I imagine that the process for these talks will very much depends on whether the next President slows down the Czech and Polish missile installations. If he does, then frankly it won't matter. grown ups will be back in charge who can deal with this stuff.

The US has real financial problems and the huge military may become a price it can no longer easily afford. I wonder if Putin's supposed nuclear modernisation is a version of what Star Wars did to the soviets. An encouragement to go broke. I rather imagine that START will expire but the US will signal a we-will-pretend-it-still-works-if-you-will.

Course if McCain gets in, we're probably all dead anyway, but fortunately that's looking increasingly unlikely.

You should have come to Paris. I hear you're a beer person.

keep to the Fen Causeway

Recently, they've given up and gone for the military solution.

It's going to be up to the new US administration to convince them that the adults are now in charge and to walk this mess back.  

Hopefully with a sane person in the White House, START will be renegotiated. But the Russians are not going to just roll over like under Yeltsin - they will have to be given a fair deal.

A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith