That is Twice that American theoreticians have fucked them over. The first time was in 1991, when most of us who came, were there to offer insights, exposure, and support. But a few, including some that wormed their way into pseudo-leadershit roles, really gave them bad advice. Horrible advice.

Now, the austerity assholes from the neocon branch of economics did it again, pushing austerity, dangling NATO and EU as the fruit that would be their reward, and forcing unnecessary cuts and attacks on on their economic structure to such a degree that they destroyed the rural and small town areas. Only Vilnius, the capital is doing just fair, and only because of growing trade with Russia. (the irony is truly incredible).

I just hope that a truly disastrous den of thieves like Goldman Sucks doesn't get invited in to fix their austerity-created problems.

They have an incredibly literate and educated work force, they are natural artists, poets, and more, and Lithuania is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. Once they are back on their feet, and the austerity jerks are long gone, I suspect they will do well. Look for Iceland, NOT the USA, to step in and help. After all, Iceland was the first country to recognize their independence in 1991, Iceland told the whirled bank to go pound sand, Iceland arrested and convicted its bankers who almost destroyed their economy, and Iceland has taken over the banks and set their own economy straight.

who was a Latvian emigre from the time of Stalin's annexation of the Baltic Republics.

My grandfather, who came over in 1908, helped a lot of the postwar Latvian emigres get settled, and so as I was growing up, there were always Latvians at my grandparents' house.

I became used to the idea of emigres being old but their children and grandchildren doing a remarkable job of keeping the language and culture alive in the U.S.

Anyway, the funeral was held at the Latvian Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, and there was a banquet-like lunch afterward. There were a lot of young people serving the banquet, and I assumed that they were some of the third or fourth generation descendants of the WWII emigres.

Not so. They were RECENT immigrants from Latvia who could barely speak English. Latvia, which the right-wingers formerly touted as a "stunning success story" for neocon economics, had collapsed just like Ireland and all the other countries that drank the Kool-Aid, and as in the much better-known case of Ireland, young people were flooding out of the country.

People all over who are among the 98% need to understand that we have more in common with each other and ban together internationally to help workers and the poor stand up to these hateful 1% who have fooled the 10% just beneath them that the 89% are their indentured servants. There will be no peace anywhere in the world if this stuff keeps happening.

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it will be doubly damning for all the austerity hawks.

Punishing labor is their first thought as they all seek to keep what they've stolen. It's up to labor to vote them out and take it away from them.