the photoshoppers are flying

So it seems the Czar of all the Russias is admitting that some of his ecologically-oriented publicity stunts are stage-managed.

Yer shittin me, Vlad. You mean the swimming with whales, wrestling with tigers, and (the latest) flying with the cranes isn't all spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment, casually he-man stuff?

No matter. The close attention to image cultivation easily makes this guy the most fun dictator to watch since Gadaffy unfortunately left us. Hugo Chavez is mildly amusing at times, but can't hold a candle to this guy.

The American presidential contenders are so bloodless and boring in comparison that the current contest really is a race to the bottom which will determine the lesser of two weevils.

And anyway, Vlad really, truly is a man's man -- I mean in real life. He has a wife and a girlfriend. And the girlfriend is a contortionist. And what a backbend she has!