Kicking and Strutting, Drugs? Yes, Please, From Russia with Oil

I had successful surgery on Tuesday. They removed the last of my colon and gave me a full-time ostomy. I feel like I got hit by a truck. It's funny Keck is a teaching hospital, so every morning, ten doctors come into my tiny room as a group and discuss my case, ask me questions and offer me drugs to treat my situation. I have learned to say "yes, please." It's a total Marx brothers movie scene. I hope to be home this weekend. I want to be kicking and strutting by the holidays.  

Russia

My college work in Soviet East Europe studies is suddenly practical. I was reading about rumblings among the Russian client states that they want independence. We could see some more independence moves shortly. Well, shortly in years, that is. We could see St. Petersburg as a duchy state with the return of the Romminoffs. Wouldn't that be fun? Here is my short version of the situation. Russia is a gas station. They don't produce anything else of value. That cash flow is funneled up to the top pretty efficiently. In Russia, client states want autonomy and make independent passports. The only things holding all the client states together are the army and the television. With the loss of oil money, the Kremlin won't have the resources to keep all the client states in line. Green energy will have a detrimental effect on the longevity of the Russian Federation. In the even shorter version, things change.