Do not apologise for length! I wasn't expecting anywhere near that level of detail, and I appreciate the effort you've gone to. Although it sort of comfirms my opinion that I'm probably happier not knowing. I'm generally not (read: pretty much never) an advocate for iggerance, but international politics tends to make me want to clip people firmly around the earhole, and then bury myself away in a nice warm cave somewhere.

I infer from the BBC that they still haven't actually settled all the refugees from the last time the region went to shit in the 90s. Can we at least finish cleaning up the last mess we made before starting a new one please people?

The Habsburgs started out so well, but then there was that whole in-breeding issue and it was pretty much downhill from there. Hmmm. Wonder if that applies anywhere else?