I don't know whether to post this under humor or tragedy, it is a farce no doubt. But they are seeking investors if you like really high risk stakes.

Russia, China in talks on electricity exports. Itar-Tass News Agency Monday, April 26, 1999 3:18AM

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BEIJING, AprIl 26 (Itar-Tass) via NewsEdge Corporation - Russian-Chinese talks opened in Beijing on Monday on electricity deliveries from Russia's Irkutsk region to China. The Russian delegation is led by Anatoly Chubais, chairman of the board of governors of Unified Energy Systems of Russia, who came to Beijing from London on Sunday.

The Chinese delegation is represented by the State Energy Corporation.

Chubais is likely to meet Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji on Wednesday.

Chubais said in an interview with Itar-Tass that the Russian delegation is ready to discuss a "unique-scale" draft project of Russia' electricity exports to China over 25 years through a future 1,800 kilomtre power line to run from Siberia's Irkutsk region.

He said this is a "gigantic project whose implementation will take billions of dollars", with export revenues estimated at an annual "hundreds of millions of dollars".

Russia had "rigidly consolidated" its stance by overcoming earlier doubts about the project, and "now one needs to elucidate the position of the Chinese side", Chubais said.

Sources told Itar-Tass that an idea of an international investment consortium is aired, with 30 per cent stakes for Russia and China.

Chubais said he did not rule out that the sides would come to agreement in the short term over Russia's exporting its electricity surplus to China's northeast energy network, a project that would require only short power lines to be erected.

China shows interest in the experience of the Unified Energy Systems, a like of which is expected to be set up on China by the year 2010 when its giant Xiangsu electric station will be launched on the Yangtze river.

lyu/ast

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), April 27, 1999

Answers

I think this is the best real world example of cognitive dissonance I have seen yet.

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), April 27, 1999.

No.........the best one will be when the US agrees to pay for it all! Why should we pay for Russia's y2k problems while they are cutting deals with China and rattling their sabres at us over Yugoslavia? Personally, I think they have no business being in on this space station when they can't afford to feed their people. I wouldn't givethem a dime for y2k while they are spending "their" money making deals. They can't even get power to the pjeople over on the Alaskan side. Those people are cold and hungry and the churches in Alaska keep having clothing and food drives to send across the water to their Russian counterparts. Its always the people who suffer, never the leaders. I don't see Yeltsin getting skinny.

Tas

-- Taz (Tassie @aol.com), April 27, 1999.

Pure curiosity, Nikoli, not meaning to be offensive in any way, after all anybody can be named anything they want, it's a free country, right ! (Bwahahahaha...) Anyway, WHY are you 'Nikoli' if your intent is to remind us of the famous quote "We will bury you!"? The guy's name was actually NIKITA SERGEEVICH KHRUSHCHEV.

-- Blue Himalayan (bh@k2.y), April 27, 1999.

Hi Blue, that's a good question so I'll fess up. I was looking for a name that was easily remembered and would invoke exactly the quote you gave "We will bury you". The origional spelling was too long and complicated so I was considering going with Stalin but he was just a little too murderous. About that time, this is before I left lurker status, I purchased a set of serial novels about the endtimes as presented in Revalations authored by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. I think they are commonly referred to as the Tribulation Force series. Anyway the anti-christ character's name in these books was Nicolae Carpathian. I figured quite a few Christians had read these books and if I respelled the name to reflect a cross between the two it would be easily remembered and have double impact. I think the version I settled on conveys a slightly sinister air, evoking memories of the darkest days of the cold war, while seeming more modern and a little Americanized so that a dialouge is not too intimidating.

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), April 27, 1999.