One of the old Russian toast wishes everyone more pies and buns, fewer blackeyes and bruises. It seemed the exporters of platinum group metals were following the toast’s advice, until last week’s announcement from Ford Motor Company. The new U.S. accounting rules obliged the auto giant to disclose the value of palladium it acquired last […]

by John Helmer - Saturday, January 26th, 2002
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Now that we are all done with cheering and feasting, it is worth remembering the pagan roots of the 12 Days of Christmas and the celebratory season in general. Long before Jesus Christ was born, the ancient Greeks and Romans held festivals in late December to mark the winter solstice. For them, the rebirth of […]

by John Helmer - Friday, January 18th, 2002
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If you want to achieve the miracles required for sainthood, one of the great advantages of the Russian Orthodox Church is that it allows you to perform them after you are dead. This not only relieves qualifiers for canonization of a lot of pressure while they are alive. It also gives them the benefit of […]

by John Helmer - Friday, December 21st, 2001
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When the epic tale is told of how Russia’s defense industry broke out of the chokehold of gunrunning commission agents and of well-heeled U.S. and European rivals, Malaysia will have a prominent part in the story. That’s because the Malaysian air force was the first Western-equipped air force to break the mold and select Russian-built […]

by John Helmer - Friday, October 12th, 2001
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A good legend takes at least a hundred years to establish itself. That’s because the heroics, magic and certainty that legends are made of aren’t real. It takes time for reality to die out and for the evidence to be buried where no one alive can find it. That King Arthur was a Russian has […]

by John Helmer - Friday, April 13th, 2001
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A few days ago, the British Broadcasting Corp, published what its researchers claim is the most accurate likeness ever made of the face of Jesus Christ. The face of the bearded, thick-lipped youngish man reveals a slight asymmetry between right and left eye, and a disheveled look, as if he had just woken up and […]

by John Helmer - Friday, April 6th, 2001
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If you knew the people I know, it would not require advanced science to realize there is no fundamental difference between some people and rats. Don’t get me wrong – I respect rats for their resourcefulness under pressure and for the sharpness of their teeth. I wasn’t surprised when the English and American partners in […]

by John Helmer - Saturday, March 3rd, 2001
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It is recorded in the Analects Of Confucius that Yuan Xian once asked Confucius about the virtue of benevolence and the four vices, “”insisting on winning, boastfulness, greed, and harbouring bitterness”. Confucius acknowledged it was extremely rare for people to be without these vices. But whether they are also benevolent, he said: “”I cannot tell.” […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, July 18th, 2000
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By John Helmer in Moscow Many things can make a person greater than he or she really is, except time. Time activates the bacteria that strip the flesh off the bones, until only a forensic pathologist can detect the tiny signs of individuality; and even they add up to nothing more than a catalogue of […]

by John Helmer - Friday, December 24th, 1999
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The only thing more stupid in politics than a stalking horse is a stalking ass, as Sergei Kirienko is proving by his campaign against Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov. Don’t get me wrong -I am very fond of the donkey family, in their place. Aesop thought the same when he told the fable of the ass […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, June 13th, 1999
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