tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post5802782341115427984..comments2024-03-28T06:32:24.557-04:00Comments on The Elephant Bar: IRAQI forces set fire to their own buildings and military equipment and fled after marauding Islamic State militants overran the strategic city of Heet in the embattled western Iraqi Al-Anbar provinceDeuce ☂http://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-71623270978764763032014-10-14T03:47:30.303-04:002014-10-14T03:47:30.303-04:00Many nations are better off for British Imperialis...Many nations are better off for British Imperialism.<br /><br />YOU try doing something and making some sense out of those Arab shitholes.<br /><br />But many other nations are much better off for the effort.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-76438182761077728522014-10-14T03:44:22.964-04:002014-10-14T03:44:22.964-04:00When did 'world public opinion' become any...When did 'world public opinion' become anything to which an intelligent person would give consideration?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-63768815461773072712014-10-14T01:55:44.112-04:002014-10-14T01:55:44.112-04:00Israel has had the foresight to develop relationsh...Israel has had the foresight to develop relationships with non-Western nations. Among these are the world's largest economy and the up and coming world's largest economy. allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15605114251615293411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-65916415412316245432014-10-14T01:55:12.207-04:002014-10-14T01:55:12.207-04:00Hundreds of Israeli public figures urge British Pa...<b>Hundreds of Israeli public figures urge British Parliament to recognize the State of Palestine</b><br />Gush Shalom, Israel.<br />Press Release, October 13, 2014<br /><br />363 Israeli public figures have signed a letter to the Members of the British Parliament, calling upon them to vote in favor of British recognition of a Palestinian State, to be created side-by-side with Israel.<br /><br />The letter was handed on Sunday noon to representatives of the British MP’s supporting the motion, due to be voted tomorrow (Monday). The Israeli letter was initiated by Dr. Alon Liel, former Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry; Prof. Amiram Goldblum, a founder of the Peace Now movement; and Yehuda Shaul of “Breaking the Silence”.<br /><br />The letter reads: “We, Israelis who worry and care for the well-being of the state of Israel, believe that the long-term existence and security of Israel depends on the long-term existence and security of a Palestinian state. For this reason we, the undersigned, urge members of the UK Parliament to vote in favor of the motion to be debated on Monday 13th October 2014, calling on the British Government to recognize the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel “.<br /><br />Signatories include:<br />Nobel Prize Laureate (Economics) Daniel Kahneman<br />Six Laureates of the Israel Prize – Professors Alice Levy, David Har’el, Shimon Sandbank, Yehoshua Kolodny, Yona Rosenfeld and Yoram Bilu;<br />Two former ministers – Ran Cohen and Yossi Sarid, as well as four former Knesset Members – Uri Avnery, Yael Dayan, Mossi Raz and Naomi Chazan;<br />Former Ambassador and Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Dr. Alon Liel, as well as former Ambassador Ilan Baruch;<br />Gen. (ret.) Emanuel Shaked, former of the Paratooper Corps;<br />Former Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair;<br />Four writers – Yehoshua Sobol, Yehudit Kafri, Savyon Liebrecht and Amos Mokadi;<br />Professor Rafi Walden, Deputy Ditector of the Shiba Hospital and Chair of “Physicians for Human Rights”<br />Yuval Rahamim, Co-Chair of “Bereaved Families for Palestinian-Israeli Peace” and the group’s founder Yitzhak Frankenthal;<br />As well as many residents of Gaza border communities and other peace and social rights activists.Deuce ☂https://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-44506741221032025572014-10-14T01:39:18.822-04:002014-10-14T01:39:18.822-04:00Israel had better get used to going it alone. Fran...Israel had better get used to going it alone. Frankly, it would be better off in the long run. Deuce ☂https://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-89505957597497537832014-10-14T01:34:08.792-04:002014-10-14T01:34:08.792-04:00{...}
These comparisons between the British and A...<br />{...}<br /><br /><b>These comparisons between the British and American dilemmas, almost a century apart, are intriguing – but do they offer lessons? I would point to four.</b><br /><br /><br />First, while it is always tempting to blame political leaders, the problems often run far deeper than that. The British prime minister in 1919 was David Lloyd George, who most historians now regard as a decisive and dynamic leader. That did not prevent the imperial staff from complaining about the torpor and confusion of his administration. The real problem, however, was the intractable nature of the problems that Britain was facing, and the limits of the resources it could bring to bear.<br /><br />Second, it is much harder to be a global policeman if your government’s finances are stretched and your country is war-weary. In 1919, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, British imperial possessions were more extensive than ever. But the UK was exhausted after the first world war and had little appetite for further conflict. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars of the past decade were small affairs, by comparison. But they left a similar reluctance in the US to get involved in further conflicts.<br /><br />Third, the uncanny similarity between the trouble spots of a century ago and those of today suggests that there are some parts of the world where geography or culture create a permanent risk of political instability and war: the frontiers between Russia and the West, Afghanistan, Iraq.<br /><br />An increasingly complicated armed conflict is pitting rebel groups not only against the regime and its allies, but also against each other<br /><br />The idea that ‘twas ever thus’ may comfort contemporary policy makers in Washington, as they struggle to cope with multiple crises. Yet the fourth lesson derived from Britain’s travails in 1919 is less comforting. Many of the conflicts that the Imperial General Staff were struggling with did get resolved fairly swiftly. The western allies’ involvement in the Russian civil war was over by 1920, as the Bolsheviks moved towards victory. An uneasy peace was also re-established in Iraq. But Britain’s ability to impose its will on the world was waning. The political turmoil of 1919 was, in retrospect, an early sign that the world was entering a new period of instability that – within a generation – would lead to another shattering world war. Once the dominant global power loses its grip, the world can quickly become much less orderly.<br />Deuce ☂https://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-21382279488687466662014-10-14T01:33:45.956-04:002014-10-14T01:33:45.956-04:00http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de05c19e-52ba-11e4-a236-...http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de05c19e-52ba-11e4-a236-00144feab7de.html#ixzz3G5u2cnYj<br /><br />October 13, 2014 2:44 pm<br /><b>America, Britain and the perils of empire</b><br />Gideon RachmanBy Gideon Rachman<br /><br />Middle East turmoil of 1919 offers important lessons for today<br />©James Ferguson<br /><br />General Sir Philip Chetwode, deputy chief of Britain’s Imperial General Staff, warned in 1919: “The habit of interfering with other people’s business and making what is euphoniously called ‘peace’ is like buggery; once you take to it, you cannot stop.”<br />It is difficult to imagine any member of the Obama administration making such an eyebrow-raising comparison. But, as the US struggles to cope with turmoil across the Middle East, Sir Philip’s complaint – quoted in David Reynolds’s recent book, The Long Shadow – has a contemporary ring to it. Even more so the lament of his boss, Sir Henry Wilson, the chief of Britain’s Imperial General Staff, who complained in 1919 that -”we have between 20 and 30 wars raging in the world” and blamed the chaotic international situation on political leaders who were “totally unfit and unable to govern”.<br /><br />Britain was directly or indirectly involved in the fighting in many of these wars during the years 1919-1920. Their locations sound familiar: Afghanistan, Waziristan, Iraq, Ukraine, the Baltic states. Only Britain’s involvement in a war in Ireland would ring no bells in the modern White House. The British debates, and recriminations of the time are also strongly reminiscent of the arguments that are taking place in modern America. And how events panned out holds some important lessons for today’s policy makers.<br /><br />The British military effort in Iraq in 1920, like the allied effort today, was conducted largely through aerial bombing. Then, as now, there was strong scepticism about the long-term chances of achieving political stability in such an unpromising environment. AJ Balfour, the British foreign secretary complained – “We are not going to spend all our money and men in civilising a few people who do not want to be civilised.” In an echo of America’s current Middle East confusion, even British policy makers knew that they were pursuing contradictory goals. As Professor Reynolds points out – “The British had got themselves into a monumental mess in the Middle East, signing agreements that, as Balfour later admitted, were ‘not consistent with each other’.”<br /><br />Then, as now, even the people making policy seemed confused about the motives for military intervention in the Middle East – was it “making peace” as Gen Chetwode suggested, was it the rich oil reserves of the area, was it the protection of another territory (India for the British, Israel for the Americans), or was it simply a vague sense that imperial prestige was at stake? The debates in London, almost a century ago, as in Washington today, suggested that all these motives were mixed together in ways that no one could completely disentangle.<br /><br />Military leaders’ complaints about incompetent politicians also echo down the ages. Sir Henry’s lament about British political leaders who are “unable to govern” is matched by the increasing rumble of complaint about the leadership of Barack Obama. Even Mr Obama’s former defense secretary, Leon Panetta, has just complained that the US president “too often relies on the logic of a law professor rather than the passion of a leader”.<br /><br />{...}<br />Deuce ☂https://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-49569016858475897542014-10-14T01:33:45.719-04:002014-10-14T01:33:45.719-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15605114251615293411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-85159874136264046812014-10-14T01:28:43.789-04:002014-10-14T01:28:43.789-04:00.
British Parliament Recognizes Palestine in Non-....<br /><br />British Parliament Recognizes Palestine in Non-Binding Vote<br /><br /><i>LONDON — Against a backdrop of growing impatience across Europe with Israeli policy, Britain’s Parliament overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution Monday night to give diplomatic recognition to a Palestinian state. The vote was a symbolic but potent indication of how public opinion has shifted since the breakdown of American-sponsored peace negotiations and the conflict in Gaza this summer.<br /><br />Though the outcome of the 274-to-12 parliamentary vote was not binding on the British government, the debate was the latest evidence of how support for Israeli policies, even among staunch allies of Israel, is giving way to more calibrated positions and in some cases frustrated expressions of opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance toward the Palestinians.<br /><br />=====================<br /><br />Richard Ottaway, a Conservative lawmaker and chairman of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, said that he had “stood by Israel through thick and thin, through the good years and the bad,” but now realized “in truth, looking back over the past 20 years, that Israel has been slowly drifting away from world public opinion.”<br /><br />“Under normal circumstances,” he said, “I would oppose the motion tonight; but such is my anger over Israel’s behavior in recent months that I will not oppose the motion. I have to say to the government of Israel that if they are losing people like me, they will be losing a lot of people.”</i><br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/world/europe/british-parliament-palestinian-state.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-63060889308248167542014-10-14T01:11:16.295-04:002014-10-14T01:11:16.295-04:00The Russian Empire and the Soviet produced first-r...The Russian Empire and the Soviet produced first-rate mathematicians, engineers, chemists, etc. Under the Soviet system these brilliant men and women were the slaves of madmen. <br /><br />Look at the elimination of the Aral Sea (once the earth's fourth largest lake). The planners knew very well the future consequences of their tasks. However, one followed the orders of the central planners (often nothing more than semi-literate thugs) or one would end up in a gulag or in the basement of the Lubyanka. As a result, the Soviet may have done more ecological damage than any regime before or since (including the Chinese). Had the CCCP not been of such a colassal size, further increased by conquests during WWII, it would have self-destructed by 1950. Like today's Progressives, Soviet leadership believed that all things were possible by the stroke of a pen.allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15605114251615293411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-49570847015895083382014-10-14T00:41:12.917-04:002014-10-14T00:41:12.917-04:00Just in terms of IT, the Soviet was at least a dec...Just in terms of IT, the Soviet was at least a decade behind the U.S., with no chance of catching up under its own steam. There were two choices, both of which were carefully deliberated: a first strike against the U.S. or finding a sustainable Plan B that would bring the CCCP into the modern world. As always, the military pushed the military option (a little Googling will produce interviews with the officers involved). Thankfully, for once, the military was overridden by a demoralized bureaucracy, many of whom had been contaminated by long association with the West or Westernized democracies elsewhere. <br /><br />Doubtless, all the catastrophes and failures listed above played some role, but essentially the Marxist model imploded and no sane Soviet saw any hope of resuscitation. With privatization, despite its excesses, and major capital inflows from savvy “free world” investors, salivating to get their hands on a well-educated, cheap work force, vast natural resources, and a free hand if well connected, Russia has made extraordinary progress and has become a power to be reckoned with, without all the political baggage of Marx and Lenin.<br /><br />Putin is no fool. He may pine over a romanticized past as is the wont of all aging men, but he well knows that Russia is long past unleashed revanchism and irredentism. Ironically, the resurrection of the Church in Russia also acts to check incongruent Soviet impulses. Yes, there are still old timers who proudly parade (as well they should), festooned with sundry Soviet Orders galore; but they are dying. While Putin will enlarge his (Russia’s empire), he will do so with a keen eye toward profiting from his acquisitions rather than merely rearranging boundaries and borders. He is also a patient man, intent on consolidating gains into a workable socio-economic whole. <br /><br />But I could be wrong. <br /> allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15605114251615293411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-7743884936399735322014-10-13T22:44:15.600-04:002014-10-13T22:44:15.600-04:00Texas nurse fighting Ebola receives blood transfus...Texas nurse fighting Ebola receives blood transfusion from survivor Dr Kent Brantly - who also matched blood types with two others<br /><br /> Nina Pham, 26, has received blood transfusion from Dr Kent Brantly<br /> Survivor Brantly also donated to Dr Nick Sacra and NBC's Ashoka Mukpo<br /> Antibodies in his blood could help the patients fight the disease<br /> Pham caught the Ebola virus while treating Thomas Eric Duncan in Dallas<br /> Miss Pham was raised in Vietnamese family in Fort Worth and graduated from Texas Christian University in 2010 with Bachelor of Science in Nursing <br /> HazChem teams spent the weekend fumigating her Dallas apartment <br /> Authorities have blamed a 'breach of protocol' - but nursing leaders have criticized the CDC for making her a scapegoat <br /><br />By Nick Fagge In Dallas, Texas for MailOnline and Mia De Graaf for MailOnline<br /><br />Published: 11:28 EST, 13 October 2014 | Updated: 20:23 EST, 13 October 2014<br /><br />The Texan nurse diagnosed with Ebola has received a blood transfusion from survivor Dr Kent Brantly, reports claim. <br /><br />It is the third time Dr Brantly has donated blood to Ebola victims after medics discovered he had the same blood type as previous patient Dr Nick Sacra and NBC cameraman Ashoka Mukpo, who is still being treated.<br /><br />Incredibly, nurse Nina Pham, 26, has also matched with Brantly and today received a transfusion of his blood in a move that doctors believe could save her life. <br /><br />Scroll down for video <br />Lifeline: Dr Kent Brantly (left), who has been cleared of Ebola, has match blood types with Nina Pham (right) and donated so she can receive a blood transfusion to battle the deadly virus she caught treating a patient<br />+10<br />Lifeline: Dr Kent Brantly (left), who has been cleared of Ebola, has match blood types with Nina Pham (right) and donated so she can receive a blood transfusion to battle the deadly virus she caught treating a patient<br />+10<br /><br />Lifeline: Dr Kent Brantly (left), who has been cleared of Ebola, has match blood types with Nina Pham (right) and donated so she can receive a blood transfusion to battle the deadly virus she caught treating a patient<br /><br />Pham has been in quarantine since Friday after catching the disease from 'patient zero' Thomas Eric Duncan - the man who brought the deadly virus to America. <br /><br />Brantly is believed to have traveled to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where Pham worked, to make the donation on Sunday night.<br /><br />Today, Pham's condition was described as 'clinically stable'.<br /><br />Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2791089/first-picture-devoted-texas-nurse-fighting-life-catching-ebola-treating-man-brought-dreaded-virus-america-beloved-dog-s-quarantine.html#ixzz3G5EeST00<br />Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-18460166351944403952014-10-13T22:40:14.021-04:002014-10-13T22:40:14.021-04:00On Mr. Kim’s latest “on-site guidance trip,” he wa...<i>On Mr. Kim’s latest “on-site guidance trip,” he was accompanied by members of his government’s elite, including Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so, the army’s chief political officer. Marshal Hwang is No. 2 in the government hierarchy, which Mr. Kim has often reshuffled since taking over after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011.<br /><br />...<br /><br />Rumors about Mr. Kim, who is believed to be about 30, were fueled in part by television footage showing him limping as early as July. Last month, a state-run television station confirmed for the first time that Mr. Kim “was not feeling well.”<br /><br />On Friday, he did not visit the mausoleum where his grandfather — Kim Il-sung, the country’s founder — and his father lie in state, skipping an important annual ritual he had previously performed to mark the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party.</i>samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11856051164644278989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-65303143924676586312014-10-13T22:35:11.481-04:002014-10-13T22:35:11.481-04:00Both Gardner and Ernst up a notch today, while Hag...Both Gardner and Ernst up a notch today, while Hagan is down a notch:<br /><br /><br />Top Senate Races RCP Average<br />Colorado Gardner (R) +1.4<br />Iowa Ernst (R) +1.2<br />North Carolina Hagan (D) +1.5<br /><br />Good, good, and good.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-83326414476579663462014-10-13T21:44:28.408-04:002014-10-13T21:44:28.408-04:00"One political party or the other may blunder..."One political party or the other may blunder, but disasters on this scale can be achieved only by consensus. Angelo Codevilla contends that a self-perpetuating foreign policy elite, incapable of taking in abundant evidence about all the things it neither knows nor does well, has steered American foreign policy in the wrong direction for the past century. The shrill partisan debates, he argues, obscure an underlying commonality of outlook among the “liberal progressive,” “realist,” and “neo-conservative” currents in foreign policy. All three schools of thinking derive from 'turn-of-the-twentieth-century progressivism.'”<br /><br />http://thefederalist.com/2014/10/02/how-to-make-and-keep-peace/<br />How To Make And Keep Peaceallenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15605114251615293411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-53911709317597025992014-10-13T21:03:44.909-04:002014-10-13T21:03:44.909-04:00Sorry Deuce, this aint about Israel.
Its about th...Sorry Deuce, this aint about Israel.<br /><br />Its about the sunni shiia wars.<br /><br />You selectively pick a start date that makes Iran out to be innocents..<br /><br />But they aint...<br /><br />They and the assad pricks, with the help of hezbollah have murdered hundreds of thousands of sunnis...<br /><br />Now the sunnis are fielding an insane clown posse and giving back to the same pricks who gave it to them.<br /><br />The Kurds?<br /><br />They are being screwed over by the USA AGAIN.<br /><br />Arm the Kurds, let the Iranians (Shiites) and the Sunnis fight it out.What is "Occupation"https://www.blogger.com/profile/02054075097495500689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-18574196101818544332014-10-13T21:02:31.026-04:002014-10-13T21:02:31.026-04:00Whoever has it......
And it seems odd to me that...Whoever has it......<br /><br /><br />And it seems odd to me that yours truly, who has often been called a war monger here, is simply saying help the Kurds, not that difficult to do, while the Neo-Isolationist Deuce seems to be saying we must act now to defeat ISIS or all is lost.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-23549784302097571462014-10-13T20:56:00.578-04:002014-10-13T20:56:00.578-04:00Hey, the President's record is pure as freshly...Hey, the President's record is pure as freshly driven snow. I believe.allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15605114251615293411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-48876090859360917952014-10-13T20:55:41.728-04:002014-10-13T20:55:41.728-04:00I don't much give a sheet about Heet.
And bes...I don't much give a sheet about Heet.<br /><br />And besides, oil is a commodity, it's worthless unless one can sell it. However has it will need to sell it somehow.<br /><br />Having given up on the idea of a glorious unified Iraq I say protect the new Kurdistan and the hell with rest of it, let them fight it out for the next thirty years, by which time I will most certainly be dead and will care even less than I do now.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-60909843751404754362014-10-13T20:54:36.350-04:002014-10-13T20:54:36.350-04:00http://news.yahoo.com/kurdish-woman-leading-kobane...http://news.yahoo.com/kurdish-woman-leading-kobane-battle-against-activists-130502626.html<br />Kurdish woman leading Kobane battle against IS: activistsallenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15605114251615293411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-23882639074349808322014-10-13T20:50:14.225-04:002014-10-13T20:50:14.225-04:00After the election........After the election........Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-18733011611243572072014-10-13T20:44:21.812-04:002014-10-13T20:44:21.812-04:00http://news.yahoo.com/iraqis-fight-win-back-countr...http://news.yahoo.com/iraqis-fight-win-back-country-kerry-193129484.htmlallenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15605114251615293411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-6538429915051452132014-10-13T20:43:47.744-04:002014-10-13T20:43:47.744-04:00You're "internalizing" this way too ...You're "internalizing" this way too much, Deuce. This isn't about "destroying" Isis; it's not even about "defeating" Isis. This is about stalling isis out before they get into the big oil fields.<br /><br />NOBODY outside of Heet gives a sheet who runs up the flag there, tomorrow.<br /><br />Rufus IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05297231055991566183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-38737938425713990762014-10-13T20:43:35.554-04:002014-10-13T20:43:35.554-04:00"It will take time to 'rebuild some of th..."It will take time to 'rebuild some of the morale and the capacity of the Iraqi army'"...<br /><br />Kerry is such a card. "rebuild" ... :-))<br /><br />Kerry has no plans to visit Kurdistan in the near future, I'm guessing.allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15605114251615293411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-87211298586611095362014-10-13T20:27:06.740-04:002014-10-13T20:27:06.740-04:00I never did any business with the because I didn’t...I never did any business with the because I didn’t trust them and found the place too depressing. The factories that they wanted to sell were in Tambov and no one in their right mind would live in Tambov in the eighties. I thought the Russians were opportunists and crooks and ready to screw their own people. They would have had no compunction at screwing me or worse.<br /><br />Deuce ☂https://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.com