of Russian respondents, a recent poll held by the Levada agency in mid May revealed. The poll, which sampled 1,600 Russian citizens in 128 towns in 48 regions of Russia, showed that 39 percent of the respondents consider Kazakhstan to be the country friendliest to Russia. The number of positive answers slightly increased compared to 33 percent last year. Belarus took second place with 38 percent of those interviewed naming it an amicable...

Less than fifteen years after the last Soviet troops pulled out of the Baltic States, a new survey has shown that young Swedes are still in the dark about the fate of its neighbours behind the Iron Curtain. A poll carried out by Demoskop on behalf of the Organization for Information on Communism (Föreningen för upplysning om kommunismen - UOK) found that 90 percent of Swedes between the ages of 15 and 20 had never heard of the Gulag. This can be contrasted with the 95 percent who knew of Auschwitz. "Unfortunately we were not at all surprised by the...

Lithuania Hosts Proliferation Security Initiative Interdiction Exercise The United States congratulates Lithuania for successfully hosting a Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) exercise on April 26-27 in Vilnius and Siauliai, Lithuania. Twenty-two nations, including the United States, participated in the Lithuania-hosted PSI exercise, Smart Raven. Smart Raven, the first PSI exercise hosted by Lithuania and the 26th PSI exercise, addressed the challenge of interdicting proliferation shipments by air. The Lithuanian-hosted exercise advances the operational capabilities of PSI nations by allowing them to actively participate in or observe the air interdiction processes of Lithuania and its neighbors Estonia, Latvia, and Poland. Exercise Smart...

Lithuania, Latvia react to Tallinn events Apr 29, 2007 From wire reports Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said his country supports the position of the Estonian government in its recent moves related to the controversial Bronze Soldier monument, which was removed from central Tallinn Friday morning during two nights of rioting. Speaking from the Vatican, where he was meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, the president said he was observing the developments in Tallinn with great concern. The president's press service reported that Adamkus stressed that this exceptionally sensitive procedure of reburying the remains of World War II soldiers was being conducted...

RIGA, Latvia - A fire raced through a home for the elderly and disabled in western Latvia on Friday leaving 25 people dead or missing, rescue officials said. Authorities initially said 26 people were killed in the fire, but one person previously thought to have died was later found with serious injuries, fire service spokesman Yuri Kislats said. As of midday Friday no bodies had been gathered, and rescuers were hoping that others who had fled the fire would turn up later, Latvia's SWH radio reported, citing the rescue service. Preliminary evidence suggested that the fire was caused by a...

The bitter Baltic sprat spat By Laura Sheeter BBC, Latvia Latvia's Riga Sprats are a well-known and loved food in many countries of the former Soviet Union. But a recent ban by the Russian Government has left a bitter taste in the mouth of the Baltic state. It is ten o'clock in the morning and I am feeling less than equal to the task before me. Lined up on the table at which I am sitting are 40 tins of various shapes and sizes, bearing labels in an assortment of different languages, but all containing sprats. There are smoked sprats...

Two Latvian soldiers killed in Iraq By ASSOCIATED PRESS RIGA, Latvia Two Latvian soldiers were killed and three were wounded in Iraq on Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded under their Humvee, the Defense Ministry said. Ministry spokesman Uldis Davidovs said the explosion occurred when soldiers were out on patrol, but he did not know where it happened. The Latvian military was expected give more information about the explosion at a news conference later Wednesday. The two soldiers were the Baltic country's first casualties in Iraq since a Latvian soldier was killed in 2004 while trying to disarm a bomb...

The EU disposes of 154 nuclear reactors altogether. The US has 104, Japan 55 ones. This more or less goes hand in hand with the respective populations (in neither case a number of reactors very far from one for every 3 million inhabitants). Is 154 reactors enough for 496,000,000 Europeans? More and more EU citizens are beginning to think it's NOT. The biggest non-EU European country, Russia apparently want more nuclear power too. Russia are presently more than DOUBLING their number of reactors, going from 29 to 59 ones. This is being accomplished with giant loans from the EU. The...

Latvia extends Iraq mission for 1 year The Latvian parliament approved Thursday to extend the peacekeeping mission in Iraq for an extra year to Dec. 31, 2007. Defense Minister Atis Slakteris said that would be the last extension of the Iraq mission. A defense ministry report said that given the fact the security situation on the ground still depends on foreign forces, Latvia will keep its 125 troops staying in Iraq for one more year to complete the mission in cooperation with contingents from other countries. The deployment started in Aug. 2003 and was extended in November 2005.

Baltics forge ahead with nuke plant project, Poland on board 12-08-2006, 18h40 VILNIUS (AFP) Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas announced that Poland will join a project launched by the three Baltic states to build a new nuclear power station to replace the ageing Ignalina facility. "Poland will join the nuclear plant project," Kirkilas told a joint press conference held here with Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski. "Poland wants to speed up the construction of the new reactor so it's ready before 2015. This idea has been accepted by Latvia and Estonia," Kirkilas said, after the two prime ministers attended a...

PUTIN FAILS TO ATTEND CHIRAC BIRTHDAY BASH- The daily "Moskovsky komsomolets" on November 30 noted an unsuccessful attempt by French President Jacques Chirac to invite Russian President Putin to celebrate Chirac's 74th birthday in Riga on November 28 after the summit. "The Washington Post" and some other Western media on November 30 described the move as a ham-fisted effort by Chirac to "upstage" NATO, U.S. President George W. Bush, and the Latvian authorities. After Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga reportedly let it be known that Putin was welcome provided his visit included a bilateral meeting with her, Putin informed Chirac that...

Stopping first in Estonia, the president then traveled to Riga, Latvia for the NATO summit today and tomorrow. Secretary of State Rice and National Security Advisor Hadley are with him. Bush plans to travel to Jordan later in the week for a summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Maliki fired 3,000 government employees for militia ties. This is an effort to deal with political leaders to disarm the militias. Coalition officials are supporting that effort. Oversight board briefed on NSA surveillance: Some impressed by 'how careful' the government is.

Confronting security challenges - NATO summit in Riga Riga is hosting government leaders and heads of state from 26 NATO member countries. The delegations have come to the Latvian capital for a summit to discuss the Alliance's future and immediate tasks, such as the missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Report by Slawek Szefs NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer announced the major topic of the Riga summit is a reform of Alliance structures to maintain adequate military standards and effective action in the changing realities. ' This continuing transformation is essential to ensure that the Alliance remains able to...

U.S. to ease travel curbs for central Europeans: Bush Tue Nov 28, 2006 6:46am ET TALLINN (Reuters) - U.S. President George Bush vowed on Tuesday to work to ease travel curbs for citizens of central and eastern European countries in an immigration policy change set to please allies that have helped Washington in Iraq. "I am pleased to announce that I am going to work with our Congress and our international partners to modify our visa waiver program," Bush told a news conference during a visit to the Baltic republic of Estonia. "It's a way to make sure that nations...

RIGA, Latvia — President Bush said Tuesday that an Al Qaeda plot to stoke cycles of sectarian revenge in Iraq is to blame for escalating bloodshed, refusing to debate whether the country has fallen into civil war."There's a lot of sectarian violence taking place — fomented, in my opinion, because of the attacks by Al Qaeda causing people to seek reprisal," Bush said at a news conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves during a stop in Estonia. He arrived later at the NATO summit in neighboring Latvia, where discussion will focus on the battle against insurgents in Afghanistan. Bush,...

A spirited war: The search for the real vodka By Dan Bilefsky / International Herald Tribune Published: November 23, 2006 RIGA, Latvia: Polish lore has it that vodka was distilled from coal during Communist times after efforts to use chickens backfired. In Sweden, vodka was once produced from paper-mill residue. But vodka purists of today have little patience for alternative ingredients. "Real vodka can only be made from grain or potatoes," says Rolands Gulbis, head of Latvijas Balzams, the largest vodka distiller in the Baltics, whose vodka making tradition dates to 1900 when Czar Nicholas II of Russia built a...

Baltic lessons for EU in dealing with a resurgent Russia By Jan Cienski November 24 2006 02:00 When European Union leaders sit down in Helsinki today with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss political and economic co-operation, they would do well to consider the example of Lithuania's Mazeikiu refinery. Vilnius's attempts to privatise the plant, the largest enterprise in the Baltic states, highlight the difficulties of working with a resurgent Russia. Mazeikiu is the subject of a bid from PKN Orlen, Poland's leading oil company, which wants to extend its network and keep out potential rivals. Orlen, 27.5 per cent...