Russia's reasoning is clearly daft, but so is yours. America has well-known problems with inspection and safety of its meat. Meat products destined for export actually undergo more careful preparation and testing for foodborne disesases than meat for domestic consumption, and plants are not inspected for dangerous bacteria (or Mad Cow) until AFTER an outbreak has occurred. In fact, Japan, a country with whom we compare unfavorably in both longevity and technological development, has refused to import American beef for years now. *Of course* there is a political element here, but it's based on a real problem. Also, comparing the relative lifespans in two countries as indicative of their food safety standards is absurd unless foodborne illness is a major cause of death in both countries, which it isn't.

This brings me to the bigger issue with your blog, which I started reading a few weeks ago for its refreshingly strident anti-Russia stance (as opposed to the more paternalistic, condescending anti-Russian sentiment the dominates the mainstream media). Now it seems that is simply a front for a much more commonplace super-pro-America stance. Yawn. The only way I can enjoy it now is to imagine you the author as some fearless Cold Warrior, let's say, a Reagen-era Navel Intelligence attache of Eastern European or German Emigre stock, who sees evil Soviet plots everywhere he looks.