[skinkinthegrass]

"and the soviets faced reality with a mistake called Gorbachev, who's clumsiness didn't
find a way to deal with Reagan's surging West, but instead led to the end of the empire."back to the subject of this thead..
both of you have relevant points; my fear is Putin, he's following the
old Russian model of expansion in our era of "Bathhouse" 0'Muslim.

[Cold Heat]

Well, if you watched the Olympic ceremonies, closing and opening. You would have seen a great example of Russian nationalism. Basically internal propaganda because it was revisionist history. They left out decades of hell, and replaced it with song and dance.

But that is how they feel. They want to feel that greatness that they think they once felt. But during those times they were hungry, cold and wondering where their next meal was coming from.

But they have been conditioned to forget it, and as we know, the human mind does not remember pain very well.

So yes, I think they would like to have some more territory and to regain the old Soviet sphere of influence.

The question on the Ukraine is if they are willing to go all the way, or will they stop, back out of eastern Ukraine and keep what they have occupied.

I think they will. I think recent uptick in activity in the East is but a prelude to making a concession. It makes it look like they are giving up more than they are. But they have what they wanted. They wanted to be able to shut the ports off to the west for security reasons, They wanted to be noticed and feared.

And they got that. Ansel sure is worried. But I did not fall for the deception.

So that, in a nutshell, is why we are at odds and have two different perceptions of the Russian Bear.