does anybody else mourn the Cold War, in a way?

The fall of the Iron Curtain sounded a death knell not just for totalitarian government in Europe (hurrah), but also for Western (and perhaps Eastern?) ideology. This, I think, was not such a positive side-effect. The mess were in now is a mess made of global plutocracy.

Hey, at least we knew who the enemy was. And so did they.

And it must have given people such a *frisson* to cross from one side to another. I've had many a Guy Burgess fantasy (not *that* sort of Guy Burgess fantasy!).

Just a thought.

As for the winner: sub-saharan Africa. The CCCP did wonders for literacy in those parts.