This piece from my friend George Friedman, who is visiting in Azerbaijan (where?) this week, struck me as particularly thoughtful. I picked up some vital history and some more insight into Europe, one of my "Four Horsemen of the Coming Crisis."

"For Europe does not exist as anything more than a geographic expression; it is the fears and efforts of the individual nation-states constituting it that will determine the course of this affair. Each nation is different, and each makes its own calculus of interest. My interest is to understand their thinking, not only about Russia but also about the European Union, the United States and ultimately themselves. Each is unique; it isn't possible to make a general statement about them."

Hmmm......