Hi AC,

Bless you for noticing.

My health hasn't been the best lately. I'm trying my hardest to
stay positive but its sometimes a bit difficult. My husband
has earlier dementia and I have to watch his behaviour.
For example, he often turns on the gas and forgets to light it.
But that's life, I guess. OLO for me provides an escape for which
I'm grateful. And for having people like you who care.

Dear Paul,

Just thought it worth mentioning that former Soviet
Leader Mikhail Gorbachev died on Tuesday aged 91.
A man who broke the Soviet mold. He was a divisive, often
detested figure in Russia and the state he led - the
Soviet Union - no longer exists. He's been praised in the
West including by US President Joe Biden.

Gorbachev ended the Cold War without bloodshed and
introduced Glasnost and Perestroika the 2 policies considered
to be at the heart of USSR's disintegration. He won the
Nobel Prize and is to be buried in the cemetery of the
Novodevichy Convent next to his wife Raisa. Nikita Krushchev
and Boris Yeltsin are also buried there.

The Russian media says that he will not be given a state
funeral. No surprises there.

May he Rest in Peace. At least he was a Soviet leader who was open
to democratic changes.

Reagan (with help from Thatcher, J-P11, Kohl, Walesa and Havel) ended the Cold War. Gorbachev was merely the hapless shmuck who was in charge when the music stopped.

From an article I saw way back when...
"“You know what caused the downfall of the Soviet Union? You know what did it?” demanded a senior [Soviet] general, a little flush with vodka.

Some racked their brains with thoughts of missile defense, perpetual shortages of everything from soap to vodka, the U.S. military buildup. The general banged his fist again. “That damn speech about the evil empire! That’s what did it!” The general was standing now, and to the questioning eyes of one American he added: “It was an evil empire. It was.”

Another I saw yesterday...

"On the morning of April 20, 1989, ....he insisted my father drink a toast. He wanted to celebrate our new freedom, which also meant his: By leaving him our half of the apartment, we were bypassing Soviet restrictions on the sale of state property.

Agreeing, my father suggested they toast to Gorbachev. After all, our neighbor was a common day laborer, unlikely to be up on the complex realities of international politics; and more than likely to have imbibed his fair share of politburo propaganda, which Gorbachev, in his hick Caucasus accent, spouted daily. Our neighbor only laughed. “Gorbachev? You think Gorbachev gave me this apartment? We’ll drink to Reagan. Reagan gave me this apartment.”

Hi Paul,

Here's two links that may be of interest:

http://alamy.com/stock-photo/raisa-novodevichy-cemetery.html

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bp_o0xktjsg

Dear Paul,

Lets not forget that Gorbachev's efforts to democratize
his country's political system and decentralize its
economy led to the downfall of communism and the break
up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Because he ended the Soviet Union's post war domination of
eastern Europe he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in
1990.

There's more at:

http://cnbc.com/2022/08/30/mikhail-gorbachev-ex-soviet-leader-who-ended-the-cold-war-dies-aged-91-report-says.html

And this also is worth a read:

http://wilsoncenter.org/event/reagan-and-gorbachev-how-the-cold-war-ended

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, dead at 91, rest in peace old man. Regardless of his "colour", Gorby was a great world leader, and a man of peace, a worthy recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace. He managed to oversee the destruction of the Soviet Union and Communism there, and in Eastern Europe, without bloodshed, for that we should all be eternally grateful.