On Friday 25 Oct 2002 10:39 pm, you wrote:
> Hostage crisis in Moscow, I turn on the BBC and there is our very
> own Mark Galeotti, being asked for his opinion. Hard times but
> respsect to Mark for his expertise in troubled times.
>
Dragging this back onto topic, it shows that there's still life left in the
old Russia/Lunar analogy. We have a large empire, based on an ancient
religion. But, the southern states of the empire follow a different
religion. In the heartlands, this other religion has a reptutation of being
militant and extremist; the southerners are viewed with suspicion. In one
small, barren, mountainous country on the empire's borders live the most
hard-line followers of this southern creed, and they are planning an
unconventional war that will change the world...
But of course, no analogy is perfect.
Neil.