Embassy of Lithuania, 2622 16th Street, N.W., Washington, DC

 





 

Jane and I went to the embassy a couple of weeks ago to apply for our visas.  It's a gorgeous building in a neighborhood that's chock-a-block with embassies and consulates, including the Cuban Interest section of the embassy of Switzerland.  Maybe it's a sign of the times that the consular officer who interviewed us wanted to know all about our health insurance coverage and required further documentation of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield policy that I hold as a retiree of the federal service, and also of the supplemental insurance provided to Fulbrighters by the Department of State.  It made me wonder if there are documented cases of American citizens traveling to Lithuania for major surgery on the assumption that the host government would be willing to pay for it.  It doesn't seem very likely, at least not to me.  I know that when it comes time for my quadruple bypass surgery, I'll be lighting out for Cleveland.

 

   

In today's Washington Post, Anne Applebaum discusses the kinds of pressures that can be exerted by Russia on its neighbors, especially those who might be most tempted by cooperation with the European Union and NATO.  The photo above shows  a Russian Iskander missile of the type deployed, as Vladimir Putin recently conceded, in Kaliningrad oblast, the Russian exclave lying between Lithuania and Poland.