Tag Archives: putin

2013425113133925580_20You’re doing it wrong.

No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored.

It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan “you’re either with us or against us.”

But force has proved ineffective and pointless. Afghanistan is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw. Libya is divided into tribes and clans. In Iraq the civil war continues, with dozens killed each day. In the United States, many draw an analogy between Iraq and Syria, and ask why their government would want to repeat recent mistakes.

Vladimir Putin.

A Plea for Caution From Russia (Vladimir Putin, New York Times)

(AFP)

Garry Kasparov, now an opposition political figure in Russia, arrested during protests outside the Pussy Riot trial in Moscow within the last hour.

The all-girl punk group has been found guilty having “committed a serious breach of public order, motivated by religious hatred” and engaged in “provocative and insulting acts in a religious building”. They will be sentenced later today.

Pussy Riot Trial – Live (AFP)

Pic via Olaf Koens

Update: Pussy Riot Trio Jailed For Two Years Each Over Hooliganism By Russian Court (RTE)

All over the Russian internets lately, and now translated into English thanks to AFP, writer Sergei Kalenik’s hilarious Super Putin, Man like Any Other is surely a film waiting to happen.

Set in Moscow in spring 2011, “one year before the world ends,” the comic casts Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as a gi-wearing action hero who, assisted by bear suit-wearing sidekick President Dmitry Medvedev, saves a busload of people from a bomb in a storyline that’s equal parts Speed, Night Watch and The Walking Dead. There’s also a little bit of political commentary sprinkled in. “We wanted to stir Russia’s depressing political scene and create some dialogue,” Kalenik tells AFP.

READ IT: Super Putin in English

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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV4IjHz2yIo

The Russian Prime Minister already has a reputation as an accomplished fighter-jet pilot and Siberian tiger-hunter, and is a black belt in judo. Now you can add jazz crooner to the list.

The 58-year-old former KGB chief stunned an audience at a charity event on Friday that included Sharon Stone and Kevin Costner with his rendition of Blueberry Hill.

‘Like an overwhelming majority of people, I can neither sing nor play but I very much like doing it,’ he said modestly after being urged by the event’s host to get up on stage and perform. After playing the opening notes to the Fats Domino hit on the piano, he stepped up to the microphone and sang.

Previously: From Russia With ROFLcoptersVladimir Putin’s Furry Gift

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This cuddly little guy looks really happy to meet his new friend.

The puppy, not so much.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been captivated by his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov’s gift for him Saturday – a Bulgarian Shepherd puppy.

Putin held in his arms and kissed his sweet new friend after a press conference in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, where the Russian Prime Minister is on a high-profile visit heading a delegation for key energy talks with Borisov.

“I gave the puppy to Putin as a present, I hope this typically Bulgarian breed will bring him joy,” Borisov said.

Putin falls in love with Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov’s Furry Gift (Novinite)

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