The PC's Soviet?

From: Russ Blakeman <rhblake_at_bbtel.com>
Date: Wed Apr 15 20:27:00 1998

Max Eskin wrote:

> All right, I have taken this for a while, but no more. This ignorance
> about Soviet technology and abilities is ridiculous. I think you
> people have kept your anti-communist opinions along with you IBM
> 704s.

My guess is that Max has a bit of Russian blood lines in him to get so
infuriated ;-]

> Although the USSR certainly had ridiculous administration, and its
> technology was not very modern, there were many advances by the
> soviet union, and it now has just as much technology as the US.

Becuase since the breakdown of the USSR they've imported shiploads. Prior to
this they were banned from technological advances openly available in the
free world, same as the restrictions on obtaining nuclear materials and bomb
technology.

> Lastly, the US scored below Russia in third grade math tests. Also,
> a LOT of modern programmers are Russian. Most Russian immigrants
> I know deal with computers.

If any of us had to consider dealing with jail time for low grades we'd get
out act together too.

> When I was in first grade (1990), we were first led into our school's
> new computer room. It had a classroom of terminals (in plywood cases),
> and a punched card machine. My young mind could not discern any other
> details.

Max, I just can't hold this back....I have socks older than that! I hit
first grade the year JFK was shot. (please no offense, I get the same from
those that saw the depression - my parents) You can't judge the US's
capabilities by a public school inventory either - most have Apple II's in
regular use.

> I don't mean to be ridiculous, but please be a bit more careful, people!

With 20 yrs of military intelligence (those don't fit together!) info
passing me daily I'm sure I can vouch for most of what I've seen and heard.
I've been to eastern Europe as well in that period and seen much of what
went on. I've disarmed and unloaded stranded Soviet aircraft that were
forced to land in Iceland for mechanical problems prior to their repairs.
The Fixbat, Bear, etc have had panels opened by crews that were doing
repairs "for diplomatic reasons" while we unloaded their heavy steel
missiles and I've seen planes as late as 1985 with vacuum tubes and "solid
state tubes" in their electronics bays. We had a rectifier from a radio in a
captured Soviet tank that made our solid state items in 1970 look like
microprocessors.

The Russian people are very nice people and a very close knit people. I've
known Russian born people that immigrated to the US when I was growing up in
Chicago, along with those from other Warsaw Pact countries such as Poland
(Chicago has a lot of Polish people on the west side). They just didn't have
the innovations that they claim they did.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
 Russ Blakeman
     RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144
        Phone: (502) 756-1749 Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991
         Email: rhblake_at_bbtel.com or rhblake_at_bigfoot.com
           Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/
                           ICQ # 1714857
       * Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
Received on Wed Apr 15 1998 - 20:27:00 BST

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Fri Oct 10 2014 - 23:30:41 BST