Russia never ceases to come up with amazing coincidences. In the early morning hours of Jan. 8, 2020, of the dozen commercial airliners that took off from Tehran International Airport, the only plane targeted by Russian-made Tor M-1 missiles was the flight to Kyiv by Ukrainian International Airlines. More recently, in the middle of Siberia’s far northern Yamal Okrug, a 40-year-old gas condensate plant blew up Thursday, killing no one, but cutting gas deliveries to Germany in half. With the Yamal pipeline across Poland fast losing pressure, Nord Stream 1 had just completed maintenance, and…was able to step in and save the day! Just in time to illustrate the merits of Nord Stream 2 to wobbly voters in next month’s Bundestag elections. With Best Regards Jim Brooke