I started reading about Transdniester in April. Moldova, EU and Ukraine were certain that this rebellious area was smuggling. Now everyone knows what is being smuggled; Bush Legs.

Chicken legs imported from the United States are called Bush legs in Russia [Ukraine and most of Eastern Europe too], after George H.W. Bush, on whose watch Russia started importing chicken legs from the United States [in the 1990s].

From: Chicken Run: Value Manager's Dream?

How were they caught? By doing some simple math.

In a recent six months, more than 40,000 tons of chicken was shipped, legally, into Transnistria through Black Sea ports in Ukraine, said experts sent by the European Union this year to monitor the border.

Because that amounted to 146 pounds for each Transnistrian, something was clearly amiss.

The chicken is reloaded into smaller trucks, often with makeshift refrigeration, and smuggled back into Ukraine. There it is sold below market rates, because it evaded customs duties and Ukrainian sanitary inspections, turning hefty profit — for whom, exactly, is not clear — of nearly $1,000 a ton.

From: Ukraine Battles Smugglers as Europe Keeps Close Eye

While I was reading about Bush Legs, I came across the Random Chicken site, http://www.randomchicken.com/. It grew on me with the random "why did the chicken cross the road jokes". I need to try some of those out on my daughter. She is 9 years old now and loves jokes.





World Cup starts June 9, 2006. And the coach for the Ukrainian team just said something very colorful. Since this is a family site, I won't quote the coach. But it is an interesting form of motivation for the team.

If Ukraine's players want any, um, quality time with their wives and girlfriends during the World Cup, they better play awfully well.


From: Ukraine coach: Reach semis...

The tensions between Ukraine and Russia have caused the internal Ukrainian tensions to be clearer. Luhansk became the seventh city to pass a local law making Russian their official language. Ukrainian is the national "official" language (except for the Crimean). President Yushchenko isn't taking this lightly, but as far as I can tell.... he can't do much about it. He asked the Judicial branch to rein in the city councils.


Then there is the autonomous region of Crimea. They really wanted to be part of Russia back in 1991. And there are some folks unhappy with the US docking and supplying a military vessel.

The Sunday night protest was sparked by the arrival at the port of Feodosiya of the USS Advantage, which was to take part in NATO Sea Breeze-2006 exercises

.........

Russia's NTV television showed several dozen local residents trying to prevent cargo trucks from unloading equipment from a ship, while others held banners reading "Russia is a Friend! NATO is the Enemy!" and accused NATO of trying to open a base on the Black Sea peninsula.

Ukraine: people protest against U.S. naval ship