Putin Saves the World

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said a locally developed vaccine for Covid-19 has been given approval after less than two months of human testing.

Putin said the vaccine had passed all the required checks, and he gave it to his daughter.

Mass vaccinations begin in October.

Speed, and Russia's work, alarmed some experts and they suggest that Russian researchers might be cutting corners.

Expect the Zombie and/or Cronenburg storyline of 2020 to begin right around Halloween.

Alaska

He Who Smelt It Dealt It

The Russian military has found no trace of chemical weapons use after searching parts of Syria’s Douma allegedly targeted by an “attack.” Photos of victims posted by the White Helmets are fake, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

Experts in radiological, chemical and biological warfare, as well as medics, inspected the parts of the Eastern Ghouta city of Douma, where an alleged chemical attack supposedly took place on Saturday, the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria said in a statement.

The specialists “found no traces of the use of chemical agents” after searching the sites, the statement said. The center’s medical specialists also visited a local hospital but found no patients that showed signs of chemical weapons poisoning. “All these facts show… that no chemical weapons were used in the town of Douma, as it was claimed by the White Helmets,” the statement said, referring to the controversial “civil defense” group that was among the first to report about the alleged attack.

“All the accusations brought by the White Helmets, as well as their photos… allegedly showing the victims of the chemical attack, are nothing more than a yet another piece of fake news and an attempt to disrupt the ceasefire,” the Reconciliation Center said.

Putin Wins!

Poor Putin

On the bright side, he's suffering about as much as everyone else.

Out Like Flynn

Out Like Michael T. Flynn. The shortest tenure of a National Security Council .... ever. He might as well have given his two-week notice when he got sworn in.

It wasn't so much the lie about Russia that brought him down - it was that he was exposed for the lie. Which is, as we know, worse than the deed itself.

I'm waiting for Trump to pick David Petraeus as his replacement which will be a hilarious episode of our National TrainWreck Reality Show - As you'll remember his sex and email scandal with his biographer which was 10x worse than Hillary's and cost him his job at the CIA. The hypocrisy scale might break when that happens ... but does anyone care anymore?

At this point Meet the Press is almost akin to watching The Walking Dead after show The Talking Dead... 

Wut File: Putin Warns US About Socialism

To quote Walter Sobchak: "Has the whole world gone crazy?"

Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin has said the US should take a lesson from the pages of Russian history and not exercise “excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state’s omnipotence”.

“In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state’s role absolute,” Putin said during a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated.”

Sounding more like Barry Goldwater than the former head of the Communist KGB, Putin said, “Nor should we turn a blind eye to the fact that the spirit of free enterprise, including the principle of personal responsibility of businesspeople, investors, and shareholders for their decisions, is being eroded in the last few months. There is no reason to believe that we can achieve better results by shifting responsibility onto the state.”

No, really.

Putin also cautioned the US against using military Keynesianism to lift its economy out of recession, saying, “in the longer run, militarization won’t solve the problem but will rather quell it temporarily. What it will do is squeeze huge financial and other resources from the economy instead of finding better and wiser uses for them.” Ahem. Mr. Putin’s comments come in sharp contrast to Russia’s own military buildup and expansion.

Sounding more like Ron Paul, Putin added, “we must assess the real situation and write off all hopeless debts and ‘bad’ assets. True, this will be an extremely painful and unpleasant process. Far from everyone can accept such measures, fearing for their capitalization, bonuses, or reputation. However, we would ‘conserve’ and prolong the crisis, unless we clean up our balance sheets.”

“The time for enlightenment has come. We must calmly, and without gloating, assess the root causes of this situation and try to peek into the future.”

Yeah, Putin!

Absolutely the strangest of times.

Cubs, Russians Sweep Through Georgia

The Chicago Cubs and the Russian Army Sweep through Georgia.

GEORGIA— A brief benches-clearing skirmish and only the second cycle in Atlanta history couldn't stop the Chicago Cubs from completing their first season sweep of the Braves. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Georgia today to show Washington's support for its embattled ally and to secure a French-led peace deal to withdraw occupying Chicago Cubs and Russian forces. Russia sent hundreds of tanks and troops into the separatist province of South Ossetia and bombed Georgian towns in a major escalation of the conflict that has left thousands of civilians dead and wounded.

Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano hit home runs and the Cubs beat the Atlanta Georgia Braves 11-7 on Thursday night, giving Chicago a sweep of the six-game series for the first time since the rivalry between the franchises began in 1876. Mark Kotsay defended against the overwhelming Chicago Cubs offensive by going 5-for-5 to join Albert Hall as the only Atlanta player to single, double, triple and homer in the same game.

Kotsay drove in a run with a second-inning triple, homered off Chicago starter Ted Lilly in the fourth and added singles in the sixth off Lilly and the ninth off Kerry Wood. Kotsay's seventh-inning double off reliever Bob Howry was his 1,500th career hit. The Russian Army have have also "hit" about 1,500 civilians in their offensive in Georgia.

The Cubs, who swept the Braves in a three-game series in Chicago June 10-12, were dominant in adding three straight wins in Atlanta. The Cubs and the Russians have outscored the Georgians 29-9 to stretch their overall road winning streak to eight games, Chicago's longest since 12 straight wins away from Wrigley Field in 1945, and the first major show of overwhelming aggressive Russian force against a ex-Soviet-era Republic embracing Western ideals like freedom and democracy, since Czechoslovakia in 1968.

The Cubs spoiled the return of Braves left-hander Tom Glavine (2-4), who gave up seven hits and seven runs in four innings in his first start since June 10. Glavine walked four batters and had three strikeouts in his return from a torn flexor tendon in his left elbow. Prime Minister Putin's offensive has spoiled the ideals of liberty and justice in Georgia, and has sent a strong message to Ukraine and also Poland that they are next if they do not step closer to Moscow's influence. Piniella has also been hinting that Florida and Cincinnati are next.

Lilly (12-6) lasted six innings, giving up eight hits and four runs. Georgian President Saakashvili (0-1) He had been championed by the Bush administration but he failed in his attempt to impose Georgian control over South Ossetia and it seems he and Georgia will have to pay a hefty price. Harsh words are being said about him by some European governments, where there has been private criticism of what one close observer called his "sudden and emotional" decision. It is interesting however to see how President Saakashvili is trying to turn his position around, by gathering US and Eastern European support as the man who 'stood up' to the Russians. Other leaders have done this successfully before, for example Nasser in 1967 after the war with Israel.

It wasn't a save situation, but Wood gave up two hits in the ninth after manager Lou Piniella said earlier Thursday the right-hander is back in the closer's role. NATO and France have tried to intervene in the conflict, however it looks as though the West is also not in a save situation.

Lilly hit Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar with a pitch in the sixth inning to start a brief altercation. Escobar was upset as he pointed and yelled at Lilly. Escobar had to be restrained by plate umpire C.B. Bucknor, but other players showed a little emotion as they walked onto the field from both benches and bullpens.

There were no punches and no ejections. However, this ended the cease fire that has, so far, not been observed by the Russian forces who now occupy 1/3 of the ex-Soviet Republic.

The altercation came after Georgian forces moved into South Ossetia, and provoked the Russians and the Chicago Cubs to respond with overwhelming force. Braves rookie left-hander Francisley Bueno was suspended for three games on Thursday. Bob Watson, baseball's vice president for discipline, said Bueno intentionally threw a pitch near Soriano's head in Wednesday's first game of a doubleheader. The UN is considering options, however, since Russia has veto power in the Security Council, it is unlikely that anything will be resolved. John McCain suggested that the Russians be punished by being kicked out of the G7 and also no longer be considered entrance to the WTO.

Ramirez hit a three-run homer in the third before leaving the game in the fifth with a bruised left hip. Ramirez led off the fifth with a single and was on second base when Kotsay lost Geovany Soto's fly ball to center field. The ball dropped for a double, and Ramirez slid headfirst across the plate as second baseman Martin Prado's relay home sailed beyond catcher Clint Sammons' reach for an error.

The Cubs jumped on Glavine for three hits and two runs in the first. Reed Johnson drove in a run with a bases-loaded single. Soto walked to force in another run.

Once again, the West and the Central have been taken by surprise. The word in Washington (and London) is that President Saakashvili was warned to exercise restraint. If so, not only has Russia come out on top against a potential Western Nato ally, but that potential ally ignored serious advice from its mentors.

This raises the issue of what happens now?

The Cubs RHP Ryan Dempster's scheduled start on Saturday at Florida was pushed back to Sunday. Piniella said Dempster has to attend to a personal matter and won't arrive in Miami before late Saturday. LHP Sean Marshall will start Saturday's game.

Putin and Clinton

Vladimir Putin, TIME Magazine's Person of the year, has taken a lot of heat for his none-to-subtle approach to navigating around the term limits imposed upon his power.

He has recently accepted the post of Prime Minister if his hand picked Presidential candidate wins the election. First deputy prime-minister and chairman of Gazprom Dmitry Medvedev is expected to be carried in on the popularity of Putin. Putin has thrown lip service that he will not tinker with the Constitution, nor will the responsibilities of Prime Minister and President be switched. Far from it, I'd venture to say that Medvedev will just hand it all over to Putin, rather than swapping jobs.

Putin has found legal maneuvers around the term limits. He could dissolve the government. He could re-write the Constitution (ala Hugo Chavez). Or he could resign and then re-run for President. The path he has chosen seems more politically pleasing to the Russian people and to the rest of the world. It's still a power grab, but it is legal.

Wow. Power grab right in front of everyone. No one bats an eye. Everyone is just letting it happen. Gosh, it's great that can't happen in the United States... right?

Hold on. Question posed: Is Bill Clinton doing the same exact same thing? Is Bill running for a third term, without being on the ballot? Isn't this a blatant, illegal power grab from the American people? The pretense is that Hillary is running for President.

Maybe.

However, seeing Bill out on the campaign trail so much and so often talking about himself rather than his wife, why aren't more people speculating the unconstitutionality and blatant power grab in front of everyone's eyes? He is popular, you know?

With the changes in the Hillary campaign from Inevitable to Question Mark, perhaps, maybe, eyes are opening? Maybe it's time that real hardball questions be raised? How can Hillary run on 'Change' and not be laughed off the stage? Hopefully someone will bring some tomatoes to the next Clinton rally and show her the door?