The Jokes:
The number of suicides is expected to be greater than the number of murders in NYC this year. I can’t believe so many people find it depressing how safe this town has became.
Today is boxing day. Named for the physical fights you have with relatives they have overstayed their Christmas visit.
Spike Lee is boycotting Django Unchained, calling it an insult to his ancestors. Meanwhile many are boycotting Parental Guidance, because it is an insult to intelligence.
The Soviet Union Comes To An End:
21 years ago today the USSR (Union of Soviet Social Republics) formally came to an end. For years the USSR was one of the world’s two super powers. It was thought for years any second they along with the United States would go to nuclear war with each other, causing the end of the world (these were simpler times, before we had to start worrying about Harold Camping and Mayans). So how did big red go from big bad communist to the ass of Yakov Smirnoff jokes? One word: oil.
Up until the early 80s the USSR was one of the world’s biggest suppliers of oil. When we think of oil now we think of the middle east (even though most of our imported oil comes from Canada). But many countries other than the US got theirs from mother Russia. The USSR made a lot of their money by selling their fuel until Ronald Reagon convinced Saudia Arabia to lower their prices to a point the USSR could no longer compete in the market.
The USSR had trouble feeding their own people let alone keeping up with the arms race. Ronald Reagon increased military spending during the same period, creating the biggest deficits known at the time. The USSR could not support some of their allies causing communist goverments to fall in them.
With the USSR faultering many of the republics making up the union thought about becoming independant. Even Russia itself began to pass referendums to free themselves from some of the USSR’s laws.
On Christmas Day 1991 USSR president Miguel Gorbachev resigned without anyone to take over, calling his office extict. The following day the rest of the goverment disolved itseld. All powers were handed over to the independant republics.
Of course there were many circumstances that lead to the end of Communist Russia. Lets not forget Tetris and From Russia With Love.
