Sleepless

 Got up in the middle of the night - 3 AM to be precise - and just had to turn

on the computer to check on what was going on. I've got to discipline myself

not to do this; I am going to end up a nervous wreck. No computer between

10 PM and 7 AM, and I start the coffee first...

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Been reading about Russia this morning. In particular, wanted to

refresh my undertanding of how Russia ended up with so many nuclear

weapons. Yes, Stalin did order Russian scientists to get on with it

after the US had bombed Japan at the end of World War2. The first

nuclear test occured in 1949 (Los Alamos had run its first test in 1945).

Looking to understand better what kind of person Stalin had been, I

was surprised to learn that the great purge with which he is credited had

started before he came to power. An astounding 700,000 people were executed 

in the mid 1930s, from the military and government. This was so thorough that one

ends up asking oneself who could have done this; I mean, who else was there so

that the powers that be could be disseminated like that. The Wikipedia articles 

never really address this, but the result was that a younger and properly educated 

group of people took over. And checking with the OECD, Russia is indeed #1,  

the best educated country on Earth. (Ukraine's population is also very well educated).

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