Besides, that story could cover a lot of budget "irregularities". Wonder what they would have said had it been an earthquake.

Re fall of the Soviet Union. It's always puzzled me how two things could both be true.

Communism is an economic system which can't work - it's flawed and will collapse of it's own inefficiencies.

Reagen, the genius, spent 'em to death.

Doesn't seem as if it would be necessary.

A factor which is often overlooked is the effect of WWII on the Soviet Union. When the Germans invaded, the Soviets followed a "scorched earth" policy, and left 'em nothing.

When the Germans retreated, they destroyed what was left.

And 20 million Soviets died in that war.

Their economy never did recover from those "insults".

France and Germany were not damaged that way, though Germany lost a lot of machinery in "reparations".

I think Reagan affected the collapse of the economic structure of the Soviet Union to the extent he was a genius.

Arf