ToastnBacon

I've got to say that I'm very impressed by Dan's level of game play. He is running circles around every player out there and making it look easy. He is the true shot caller this season, totally in control of the game. He is like a wise old silverback gorilla, he doesn't have even have to worry about winning challenges. He just uses his strategy, so effortlessly. Speaking of challenges, it is nice to see so many new challenges this season. The producers have really outdone themselves coming up with exciting new ideas. Plus, it is good to see an exciting new location this season too. I was worried that Survivor was in danger of falling into a deep rut, with a repetitive format and the same crappy location , but no worries there.

I really wish you had been more specific, but if you are talking about Ukraine and Georgia, I might surprise you and answer yes, with a few important qualifications.In the case of Ukraine there is some legitimacy to be the Russian Federation's claims to land east of the Dnepr River, and while the annexation of the Crimea Peninsula is more problematic, it is certainly within their sphere of influence. The history of Russia's relationship with Ukraine goes back centuries. When Russia invaded Georgia a few years ago, it was primarily to put a halt to their aspirations to join NATO, and I think that is also a factor behind Russia's actions in Ukraine. Russia pointed to large pockets of ethnic Russians in both countries as the primary reason, but the underlying reason was to stop an erosion of their sphere of influence. That said, there are some very big differences between now and the 1980s. In the 1980s, the Reagan Administration did not want to see our sphere of influence erode. Quashing Cuban and Soviet efforts to expand communism by proxy was the right thing to do in the 1980s, especially in the Western Hemisphere. The Cold War was on, there were two rather large nuclear arsenals on alert to annihilate each other. It was important to stand firm against a real adversary who was actively trying to undermine U.S. foreign policy and influence. I don't like Putin, and I'd be very glad if he was removed from power. However, I do acknowledge that the former Soviet Repulics are firmly under Russian influence. It would be very unwise for the U.S. and NATO to get involved militarily with Ukraine, or Georgia. I see the economic sanctions as enough to discourage Putin from going too far for now. The line has basically been drawn at the Dnepr River, but I think Putin probably could grab Ukrainian land to the west of it and get away with it, let's hope he doesn't. I'm hoping Putin falls from power, but he seems to have a solid hold on Russia.

I'm not sure what that means without an example, but in the case of Reagan squashing Cuban and Soviet influence in Grenada, it doesn't make sense to be overly concerned with the perceptions of your detractors.If your goal is to remove the Cuban military and construction workers from Grenada, then you can't be too worried about what your political opponents will say. A political opponent will always find fault or the counter point, a strong leader pushes forward with their agenda in the face of criticism from their opponents. I translate your comment as meaning the reason you didn't like the Reagan Administration is because he wasn't afraid of being criticized by the left. In other words, what you see as arrogance, I see as strength and conviction.

There is more than one variable at play, it depends on the level of precedence of the medal. The National Defense Medal is awarded to everyone who serves in the military during a period of conflict designated by congress, it is a rather low-level medal.Medals from Silver Star and above aren't handed out loosely, they have stringent requisites, the first being that the service member had to be in actual combat, and distinguished themselves with their actions. The award process involves much more scrutiny for Silver Stars and above. Silver Stars and the medals above them, aren't handed out to everyone like participation ribbons. Bronze Stars are given for action in combat, but not always, sometimes the are awarded to those in support roles. Campaign medals are yet another story, they typically only require that the service member was deployed in support of a campaign or operation; again, they are a rather low-level awards. I'm not sure what the point of bringing up how many medals were awarded for Operation Urgent Fury proved, other than to express disdain for Reagan and the military. I think it was a wise move in the 1980s for Reagan to stand firm against communist expansion in the Carribean and Latin America.

JFK drew the line against the Soviets putting nuclear weapons and nuclear capable weapons platforms in Cuba back in 1963.Plus, the Soviets would have used the Grenada airstrip for contingencies, not as a permanent base for bombers. In the event of a war, it would have been used as a dispersal or recovery airfield for Soviet bombers. I'm not sure why you think the U.S. needs the approval of Canada and the UK to act against a strategic threat. Nor am I sure why you are scoffing at the number of medals handed out for Grenada. For each combat troop, there are 10 support troops, so I am not at all surprised that the number of medals awarded exceeds the number of troops who invaded the island. Support personnel are given recognition for the jobs they do too.

LOL You explained it perfectly until you used the "dog love" analogy. In my experience, people love their dogs more intensely than other humans.

You mean like romantic love? I get the feel that the Phillip character doesn't mind killing certain types of people, but has a very hard time killing people that he thinks don't deserve it. While I think that the Phillip character would try to avoid killing Martha, I don't see him being attached in the romantic sense. Interesting perspective.

The reason we invaded Grenada was because the Cubans were there building an airbase with a runway long enough to accommodate long-range Soviet bombers. Call it symbolic if you wish, but there was a solid reason behind it. Letting the Soviets and Cubans go unchecked in the Western Hemisphere wouldn't have been very smart in 1983.

The treaty that Reagan signed eliminated intermediate range cruise missiles, an entire class of nuclear weapons.And yes, Gorbachev did push reforms under his policy of Glasnost, reforms that led to the failed coup, and the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union. Reagan played a major role in ending the Cold War, by modernizing our military with weapons like the Pershing II, he brought the Soviets to the negotiating table, he wasn't the mad-man devil that the left depicts him as.

I was talking a series ender, a break up that leads to defection and treason. With Elizabeth being bested by Phillip. He takes Henry and Paige into witness protection, leaving Elizabeth with no option but to return to the Soviet Union. I'd like to see a montage of her in a dank and drab apartment, eating cold borscht and watching Yeltsin come to power on an ancient TV set. They could do all that in a montage, all they need is a really long montage. The end of season one, and part of season two.Phillip was staying in a crappy hotel, he got an apartment but then they patched things up.

I'm hoping the reason they moved Martha's character to the back burner is to let the plot thicken and simmer.No strike that, to intentionally let it boil over and explode. I'm hoping for some real Martha drama when the season opens next year. That pink fat-sweater better be gone too; maybe they can have her blubbering and wearing a pair of those footie pajamas? Empty boxes of Kleenex all over her house, the Kama Sutra book in the trash can with her silk work blouses. I know they didn't have them back in 1983, but I want to see Martha wearing a Snuggie and using a Sham-Wow as a tissue. I want epic Martha drama that includes a total meltdown, binging on ice cream, eating Ring Dings, absent from work and under extreme suspicion. Agent Gaad and Walter Taffet knocking on her door, that South African, dude Hans in cuffs. Then there is her pistol, for personal protection. Yes, I want to see it used, but not as she intended. Click-Bang! Good bye cruel world... Martha was never respected.

I hope they write the series as culminating with a big show down between Phillip and Elizabeth over the kids.Just like so many divorces that end with a big fight over the children, but with a P&E break up, the stakes will be much higher.

I like the actor who plays Arkady, I think he had a very small scene or two in the Sopranos.The Arkady character is interesting, I get the feeling that the character is the typical guy who's good at a job, and does it for the sake of being being known as competent more than anything else. I see the Phillip character as being much the same; however, Phillip has been asked to do much more horrendous things.

I think an Epic Rap Battle between Rasputin and Stalin is needed to settle this. Enjoy!

Oh, how I hope a Polish person comes onto this forum and sets you straight.Why are you bringing 1938 into this anyway? First, the global economy was in the toilet in the early 1930s, Hitler got Germany out by starting an economic boom with a massive defense build up. But if you think that Poland was a backwards and struggling country before the Nazi invasion and the communist era, you are so very wrong. I went to Poland in in 1994, not long after the last of the Red Army troops had left Eastern Europe. There was hyper-inflation in the country, but already entrepreneurship was creating opportunity, and within a few years they had turned things around. Why? Because communism is a miserable failure economically, and it stifles personal freedom in every country that embraces it. The Soviet Union's particular brand of communism was brutal and oppressive. Reagan was so very right to call them an Evil Empire. Gorbachev knew this too, he knew reform was needed, when he started making changes and what the hell happen? The failed coup. The entire world is so very lucky that damned coup failed. The bottom line is that the Soviet Union sucked, to quote Reagan, it was "a source of evil in the modern world."

I replied to you in the politics of the 1980's thread.

One only needs to compare what life was like in the Warsaw Pact states that were dominated by Soviet Union to life in Western Europe.Just compare what it was like in East Germany as opposed to West Germany in the 1980s, not to mention what it was like in the Soviet Union. Reagan's Evil Empire speech was spot on.

I agree, Elizabeth is a deeply flawed and damaged person. With what we have been shown of her backstory, I see her clinging to her patriotism as a way of holding herself together.

Huh? Are you trying to say the USSR and the USA were the same? Thanks for the laugh.

That's pretty good! As long as they didn't have Stan know exactly what they were doing. If he did, it would turn into something hillarious like the iocane poison scene from The Princess Bride.

I don't think Eliabeth will ever crack, she has bought into the communist ideology all the way. She is dead inside and thinks it is normal. Phillip still has a heart and has big problems with all the killing he is doing on behalf of the Soviet Union. It was ironic that Elizabeth said that Phillip wasn't seeing the Martha situation clearly, but Elizabeth is completely misreading Paige. I think Phillip knew Paige would push back hard, and that is why he was for sending her with Elizabeth. He is trying to maneuver Elizabeth into a position where she will have to choose between the KGB and her family. I predict disastrous results when Elizabeth is forced into choosing next season.

I haven't heard Richard Thomas get much praise for his acting, but I think he is pretty damned good in this. Gaad of my favorite characters in this show.

I think there is an good chance that Martha has turned herself in.

That was an awesome ending! Both Paige and Phillip backed up what Reagan was saying about the Soviet Union with their misery. Showing Henry and Stan happy both happy being Americans, and only Elizabeth clinging to "the cause". Phenomenal! The only disappointment was no Martha, but I suspect that she might have turned herself in. Could that be why there was no investigation of Stan?

I'm with you, I don't want them going there either. If it is a fake out, they are going to elaborate lengths, because in that video clip of the preview there is a blue neon sign that says Apotheke. That is the German word for pharmacy, so my guess is they are trying to sneak into East Germany to get behind the iron curtain.Seems like they could have went to Sweden, then Finland to hop over the border to Russia if they wanted to avoid one of the most heavily guarded borders of the Cold War.