Let's call In to Mr. Putin

      State controlled media hosted a unique event for Pres. Putin last Friday.  His Excellency, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin sat down to take questions for not 1 hour, not 2 hours, but 8 grueling hours of questions from curious hand-picked, screened, courageous callers.  His responses seemed to satisfy everybody, even Vladimir himself.  How quaint, a sitting president, hosting a call-in show on national TV.   Maybe he wore a sweater like Mr. Rodgers did in the USA.   He didn't wear face paint, but he obviously had a face makeover at the makeup counter before the cameras zoomed in on that "face".
     No doubt he wanted to dispel critics of his handling of the slowing Russyan economy.  He proclaimed that the bottom had been reached, the economy was headed back up and GDP was going to improve.  Soon after, his economics minister stated that the economy would continue to slow and retreat further over the next 2 years.  Oh, well, we know that bureaucrats often fail to communicate.
    Vlad also announced that he would be selling air defense systems to Iran; those same systems that he refused to sell them in 2012.  Things have changed in the Middle East; plus, The Old Bear needs some foreign exchange to bolster its reserve funds; ergo, sell weapons to highest bidder.
     Maybe this is no more than his aggressive stance of thumbing his nose at the West-those capitalist running dogs who have placed financial restrictions on Mad Vlad's friends(oligarchs FOV(friends of Vlad)).   The largest country on the planet continues to seek more land.  Hmmm.  Feeling a little squeezed Vlad?   Siberia not so productive?   Maybe it's time to give Sakhalin back to Japan.   Maybe it's time to sell Kamchatka to China.   Maybe it's time to give Crimea back to Ukraine.   Maybe it's time to get real, Vlad.