of a russian sphere of influence in the former soviet space is a return of the russian empire. uh-huh. that s really what putin is all about. and, again, you made a distinction, not the soviet empire. no. but the russian empire. mika s brother was interviewed and he was talking about the importance of kyiv and odesa because those were czarist capitals. james stavridis said the same thing, you don t have to look back to the soviet union. go back to some of the czars to understand how putin is thinking. right. he also in a conversation he had with condi rice, he said that russia has only been great when it has been under a strong leader. what was his definition of strong leaders? peter the great, catherine the great, ivan the terrible and joseph stalin. that s the tradition in which he, i think, sees himself as the great restorer of the russian empire. that s really what this is about. well and mika, of course, stalin
Rafael Gonzales has been repairing and restoring figurines of the Infant Jesus for 27 years in his shop in La Paz, Bolivia. He is the go-to restorer for sacred art in Bolivia. At Christmas in particular, devotees bring him figurines that help them hold faith and remember their loved ones.
peter baker, it should be noted he loved cars and was willing to talk about cars for hours at a time and was easily the best volvo restorer in all of northern virginia. certainly the most passionate. on the political front, he endorsed barack obama. not just a drive-by, it was thorough. it was sincere. he meant it. and he cut any remaining ties with the republican party after 1/6. talk for a moment, peter, about the giant of public life that s just left us. well, brian, that s exactly right. the word giant is the one to use about general powell, because he was a giant in washington and a real powerful way, not just his military service, not just his service to his country, but his mastery of a capital where it was easy to get lost, it was easy to get overpowered or to fall into
Historic 19th century paintings by a Bourne resident and artist, Charles Sidney Raleigh, have been renovated and returned to their home at the Jonathan Bourne Historical Center in time for