Reagan used to get misty while relating stories of how USians used to be universally respected around the world. ...of course, he could be confusing that with a movie he saw somewhere. That had happened before.

The US being prosecuted for the same thing? Those rules don't apply to the US, because it's "exceptional".

One of the guys held in Russia for a while, since released, was connected to metro Detroit, so the local Detroit media when on and on and on about him. The facts: the guy had been court martialed by the Marines, for being a crook, and discharged with bad paper. The vast majority of the law enforcement experience he claimed, was a fabrication. He styled himself as an "international security expert". The Russians could have been right about him. I have him down as "sketchy".

That WNBA player busted for carrying banned drugs into Russia, was just plain stupid. Reminds me of the tagline of a US anti-drug TV advert from the 70s "when you're busted for drugs over there, you are in for the hassle of your life".

Steve