Putin reaffirms plans to step down

But...

There's always a but. See emphasized words below.

If Hillary Clinton becomes President, do you really think Bill will not have a certain amount of influence?

Putin as prime minister will still have enormous leverage. The guy isn't stupid.

Mr Putin, who is widely popular in Russia, said he would not stay on as president, despite a chorus of calls from lawmakers and others. Last month, however, he indicated he would consider becoming prime minister. [emphasis mine]

Or, as another Bill said:

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,

And most of them are engaged in farce.

Via BreakingNews.

Russia Divulges Putin Assassination Plot

In spite of the missile defense system Russia doesn't want the US to deploy, are they working together? Or is that last paragraph [emphasis mine] true. Then read the next report which has very suspicious timing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been told about a plot to assassinate him during a visit to Iran this week, a Kremlin spokeswoman said Sunday.

The spokeswoman, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, refused further comment.

Interfax news agency, citing a source in Russia's special services, said suicide terrorists had been trained to carry out the assassination.

A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, denied any such plot had been uncovered, characterizing the news as disinformation spread by Iran's adversaries.

And who might Iran's adversaries be? I'll get back to you.

Via AP.

Headline: VIDEO: Neocon Kristol Is Pushing For 'The Next World War'

Which is hardly news. He gets an erection every time he thinks of another World War.

On Fox News Sunday, right-wing pundit Bill Kristol continued to beat the war drums for a strike against Iran. 'I hope the administration is willing to do what it takes to back Iran off,' he said, adding that 'we may need to do stuff across the border.'

You'll have to follow the link to see the video. This machine's far to slow.

Via Black Listed News.

Bush pushes the boat out to welcome Putin

Did you say lobster and sailing?

OK, the headline ain't so bad. Wouldn't have been my choice of words, but it works. Although I doubt Bush did any actual boat pushing.

However, the opening paragraph is horrid:

President George W Bush is hoping that lobster and sailing his father's New England retreat today will help to woo Russia's president Vladimir Putin into putting pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear programme. [emphasis mine]

Oh yeah, a little lobster and sailing should do the trick for foreign policy.

Bush, what a maroon!

(read more)

Putin warns he will point missiles at Europe

This can't be good. Way to go Bush.

Russia will once again aim its missiles at targets in Europe if U.S. plans to build a missile defence shield near Russia's borders go ahead, President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying on Sunday.

(read more)

Putin accuses West of bid to force will on world

It is interesting to read what politicians say and don't say. Take Putin, rather than say Bush is a psychopath who is out to dominate the world through military conquest, he words it a little more politely.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sharply criticised the United States and its Western allies on Saturday for what he said was an attempt to force their will on the world.

Speaking at an annual gathering of top security and defence officials in Germany, Putin attacked the concept of a "unipolar world" -- implying the United States is the sole superpower -- and said U.S. actions abroad had made conflicts worse.

"What is a unipolar world? No matter how we beautify this term it means one single centre of power, one single centre of force and one single master," Putin said.

"It has nothing in common with democracy because that is the opinion of the majority taking into account the minority opinion. People are always teaching us democracy but the people who teach us democracy don't want to learn it themselves."

Putin said the United States had repeatedly overstepped its national borders in questions of international security, a policy that he said had made the world less, not more, safe.

Of course its also possible to say Bush is a fucking maniacal idiot who wants to control all countries in the world and will bomb the hell out of those he doesn't like. But that's just a SPIIDERWEB™ way of saying it.

(read more)