as usual, i could be wrong, but ... i suspect that the reason euro ops think that 'foreign' objects are needed in the irr part of the ncc database is because foreign resources and foreign aut-num:s are used at euro ixen where there is a strong policy to be registered in the irr. combine this with the "if it is not done by our paternalistic ncc then we don't use it" culture, i.e. do not use radb etc., we're stuck with having the foreign stuff in the irr part of the ncc database. that the trustworthiness of these foreign data is no greater than if it was taken from its home irr, radb or whatever, should not surprise us. it is a global internet. when we 'regionalize' trust, the consequences become strange, though sometimes subtle. but then you know this quite well, being the rir with half a dozen rpki trust anchors. </sarcasm> randy