When news broke of the third major ransomware outbreak of the year, there was lots of confusion. Now the dust has settled, we can dig down into what exactly “Bad Rabbit” is.

As per the media reports, many computers have been encrypted with this cyber-attack. Public sources have confirmed that Kiev Metro’s computer systems along with Odessa airport as well as other numerous organizations from Russia have been affected. The malware used for this cyber-attack was “Disk Coder.D” – a new variant of the ransomware which popularly ran by the name of “Petya”. The previous cyber-attack by Disk Coder left damages on a global scale in June 2017.

ESET’s telemetry system has reported numerous occurrences of Disk Coder. D within Russia and Ukraine however, there are detections of this cyber-attack on computers from Turkey, Bulgaria and a few other countries as well.

A comprehensive analysis of this malware is currently being worked upon by ESET’s security researchers. As per their preliminary findings, Disk Coder. D uses the Mimikatz tool to extract the credentials from affected systems. Their findings and analysis are ongoing, and we will keep you informed as soon as further details are revealed.

The ESET telemetry system also informs that Ukraine accounts only for 12.2% from the total number of times they saw Bad Rabbit infiltration. Following are the remaining statistics:

Russia: 65%

Ukraine: 12.2%

Bulgaria: 10.2%

Turkey: 6.4%

Japan: 3.8%

Other: 2.4%

The distribution of countries was compromised by Bad Rabbit accordingly. Interestingly, all these countries were hit at the same time. It is quite likely that the group already had their foot inside the network of the affected organizations.

It’s definitely ransomware

Those unfortunate enough to fall victim to the attack quickly realized what had happened because the ransomware isn’t subtle – it presents victims with a ransom note telling them their files are “no longer accessible” and “no one will be able to recover them without our decryption service”. Victims are directed to a Tor payment page and are presented with a countdown timer. Pay within the first 40 hours or so, they’re told, and the payment for decrypting files is 0.05 bitcoin – around $285. Those who don’t pay the ransom before the timer reaches zero are told the fee will go up and they’ll have to pay more. The encryption uses DiskCryptor, which is open source legitimate and software used for full drive encryption. Keys are generated using CryptGenRandom and then protected by a hardcoded RSA 2048 public key.

It’s based on Petya/Not Petya

If the ransom note looks familiar, that’s because it’s almost identical to the one victims of June’s Petya outbreak saw. The similarities aren’t just cosmetic either – Bad Rabbit shares behind-the-scenes elements with Petya too.

Analysis by researchers at Crowdstrike has found that Bad Rabbit and NotPetya’s DLL (dynamic link library) share 67 percent of the same code, indicating the two ransomware variants are closely related, potentially even the work of the same threat actor.

The attack has hit high profile organizations in Russia and Eastern Europe

Researchers have found a long list of countries of have fallen victim to the outbreak – including Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Turkey, Poland and South Korea. Three media organizations in Russia, as well as Russian news agency Interfax, have all declared file-encrypting malware or “hacker attacks” – being brought offline by the campaign. Other high-profile organizations in the affected regions include Odessa International Airport and Kiev Metro. This has led the Computer Emergency Response of Ukraine to post that the “possible start of a new wave of cyber-attacks to Ukraine’s information resources” had occurred.

It may have had selected targets

When WannaCry broke, systems all across the world were affected by an apparent indiscriminate attack. Bad Rabbit, on the other hand, might have targeted corporate networks.

Researchers at ESET have backed this idea up, claiming that the script injected into infected websites can determine if the visitor is of interest and then add the contents page – if the target is seen as suitable for the infection.

It spreads via a fake Flash update on compromised websites

The main way Bad Rabbit spreads is drive-by downloads on hacked websites. No exploits are used, rather visitors to compromised websites – some of which have been compromised since June – are told that they need to install a Flash update. Of course, this is no Flash update, but a dropper for the malicious install. Infected websites – mostly based in Russia, Bulgaria, and Turkey – are compromised by having JavaScript injected in their HTML body or in one of their.js files.

It can spread laterally across networks

Like Petya, the Bad Rabbit Ransomware attack contains an SMB component which allows it to move laterally across an infected network and propagate without user interaction.

The spread of Bad Rabbit is made easy by simple username and password combinations which it can exploit to force its way across networks. This list of weak passwords is the often-seen easy-to-guess passwords – such as 12345 combinations or having a password set as “password”.

It doesn’t use EternalBlue

When Bad Rabbit first appeared, some suggested that like WannaCry, it exploited the EternalBlue exploit to spread. However, this now doesn’t appear to be the case. “We currently have no evidence that the EternalBlue exploit is being utilized to spread the infection,” Martin Lee, Technical Lead for Security Research at Talos told ZDNet.

It contains Game of Thrones references

Whoever it behind Bad Rabbit, they appear to be a fan of Game of Thrones: the code contains references to Viserion, Drogon, and Rhaegal, the dragons which feature in television series and the novels it is based on. The authors of the code are therefore not doing much to change the stereotypical image of hackers being geeks and nerds.

There’s steps you can take to keep safe

At this moment in time, nobody knows if it is yet possible to decrypt files that are locked by Bad Rabbit. Some might suggest to pay the ransom and see what happens… Bad idea.

It’s quite reasonable to think that paying nearly $300 is worth paying for what might be highly important and priceless files, but paying the ransom almost never results in regaining access, nor does it help the fight against ransomware – an attacker will keep targeting as long as they’re seeing returns.

A number of security vendors say their products protect against Bad Rabbit. But for those who want to be sure they don’t potentially fall victim to the attack, Kaspersky Lab says users can block the execution of file ‘c: windows infpub.dat, C: Windows cscc.dat.’ in order to prevent infection.

Numerous infertile couples are now looking at International surrogacy to help them with their need for a child or children mainly due to the cost. In America surrogacy can cost up to $100,000. This can be too high a price for the majority of couples. So a lot of childless couples have had to look at adoption. This is changing now as International surrogacy is becoming much more of a viable option.

The main countries that have been used up until now are India and Eastern European countries. In India, the surrogate mother is matched up with the infertile couple and once the surrogate mother is successfully impregnated the mother to be will be housed, fed and cared for medically by the clinics staff. Clinics in India are well equipped with all of the latest technology and the surrogate mothers are given whatever nutritional supplements that they require. Due to this the majority of pregnancies are successful.

International surrogacy patients have flown to India not only because of the high success rate but also due to the cost effective treatment. Lately though due to a growing unrest in India including recent bombings a lot of International visitors are starting to look elsewhere, such as Russia, the Ukraine and lately there has been a lot of interest in Guatemala. For infertile couples from the U.S. Guatemala, would seem to be a valid option due to the relatively easy travel options. Also, Guatemala does have very good fertility centers.

The Ukraine is another country that is looked at with interest by infertile couples looking for surrogate mothers. Because it is one of the few countries that allows International surrogacy with legislation in place in the Ukraine making it advantageous for foreigners to pursue surrogacy here. Ukrainian legislation says that surrogate mothers are not allowed to keep the child after birth. Added to this is the fact that surrogacy in the Ukraine will cost 50-60% less than in the U.S. Also the availability of young surrogate mothers is greater in the Ukraine than in the U.S.

It may seem rather daunting at first when you look into International surrogacy. It is quite understandable to be concerned about such things as; the medical standards and qualification held by the infertility professionals. Also, how healthy is the surrogate mother and how well will she look after herself and the unborn child during her pregnancy. This is why it is advisable to look for a good program. The better programs will offer superior clinics with well qualified specialists, and they will have recognized accreditation. Plus, the better programs will have done plenty of research on the surrogate mothers plus psychological tests and health tests. They will also look after the surrogate mothers through their pregnancy, escorting them to the clinics they need to go to and ensuring that all of their nutritional needs are well catered for.

So even though International surrogacy does seem problematic and fraught with worries at first, hopefully after reading this you will come to realize that as long as you choose an accredited program it is no more of a worry than going for a surrogate mother in your own country, only much less expensive, especially if you come from America.

You are planning thoroughly your trip to Kiev, surfing the web for information on Kiev best sights, restaurants and night clubs, and thinking how to plan your stay the best, what to see and where to go to… You are packing your new camera in order to make beautiful photos of golden domes, Khreschatik Street and Kiev parks… You are thinking what to wear and checking weather forecast for the days of your visit… In a few days or weeks you will get to another world with smiling people, ancient brick streets, monuments and cathedrals…

Quick facts:

Status: capital of Ukraine

Number of regions: 10

Date of foundation: fifth century AD

Area: 839 km2

Elevation: 179 m above sea level

Geographical coordinates: latitude 50°27’N; longitude 30°30’E

Climate: moderate continental with mild winter and warm summer

Temperature: average Kiev temperature in January is 6 degrees below zero Celsius, average in June is 20 degrees above zero Celsius; lowest temperature in winter is 25 degrees below zero Celsius; highest temperature in summer is 32 degrees above zero Celsius.

Population: 2,6 million (2005)

Density: 3178 people/km2

Car code: AA

Phone code: +380 44

Kiev Mayor: Leonid Chernovetskiy (since 2006)

Kiev history

The legend says that there was a prince family of three brothers named Kiy, Schek and Khoryv and a sister Lybid. Kiy ruled a powerful Slavic tribe and was looking for a place to settle a new home for his people. When they came to the beautiful hills upon Dnepr river and saw wonderful panorama of blue river and seven hills covered with chestnut trees, they liked that place very much and decided to settle there. They established a city and gave it the name Kiev in honour of their oldest brother Kiy more than 1500 years ago. Prince Kiy and his family lived on one hill, Schek settled on another hill which got the mane Schekavitsa, and Khoryv settled on the third hill called Khorevitsa.

Since 882 Kiev became the capital on ancient powerful state called Kievan Rus. In 998 Kiev Prince Vladimir introduced Christianity in Kievan Rus by baptising Kiev population in Dnepr river. In 1240 the city was demolished by mongol-tatars who invaded Kievan Rus, and later it was rebuilt. Since 1362 Kiev and major part of Ukraine belonged to Lithuania and Poland and in 1654 it became part of Russian Empire and then USSR.

In 1991 Ukrainian people voted for independence of Ukraine and Kiev became its capital. Since that time it is the center of Ukraine’s political, economic and cultural life.

In November 2004 Kiev was the central place of Orange Revolution when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian people protested against election falsification in the streets and later elected another ruling party and the President of Ukraine.

Kiev accommodation

Most visitors to Kiev prefer apartment or hotel accommodation. Kiev hotels provide security and a certain level of service according to their level (three star, four star, five star), Kiev apartments allow greater privacy and flexibility. Average single room in Kiev hotel will cost $100-130 per night, while a 1-room apartment with all amenities will cost $40-60 depending on its location, space and extra facilities like jakuzzi, home cinema, etc.

Kiev sights rating

I recommend you to visit:

Golden Gate of Kiev – the ancient gate to Kiev, which is now located in its very center, it is made of wood and stone with a small golden dome above

St Sofia Cathedral – one of the most beautiful Kiev cathedrals with Bell Tower and chestnut trees around the cathedral

St Michael Cathedral – newly rebuilt cathedral with beautiful blue walls, ornament and large golden domes

St Vladimir Cathedral – cathedral in Kiev center where official orthodox religious ceremonies take place

St Andrew Church and Andrew Descent (Andreevskiy Spusk) – a popular place with tourists with numerous souvenir booths, old brick descent, art galleries and museums

Kiev Cave Monastery (Lavra) – the ancient monastery where you can see the caves where monks lived in ancient times, several churches and the largest Bell tower in Kiev

Russian Art Museum and Ukrainian Art Museum – art connoisseurs will get much pleasure seeing masterpieces of world art in Kiev museums

Kiev Opera and Ballet Theater – an enjoyable experience of listening to live classical music and watching dances

Pirogovo ethnic village – an opportunity to see old village houses, windmills and household appliances of different Ukrainian regions

War Museum – you can see there numerous tanks and war airplanes and the gigantic metal statue of woman symbolizing Homeland

Kiev Botanic Garden – in spring and summer you can see there beautiful trees and blossoming flowers

Mariinsky Palace – a majestic palace where official government ceremonies take place, it is surrounded by green park with panorama of Dnepr and its left bank

Independence Square – the very central part of Kiev, from which the distances to other cities are calculated, it has a large underground shopping center, central Post office, banks and restaurants

Khreschatik Street – main street in Kiev where people can walk on the highway on Saturday and Sunday

Vladimir Mount – a park on the mount with large statue symbolizing Prince Vladimir with cross when he introduced Christianity and baptized Slavic people.

What to wear

If you come to Kiev in summer, it would be nice to take a summer jacket, jeans and T-shirts, sandals or baskets and probably shorts or dress for the case of heat. For spring or autumn it is better to take a few warm things and a jacket. For the winter you will need a winter coat or a warm jacket, a few sweaters, a scarf, gloves and cap.

If you go inside a church or cathedral, women have to cover their head with a shawl, while men need to take off their hats.

Eating out in Kiev

To try delicious Ukrainian cuisine we recommend you the following Kiev restaurants:

Pervak restaurant – a medium-price restaurant located in 2, Rognedinskaya St. You can taste borsch and vareniks, small pies and various meat and fish dishes. The dinner will cost you about $30-50 per person depending on the food and drinks you choose.

Taras restaurant – located in Shevchenko park near major Kiev Museums, close to Kiev University. You can order various pancakes as well as national cuisine dishes. The dinner will cost you $35-55.

USSR restaurant – located near Kiev War Museum and Kiev Lavra Monastery in 42/1 Sichnevogo Povstannya St. and decorated with USSR symbolics. The dinner will cost you $35-55.

Puzata Khata (Big Bellied House) fast food restaurant which combines original interior in peasant house style, tasty Ukrainian food, vast choice of dishes and low prices. It is located in very center, 1/2a Basseinaya St., in the beginning of Khreschatik. Here you can try traditional Ukrainian pampushky, Chicken Kiev, different salads and main courses. On the first floor you can also choose one numerous cakes and even order fresh made juice. The dinner cost is $3-10 per person.

Zdorovenky Buly (Good Health to You)

That’s a very popular fast food restaurant located near Khreschatik metro station which probably has the largest choice of different foods: salad bar, pancakes, varenyky, pizzas, soups, tasty desserts. Its comfortable rooms are decorated in various styles: Chinese, Indian, Egyptian and Greek. It also has Tea bar with cakes where one can sit and talk. Dinner: $3-10 per person.

Ukrainian souvenirs

You can buy various Ukrainian souvenirs on Andrew Descent (Andreevskiy Spusk): embroidered towels, matrioshkas, wooden painted plates and eggs, glass souvenirs, small dolls in national clothing, paintings and clothing. There is also a souvenir section in Kiev central magazine (Tsum), located in Khreschatik St and a souvenir shop near St Sofia Cathedral.

1st place – Ani Lorak

Ani Lorak (Karolina Kuek) was born on September the 27th in 1978 in a small town Kitsman in the north of Chernovitskyi district. There had been already one child in the family – the son Igor; that is why the daughter was to be called Olga. But as her Polish grandmother interfered she was called Karolina.

The singer’s father, local journalist, has graduated from musical school with specialty chorus conductor, and also he’s finished philology faculty at Chernovitskyi University.

Her mother worked as the head of a radio station. Karolina’s older brother Sergey Linkov died in Afghanistan in 1987.

The desire to become a singer appeared in Karolina’s mind when she was only four. The girl often took part in the different school vocal competitions. In 1992 she took part in a popular Chernovitskyi festival “Pervotsvet” and got the victory. It is exactly here fourteen-year-old Karolina meets the producer Yuryi Falyosa and signs up for her first professional contract.

2nd place – Anastasia Kamenskih

Anastasia Kamenskih was born on May the 4th in 1987 in Kyiv. She went to France for studying when she was 5 years old, but very soon she returned to her homeland. She was studying in the Pechersk Gymnasium with the advanced English. 7 years she spent living in Italia. She graduated from music school when she was fifteen. She had been engaged in professional dancing – the ballet, for 8 years.

Having graduated from school she entered Ukrainian-American Humanitarian Institute (USA in Ukraine) where the subjects are taught in English. In 2004 she took part in “Chernomorskie yigry” Festival. And in 2005 she went to London for the UBN Awards as the “opening of the year”. Anastasia comes to a new level of her career after this. Here The Ukrainian Producer’s Center Music-Motors with the head Ruslan Minzhinskyi helps the young singer.

3rd place – Alyona Vinnitskaya

Olga Viktorovna Vinnitskaya ( was born on December the 27th in 1974 in Kyiv) – the author and the performer of the songs in the style of pop rock. She is the ex-soloist of the women brand “Via Gra”. Her scene name is Alyona Vinnitskaya. She lives and works in Ukraine, where she’s got a great success. The singer writes and performs her songs in Russian.

Olga is only her passport name.

She got her name in honor to her grandmother, but she was called Alyonka by her people at home. There were except of Alyonka, her brother Andrey and parents (father Viktor Ivanovich and mother Tamara Vasilievna) also aunt with two children and grandmother. Father has been developing his daughter from five years, he made her draw, play chess, read, write poems. Alyonka made dolls and sold five-kopeykas tickets on her doll shows to her numerous relatives.

4th place – Tina Karol

Tina Karol was born on January the 25th in 1985 in Magadan district. There was no one from members of her family who was related to music. The singer’s father and mother are engineers by education, and her older brother Stas has become a jurist.

Tina Karol and her family moved to live in Ukraine in Ivano-Frankovsk when she was six years old. Having graduated from school the singer moved to live in Kyiv and she started to work with music professionally.

5th place – Vera Brezhneva

Vera Brezhneva (her real surname: Galushka) was born on Fabruary the 3rd in the suburb of Dnepropetrovsk in the town Dneprodzerzhinsk, which is the motherland of the famous namesake and far relative Leonid Iliyich Brezhnev.

Vera was born in an ordinary family.

Her father was working at Pridneprovsk Chemical Plant, her mother – Tamara, graduated from medical school, was working at the same plant. Vera also has three sisters: the older Galina and the younger twins Nastya and Vika. The star has grown up in the company of these three beauties. Afterwards, the singer has bought an apartment for her parents in Borispol, not far from Kyiv.

Russian and Ukrainian sports people often come first at the World class sport tournaments. I want to tell about 3 slavic women who became famous all over the world for their sport and none sport achievements.

Yana Oleksandrivna Klochkova is a Ukrainian swimmer, who has won five Olympic medals in her career, with four of them being gold.

Her gold medals came in the 200 meter individual medley and the 400 meter individual medley at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics; her silver medal came in the 800 meter freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She has also won ten titles at swimming’s world championships, nineteen european championship titles, and currently holds both the short-course and long-course world records in the 400 meter individual medley. In 2003 she won four golds at the Summer Universiade in South Korea. She was also awarded the Hero of Ukraine medal. In 2004, she was named by Swimming World magazine as the World Female Swimmer of the Year.

Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova (born June 7, 1981) is a retired Russian professional tennis player and model. Although she never won a major singles tournament, she became one of the best known tennis players worldwide. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name (or misspellings of it) one of the most common search strings on Google.

She was born in Moscow, Soviet Union to Alla and Sergei Kournikov; her family later emigrated to the United States. Presently, she resides in Miami, Florida.

Kournikova’s major-league tennis career has been curtailed for the past several years, and possibly ended, by serious back and spinal problems. She has had some success at the singles game, but her specialty has been doubles, where she has at times been the world’s No.1 doubles player. With Martina Hingis as her partner, she won Grand Slam titles in Australia in 1999 and 2002.

Tennis star Maria Sharapova has a lot going for her. At only 18 years of age she has become the world’s highest paid female athlete. Born in Nyagan, Russia, (in the Siberian region) on April 19, 1987, she began playing tennis at a very young age. By the time she was nine she had moved to Bradenton, Florida, (where she currently resides) to train at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy. Aside from helping to hone Sharapova’s skills, Bollettieri is also responsible for the success of many other tennis stars, such as Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, and Venus and Serena Williams.

Sharapova began climbing the ranks in the World Tennis Association (WTA), earning her first tournament title in Japan in 2003. Her crowning moment came in 2004, when she won Wimbledon at a mere 17 year of age, solidifying a consistent spot in the top five. Off the court she is known for her looks. She often takes modeling jobs and works on her endorsements, the likes of which include Motorola, Canon and Honda Japan. The attractive six-foot-tall blond often draws comparisons to fellow Russian tennis-pro-turned-model Anna Kournikova, but her skills on the court are what set the two apart.

In just the past two years she has become the poster child for women’s tennis. Billboards promoting the sport feature giant images of Sharapova as “Maria Mania” sweeps the globe. She has become the top-draw in the sport, ushering in a new era of rising stars and helping to broaden the field after years of Williams sisters’ dominance. 2005 finds Sharapova on pace to take in over $20 million, most of which will come from her endorsements–the most recent a three-year $6 million deal with Colgate-Palmolive. But it is tennis where her focus lies. She carries with her a streak of 17 straight wins on grass heading into Wimbledon 2005, where she will defend her 2004 championship at the prestigious event.

The topic of feral children has fascinated me for several years. Now, to find out that two children were found in the Ukraine, living among wild dogs; has further provided researchers with questions regarding language development and human psychology.

Victor: The First Feral Child Documented

Victor was an 11 year old boy found in January 1800 near Saint Sernin sur Rance, in southern France. Victor survived 11 years by living in the forest; he crawled around on all fours and snuck food from people’s gardens.

It is thought, that since he had no human contact for the first 11 years of his life that he probably gained the social skills that he had from animals. He did not wear any cloths and his body had several old and new scars from living in the wild.

When found, Victor could not speak human language. Researchers at the time tried to re-socialize Victor to more appropriate social norms of the time and tried to teach him language. They made barely minimal progress.

Victor lived to age 40, which was probably the average life span of that time. He was never able to be socialized to live the type of life that most of us would think of as normal and healthy. Since Victor’s case, psychologists and sociologists have been very interested in language development in cases of social neglect.

Feral Children in Modern Society

In 1991 an 8 year old girl was found in Novaya Blagoveschenka, Ukraine. Her name was Oxanna Malaya. At the time she was discovered living in the backyard of her family home in a dog kennel.

She had befriended the dogs in the yard and basically took on their behaviors and actions. She walked on all fours, growled and barked. She would defend the territory in an aggressive display similar to that of an angry dog. She had minimal human language abilities, but would communicate like her canine companions through animal-type actions.

Also, in Mirny, Ukraine in 1999, a young boy was discovered, named Edik. Edik was 4 years old at the time he was discovered. Edik was living in a run-down apartment on his own, in a very poverty stricken area of the Ukraine.

He had wild dogs co-habitating in the apartment with him, some say at any given time he had at least three dogs with him.

Researchers believe that it was the symbiotic relationship between the human and animals that strengthened the bond, and created the “pack” mentality between the boy and the dogs. The dogs found that the boy would provide some source of food, regardless of how infrequent; which meant that the dogs did not have to hunt. In exchange, the dogs provided the boy with affection and companionship.

What Have Oxanna and Edik Accomplished Today?

Today, Oxanna and Edik are not classified as true feral children because of their previous human socialization and the fact that they did have some basic language skills early on.

But to this day, their language skills still lag behind their chronological development to this day. Researchers believe that Oxanna’s language skills will always lag behind other people her age because she was discovered past the age where the brain can regain those skills to full functional capacity.

Edik on the other hand has made good progress. His language skills as still behind other children his own age. But researches believe that he will be able to regain enough language that he will function well in society. They believe it is solely based on the fact that he was discovered young enough that the brain can still learn the basic foundation needed for language development.

Today, Oxanna and Edik live in care homes where they interact with other people and staff. Both Oxanna and Edik have dogs at the homes where they live so they can still enjoy them as pets. They are no longer dependent on these animals for survival so their relationship with the animals has changed a lot.

Both Oxanna and Edik now walk on 2 legs, like the rest of us and wear clothing in a socially appropriate way. It took months and years for both of them to learn these basic social norms. An update from 2010 indicates that Oxana is now trying to locate her birth mother and father to learn more about herself.

The European Union, through its administrative body the Commission and in particular its delegation in Kyiv, has been active in Ukraine since the independence. Altogether, the European Union, i.e. the Commission and the member States, is the first contributor to Ukraine in financial terms. The sole Commission spent more than 2 billions euros in technical assistance to Ukraine so far, and almost half a billion euros (494 millions) will be brought in 2007-2010 in the framework of the new European neighbourhood policy instrument (ENPI).

Given the sums contributed by European taxpayers, it is worth paying attention to the way this money is spent, not only from the general point of view of the effectiveness of the financed programs and projects, but when it comes to ethics and procedures as well.

As far as the general effectiveness and efficiency are concerned – these two words are highly valuated and even overused nowadays by all management experts in general and the European Commission in particular – it would be worth a specific article and lots of reports. Let us just bring an example and a reference…

The reference is a recent report about the effectiveness of Tacis programmes in Russia: As the European Court of Auditors expressed it on April 20, 2006, the use of TACIS funds provided to Russia between 1991-2003 – amounting to nearly 3 billion euros – was largely ineffective (BRUSSELS, April 20, 2006 (RFE/RL). No similar information was made public about Ukraine, but one can guess the situation is not better although not officially assessed and confirmed.

The example is the one of an ongoing project called SLD – sustainable local development -, granted with 5 million Euros for services and 13 for associated equipment. Although ambitiously aimed at supporting sustainable development models in middle-sized territories of Ukraine, it is in fact nearly reduced to a mere spending of millions for buying equipment in some cities. The project is presently exclusively implemented by engineers with absolutely no experience of either regional development or local administration in a EU member state or even in CIS. The key and other international experts employed there, in case they are actually present as initially foreseen, are so aware of their duties and responsibilities that they spend a noticeable part of their time playing cards on their computer.

Anyway, on the five key experts initially foreseen in the contract, only three actually remain, one of them having been illegally fired and another having been present overall a mere fortnight throughout the first year and a half…. Instead of the comprehensive regional development strategy initially foreseen, the project hardly deals with delivery of water pipes and energy saving advice, while nobody knows about – and subsequently nobody deals with – regional planning, local finances and institutional cooperation, and neither anybody cares about the mobilization of financial resources for regional development activities. Anyway, who could actually question so incredible and evident deficiencies? The Task manager, controlling on behalf of the European commission, has not the faintest idea of what a municipality usually deals with, and is interested in its sole personal interests; he and his superiors from the European commission are not really aware as well of the topic, and mainly worry about the timely spending of money; neither the monitoring expert, paid out of the European tax payer as well, has ever stepped in a body of local self-government in any EU member State. Given the absolute lack of any awareness and practice of the real job by all the involved actors, a successful and effective spending of money would be purely a chance and even a miracle.

Elaborating on the topic would be long and tedious. The European taxpayer might soothe himself with the thought that “Well, maybe the money is spent ineffectively, even spilled at times, but at least all is done in a clean and honest way, not a single penny is stolen or spent regardless of the rules, and violations are immediately and heavily sanctioned”…. Alas, even in this area, the Commission heavily fails to meet the moral rules it urges the target countries – especially Ukraine- to adopt and observe.

Let us rely on concrete cases again. In the delegation of the European Commission in Kyiv, a scandal occurred in 2006, when some officials were suspected of attempts to take personal profit out of the contracts they were in charge of managing. Although a low publicity was given to the facts, it is known that an official from the European delegation in Kyiv was arrested and handcuffed while landing in Brussels, and it is suspected as well that some other officials, while not officially convicted of infringements, were moved to other positions outside the country. The final sanctions remain unknown.

At the end of the very same year, another official from the European commission, Dominique Charpentier, in charge of controlling important contracts, imposed the Team-leader of one of these contracted projects to engage his common law spouse. The said had no choice but to accept, although the young woman did not hold any relevant experience. After he opposed a third, unrealistic augmentation demanded by Mr Charpentier, the latter started to campaign against the former, who finally complained in his turn of this situation. Mr Charpentier surprisingly acted as if the consortium had contracted a debt to him – true to say, he was the key evaluator in the tender this consortium had passed through. He was at first suspended from managing this project on behalf of the delegation, and his common law spouse spontaneously resigned. The OLAF – European anti-fraud-office – was involved and started to inquiry. But the Delegation, compelled to react, did not congratulate the one who revealed this misbehavior. The black sheep, who dared revealing the scandal with clear written evidence of it, was accused of infringing alleged – and for sure unexpressed – rules, by mentioning his rank on his visit cards. Infringing in turn its own written rules and procedures, the delegation obtained this Team-Leader to be fired by his employer on this illegal basis. And after having confirmed this illegal prohibition on using his official ranks, the head of delegation – who illegally grants himself the title of ambassador! -, reinstalled Mr Dominique Charpentier in his former functions, as if nothing had occurred.

To date, this ethically questionable character is still in charge of a project in which he had obtained evident personal interests after having chosen the victorious executor. Notwithstanding, he is still part and a key intervenor of further contracts to be granted! One can easily imagine at least some of the conditions for winning the tender in which this official acts on behalf of the Commission….

The unsaid message of this shameful example is clear: never reveal a scandal when you somehow depend on those who are in charge of redressing it; the one openly and evidently infringing the rules of ethics will be supported and honored, and the one who dared suggesting for the law to be applied will be soiled and moved away.

This is the way the delegation of the European commission and its head understand morals and ethics…. As a temporary conclusion, the helpless European taxpayer cannot be too optimistic: not only is doubtful the effective use of his taxes, but it is yet used with a questionable sense of morals and ethics…. ‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’.

If you have already been to Ukraine you will know how proud local people are when it comes to family and achievements. If you have not been here before: here are a few clues how to understand the traditions.

Ukrainians are hospitable. Sometimes they are so hospitable, that a foreigner gets scared and simply wants to leave as soon as possible. If you have spent so much money and time to come to this country, then you will be sorry, if all of a sudden you leave. Ukrainian girls will try most of the time to explain this or that and why, but you will have so many questions that it will be hard to get the answers to all of them immediately. Here are a few short guidelines that cover the basics of Ukrainian cordiality, as for the details, do not be afraid to ask your girlfriend.

Family plays an important part in the life of every Ukrainian girl. Young women live with their parents until they get married. Sometimes they leave their homes for a few years while they are in the university, but as soon as their studies are over, they go back home. They respect their parents so much that sometimes they are ready to follow a career in medicine or public sector, because according to the old generation these professions are prestigious.

Young ladies have a rebellious nature, they know that there is a whole world full of chances and good possibilities and they often search for the perfect husband out of Ukrainian boundaries. Still because they are very close to their families, their parents know about their steps and even if they cannot always agree with them, they support their daughters.

That is why when you arrive in Ukraine to meet face to face with your lady, it is quite likely that you will be invited to a family dinner. Most modern families are open-minded but they still keep some traditions. For example if you are visiting the girl’s family, you should take small present for the parents. A good idea is to buy a bottle of fine wine or whiskey for the father and a big bunch of flowers for the mother.

If the girl has brothers or sisters, you should think about taking something small for them. The presents depend on their age. If they are 16-18 or less, you can go with a block of chocolate. If they are older, a smaller bouquet for the girls or good magazine on fashion or sports will be a great solution.

During the dinner or supper you should be polite and pay attention to everyone. Probably the parents will speak only in Ukrainian or Russian and definitely you will need interpreting help. Language barriers may make you nervous but do not let this to ruin your time together.

When you talk, speak slowly and try to have as clear pronunciation as possible. Wait for someone to finish the speech and then ask for translation. Alternatively, when you have something to say, ask for excuse that you do not speak the local language and ask your Ukraine girl to translate for your words.

Surely the parents will have a lot of questions: what do you do, do you own house, car, do you have brothers and sisters, what are your parents like, do they work or they are retired, what you do in your spare time and so on. Before the meeting try to answer these questions and ask your date for translation of some of the words. Learn a few Ukrainian words and surely with will make great positive impression on your future parents in law!

There are few countries that are as beautiful and steeped in historical conflict as the Ukraine. Tucked geographically into the eastern part of Russia, Ukraine’s strong cultural identity and beautiful buildings have drawn tourists and visitors in from all over the world. While the wonderful cities and historical attractions are big tourist hang outs, Ukraine also features a wonderful and active night life with trendy bars and lively casinos. Ukraine has 33 casinos and gaming facilities spanned across ten Ukrainian cities to meet the tourist itinerary of any visitor to this beautiful country.

Ukraine casinos are heavily concentrated in the capital city of Kiev. With 18 casinos spread throughout this historic city, visitors to the Ukraine will have no shortage of opportunities to have fun and making money. The biggest multipurpose casino in the city and Ukraine in general, is the River Palace Entertainment Complex. With 85 gaming machines and 30 gaming tables, visitors to Ukraine casinos can have plenty of fun and hit a quick jackpot to top off their trip. The Club Joss in Kiev is one of the most multifaceted Ukrainian casinos, with four restaurants and a cozy gambling environment for the casual gambler. After visitors to the Club Joss have Japanese cuisine at Kioto, they can head into the gaming room to enjoy poker and roulette. Kiev is the crown jewel of the Ukraine casinos scene, with many tables and machines to enjoy.

However, those who visit the Ukraine don’t instantly flock to Kiev and may want to find gambling in another city. There are plenty of gaming opportunities for those who are in places far flung in this beautiful country. The Richelieu Casino Complex in Odessa is a quaint gambling area with a few quality tables for poker and blackjack. Casino Split in the small city of Poltava provides a nice wayside for traveling gamblers in need of a quick fix in a Ukrainian casino. The Casino Zig-Zag in Donetsk is another fine Ukrainian casino that has a couple of tables devoted to the ever popular game of poker.

Ukraine’s many fine casinos and gaming facilities span cities large and small. Visitors to the Ukraine need to put casinos and gaming facilities on their agenda, as a rest from the various walking tours and museum visits. Whether visitors to the Ukraine check out the glitz and glamour of Kiev’s casinos or take in the ambiance and cozy environment of casinos in other cities, they will walk away with good memories and probably a little bit of extra money.

Get ready for your trip to Ukraine to adopt! Lots to plan and prepare to make your trip less stressful and your stay more comfortable:

• Go online and familiarize yourself with Ukrainian currency. The look of the different denominations and exchange rate. (Currently $1 USD is about 8 Ukrainian Hryvnia) Practice converting prices to dollars.

• Make a list of places you want to see in Kyiv while you are there. You want to make it memorable. This can be before you meet your child, or fun things you can do together. Kyiv has lots of cultural activities and things to do. Where your child’s orphanage will determine where you will spend most of your time, but you will not know that until after your referral meeting!

• Your clothing needs will vary depending on when you travel to Ukraine. Make sure you break in all your footwear and plan to travel light. You will be traveling around the country!

• Start pricing flights to Ukraine and determine the best routes and time options for flying to and from Kyiv. Remember you will need to have an open ticket as you don’t know your exact return date. Speak to agents of the airlines and discuss if it is best to buy a closed ticket and pay a change fee or buy and open date ticket. There can be a big difference in price. Remember you will have a child flying back with you so you will also need a one way ticket! If you are considering using frequent flyer points or miles, find out what you need to do so there are no surprises.

• Go over your travel budget with your adoption agency or adoption facilitator. Think about what type of accommodation you want: hotel or apartment for example, and what your budget will be. Will you eat out or prepare your meals? Depending where you will be staying in Ukraine, less options may be available.

• Bring 2 cameras you know how to use well. I suggest one for each spouse. You want to document everything. This is a once in a lifetime experience, just like the birth of a child. You will always look back on it and wish you took more photos of your adoption journey. Each spouse should have a camera so there are photos of both adoptive parents with your newly adopted child.

• Consider bringing a camera for your newly adopted child so she or he can take photos and capture the adoption experience through their eyes.

• Go over and over the adoption process, steps and timeline with your adoption agency or adoption facilitator. Traveling and adopting will be stressful and very emotional, the more you can understand and better prepared you are, the better.

• Check that your health insurance will cover medical emergencies if you are outside the US. Consider buying supplemental travel medical insurance. Book with an insurance company that offers policies on a per-trip basis. Premiums are generally nominal for coverage up to $50,000. Cost depends on the age of the traveler and length and cost of the trip. If you are an American Express cardholder, call them first.

• Work on your Russian for traveling!