The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

THE LAST DITCH

Pastures new

Published by Tom

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I have a new job and it is not (only) Russia any more. I shall confinue to live in Moscow, but it is now entirely by choice. It could as easily be London, Geneva, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Shanghai or Ho Chi Minh City. At this depressing juncture in our economic history (which will pass, I promise you), how marvelous to contemplate how the world has changed for the better since I was a boy. To have such choices! And to freely choose to live in what was once the capital of the greatest despotism on Earth!! Things are not so bad as they sometimes seem.

7 responses to “Pastures new”

  1. Guthrum Avatar
    Guthrum

    Congratulations- I am doing much the same but waiting for details to be confirmed, once gone I see little to draw me back.

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  2. Ian Avatar
    Ian

    I wish you continued success!

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  3. JMB Avatar
    JMB

    Congratulations on your new job. It is interesting that you choose to remain in Moscow, a beautiful city no doubt, although the winter climate does leave a lot to be desired but perhaps the 13% tax rate makes up for that.
    Most of us don’t get to choose freely like that, I wonder where I would choose to live if I were in your shoes. I’ll have to think about that. I think my ideal would be to have several houses in different cities and follow Spring and Summer so that I only had to tolerate cold and snow if I chose to do so.

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  4. wonderfulforhisage Avatar
    wonderfulforhisage

    I love the Russians. They have a word which they tell me can’t be translated about themselves and their country which sounds when spoken like ‘Dusha’. I spent quite a bit of time in Moscow in the early to mid ninties and began to get a sense of what it represented.
    I can hear ‘Dusha’ in Russian music, particularly Tchaikovsky, and have a fantasy of his music being played at my funeral.
    I empathise with your decision. On second thoughts I don’t, but, I’d do the same in what I understand your position to be.

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  5. delicolor Avatar
    delicolor

    Congratulations on your continued success.
    I caught a bit of Radio 4’s News Quiz tonight and someone made the ironic quip about what a topsy-turvy world it has become since the cold war- that Britain is nationalising banking at pace and looking forward to power shortages whilst Russia has the oil and the capitalism.

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  6. james higham Avatar
    james higham

    Best of luck, Tom. That sounds great.

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  7. Colin Campbell Avatar
    Colin Campbell

    Onya World Captain of Business. I am happy where I am. I am done with moving around.

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Your blogger

Tom is a retired international lawyer. He was a partner in a City of London law firm and spent almost twenty years abroad serving clients from all over the world.

Returning to London on retirement in 2011, he was dismayed to discover how much liberty had been lost in the UK while he was away.

He’s a classical liberal (libertarian, if you must) who, like his illustrious namesake, considers that

“…government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”

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