Wow Jim, that must have been quite an atmosphere to have been in. I was only 4yrs old at the time, so its interesting to hear about it from someone ‘who was there’ if you get my drift.

Thanks Peter, some nice shots. I have quite an extensive collection of Interflug memorabilia, models, safety cards, posters, post cards etc. The first encounter of a real Interflug airliner, was at SPL, whilst on a trip to do with my work.

That Deutsche Lufthansa liveried IL18, looks very smart indeed. The airline was later renamed Interflug, to avoid problems getting overfly rights, and of course, to avoid confusion with the West German carrier.

Yes, so called ‘mainstream media’ do seem to have passed this by. My own sources of information on the situation, has been via RT and the main Chinese news network, CCTV, full of Chinese bias, naturally.

Like others here, I also grew up in a fair chunk of the Cold War. I can remember well the tale my mother told me, of the night back in ’62 during the Cuban missile crisis, when she was genuinely frightened, that none of us would wake up in the morning. It was only when I was much older, and the period formed part of our school’s history syllabus, that I truly learned what a genuinely dangerous time it was.

My interest in the Cold War was kindled, and it formed the basis of my course work for my GCE history exam. I became hooked on the subject, and my interest in it, stays with me to this day.

When I was in my twenties, I visited many of the Socialist countries, including both North Korea (1985) and Albania (1987) The only Socialist countries that I ever felt uneasy in, were Romania, and North Korea, both the embodiment of Orwells 1984.

Her heart still beats!! Thanks for the updates, many happy memories of being involved with dear old ‘FC 🙂

Neil.

That’s even funnier than Lincoln’s comment…!!:D

As true as I sit here, I really hadn’t noticed that.

Seriously though, IMO, there is a real potential for this situation to become something bigger. I tend to agree that by and large, this is sabre rattling on both sides. Personally, I don’t think that I’d put money on it not becoming something greater.

Communist regimes throughout history, have frequently used nationalism, to legitimise their rule. To these regimes, prestige both at home, and in the eyes of the world, is of very great importance. I think I’m right in saying that the Chinese Communist Party, is the first in history to have any real, significant economic clout. IMO this has been achieved by dumping its core Communist ideology, and adopting a strange mix of unbridled capitalism, and nationalism. This system is now defined by the regime, as ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’

I think we’re in for very interesting times, vis-a-vis the Pacific region, and wether the Japanese, or anyone else for that matter, like it or not, there is now the stirring of a new and very powerful ‘kid on the block’ and I certainly think that the Japanese and their allies, underestimate China at their peril.

Here’s an interesting slant on things.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1135058/taiwanese-activists-expected-reach-diaoyus-noon

Even the Taiwanese are getting in on the act. It would be interesting to see how involved the Taiwanese would be prepared to get, in joining their mainland brethren, should the Japanese try to thwart the Chinese designs to reclaim the Diaoyu islands. Dear ‘ol Obama, won’t know where to ‘sit’ :p Go get’m Beijing:diablo:

Oh wow! That’s a lovely shot. I think that Syrian were one of the last, if not THE last, scheduled flag carrier to operate the Caravelle in front line service. Only too happy to be corrected on that;)