>John,
>
>>You mean Putin? Dunno, he's hard to read.
>
>Uh uh.. He's trying to rebuild the old regime. Just before the collapse the old power brokers all gave themselves ownership in the new privatized industries. The rest went to their version of the mob. Not much has changed therefore. <g>
>
DD,

Not that this thread hasn't drifted < bg >, but I can't help think about the most recent episode of "The Sopranos". It had some pretty funny scenes.:-)