re: Will Russia leave our astronauts in space if we pizz them off enough???

Honestly, the world economy is collectively screwed. If you take any of the major players out, the whole thing crumbles for everyone. Yes, the world central banks led by our Federal Reserve have been slowly destroying the economy with boom and bust cycles for the past century now. Competitive capitalism with endless growth and consumption is on its last legs. It is unsustainable and basically finished. That is a good thing but the transition to something new is going to suck.