Teach
03-09-2017, 05:31 PM
"I need a 'bone'," my friend Mark said. No, this Mark ain't
no dog. He's a two-legged Homo Sapiens. A neighborhood buddy.
Mark needed money. Do-re-mi. He just got a hot tip on the sixth race at Suffolk. "Can't miss!" the neighborhood tout said. "Ice cream," he added.
Now, Mark can't go to the bank. Are you kidding? No collateral. Most of us in our Boston "Hood" didn't have a pot to piss in.
So where does he go? What we called: "the last resort".
Actually, the only resort: "Big Vic". Or, if you prefer, "Vic, The Shark," as in loan shark.
On this day, Mark brought me with him for moral support for his meeting at the pool hall with "Big Vic". That's when Mark asked Vic for "a bone," e.g., a one-hundred dollar bill, "A Bennie," a "C"-Note.
Now, "Big Vic" never asks why you need the money. Frankly,
he doesn't give a shit. All Vic is interested in is "The Juice". What's in it for him?
It's a negotiation time. My buddy Mark says, "How's
10% a week from today, plus the "Prince" (the principal)?
Vic, for his part says, "Money's tight. Let's call it 20% ($20)."
They end up "splitting the difference".
Well, it a long way in both time and space from a poor Boston neighborhood in the late-1950s to Moscow, Russia in early March, 2017. Yet some of the principles are quite similar.
But first, let's go back further in time, The late-1930s. The summer of 1939. "Uncle Joe" Stalin knows that he's on Nazi Germany's "hit list," or should I say: "shit list". "Uncle Joe" knows bad things are in store for "Mother Russia" and they're
just around the corner. Joe makes entreaties to both England and France (particularly France). No dice. A hem here, a haw there. But no firm commitment. Nothing that comes close to "iron-clad". So, whom does "Uncle Joe" turn to? No, not Ghostbusters. Nazi Germany! As W.C. Fields might have said, "Land of Goshen!" August, 1939. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. About ten days later, Germany invades Poland (Sept. 1). Russia moves into Poland from the east. They pretty much split the country right down the middle (Bug River). Yet, it was only a matter of time. June 21, 1941, Nazi Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa).
But what about the current situation. Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is visiting Moscow. Netanyahu is looking for support for Israel as he fears that with the civil war in Syria winding down, Israel, in the not too distant future,
may well be threatened by Iran, particularly in the area of the Golan Heights.
It appears that helping the state of Israel is not on POTUS's front-burner. There are domestic issues to be dealt with, e.g. repeal of Obamacare, infrastructure needs, the border wall. If there's a paramount foreign policy issue, it's North Korea.
Yes, Benjamin Netanyahu has met with Vladimir Putin as a last resort. He senses danger. Just like the Richter scale measures seismic activity, the winds of change are moving fast in the foreign policy arena. Like a fast-moving avalanche, the balance of power is rapidly shifting. America's retreat from foreign affairs involvement has caused nations to seek alliances with countries that they would have never thought of
approaching in years past. We saw it between Russia and Germany in the late summer of 1939. We're seeing it between Russia and Israel in the late-winter of 2017. With what results? Only time will tell.
Oh, speaking of results, that hot tip my friend Mark got on the 6th race at Suffolk. The horse lost!
no dog. He's a two-legged Homo Sapiens. A neighborhood buddy.
Mark needed money. Do-re-mi. He just got a hot tip on the sixth race at Suffolk. "Can't miss!" the neighborhood tout said. "Ice cream," he added.
Now, Mark can't go to the bank. Are you kidding? No collateral. Most of us in our Boston "Hood" didn't have a pot to piss in.
So where does he go? What we called: "the last resort".
Actually, the only resort: "Big Vic". Or, if you prefer, "Vic, The Shark," as in loan shark.
On this day, Mark brought me with him for moral support for his meeting at the pool hall with "Big Vic". That's when Mark asked Vic for "a bone," e.g., a one-hundred dollar bill, "A Bennie," a "C"-Note.
Now, "Big Vic" never asks why you need the money. Frankly,
he doesn't give a shit. All Vic is interested in is "The Juice". What's in it for him?
It's a negotiation time. My buddy Mark says, "How's
10% a week from today, plus the "Prince" (the principal)?
Vic, for his part says, "Money's tight. Let's call it 20% ($20)."
They end up "splitting the difference".
Well, it a long way in both time and space from a poor Boston neighborhood in the late-1950s to Moscow, Russia in early March, 2017. Yet some of the principles are quite similar.
But first, let's go back further in time, The late-1930s. The summer of 1939. "Uncle Joe" Stalin knows that he's on Nazi Germany's "hit list," or should I say: "shit list". "Uncle Joe" knows bad things are in store for "Mother Russia" and they're
just around the corner. Joe makes entreaties to both England and France (particularly France). No dice. A hem here, a haw there. But no firm commitment. Nothing that comes close to "iron-clad". So, whom does "Uncle Joe" turn to? No, not Ghostbusters. Nazi Germany! As W.C. Fields might have said, "Land of Goshen!" August, 1939. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. About ten days later, Germany invades Poland (Sept. 1). Russia moves into Poland from the east. They pretty much split the country right down the middle (Bug River). Yet, it was only a matter of time. June 21, 1941, Nazi Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa).
But what about the current situation. Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is visiting Moscow. Netanyahu is looking for support for Israel as he fears that with the civil war in Syria winding down, Israel, in the not too distant future,
may well be threatened by Iran, particularly in the area of the Golan Heights.
It appears that helping the state of Israel is not on POTUS's front-burner. There are domestic issues to be dealt with, e.g. repeal of Obamacare, infrastructure needs, the border wall. If there's a paramount foreign policy issue, it's North Korea.
Yes, Benjamin Netanyahu has met with Vladimir Putin as a last resort. He senses danger. Just like the Richter scale measures seismic activity, the winds of change are moving fast in the foreign policy arena. Like a fast-moving avalanche, the balance of power is rapidly shifting. America's retreat from foreign affairs involvement has caused nations to seek alliances with countries that they would have never thought of
approaching in years past. We saw it between Russia and Germany in the late summer of 1939. We're seeing it between Russia and Israel in the late-winter of 2017. With what results? Only time will tell.
Oh, speaking of results, that hot tip my friend Mark got on the 6th race at Suffolk. The horse lost!