this is the latest photo of the guy being as macho as he can be. Everytime they come out with more photos of him like this, i wonder, don't we all wanna be a little more Putin?

 

Wow, Putin the Conqueror. 
 
 
On second thought, his horse looks kind of wimpy. Next time he needs to be photographed riding a bear.

It's when leaders start doing things like this is when you know they're starting to lose it in their heads. Next up, the Putin statue to be erected with him grappling a bear in Moscow central.

That photo sort of makes it look like he's getting old.

" That photo sort of makes it look like he's getting old. "

He's a former KGB agent, so he's obviously in really good shape.
Daniel Craig looks a lot like him. 

" It's when leaders start doing things like this is when you know they're starting to lose it in their heads. Next up, the Putin statue to be erected with him grappling a bear in Moscow central. "

Vladimir Putin is the next action hero.

I'm with Keyser. Putin is going cocoa for cuckoo poofs.

I have a feeling Russia wants to go back to her old ways. Democracy is not really working out for her, which proves my point that i have been saying for years.   
Democracy, like anal sex, has to eased in slowly and not force it on the receiver. If you go with the former then only one side gets the kicks while the other side basically gets ass raped. Look at how well democracy worked for the Iraqi people. Sadam might have been a ruthless murdering fuck head but at least he kept the Sunni and the Shi'a in line. 

" @giyanks22: Someone has a man-crush. "

Right, it was all the United States and its capitalist allies.

The United States did some questionable things guarding our interests in the Gulf, but so did the entire world. The big players supporting Iraq were France and the Soviets. The US also supported Iran via Iran-Contra, the Soviets supported both sides. I'm not using tu quoque the shift the blame, only to provide some perspective.
 
You probably know all about the complex web of interlocking relationships that defines the modern middle east: the murky motivations, the bad actors, the good actors, the religious fanatics, the regular folk. Maybe you don't; maybe you just learned your Middle East history from back issues of pre-perestroika Pravda and decided to grace us all with your newfound knowledge. I knew the world would eventually produce a replacement for Edward Said. 
 
BTW, it's an odd turn of phrase to say that 'nobody wants to be dictated to' in defense of authoritarian regimes. Kind of contradicts your point.

Yeh that horse is really little him down there. I like the idea of the Bear.

" @rateoforange: I wasn't defending Saddam, he was a piece of filth, but at the same time I fully acknowledge that Saddam was a problem for the Iraqi's to sort out, but he was after all a US puppet always had been since his inception. And I know full well of the way America played off Iraq and Iran against each other, the guns that were being constantly supplied to the Iranians, drug money that was filtering to other parts of the world. Support for terrorist Contras, vetoing resolutions against abiding by International law whilst at the same time telling the Soviets that they should respect International State Sovereignty and get out of Afghanistan... hypocrisy much? My main point was simply that modern day Iraq was simply not what it was like a few decades ago, it was a stable country, relatively poor but peaceful. Many outside nations have interfered with it. But as they sow, so shall they reap, and they are beginning to reap. Or are you saying the US are the good guys, doing God's work in the middle east by clearing out the puppets they helped get in power and stay in power? Religious nut cases like Bush who deemed himself on a divine mission? Even the Nazi's thought what they were doing was the best and they were a "chosen people".  You should also check out America's ousting of Democratically elected leaders in Iran, Mossadeq for oil reasons. Ousting of democracy and putting in place General Suharto in Indonesia, a dictator who sold cheap resources to his western masters. The Americans wern't alone, in both Iran and Indonesia it was Britain who took the lead simply because it wanted access to cheap resources and America tagged along. So the blame was probably higher on the British.  Truth is simple though the US government has no "right" to interfere in these countries, it is not God, in the words of Ron Paul the more the US government meddles the bigger the rod it creates for its own back. "

He's seems to be a "why not?" go for it guy.  

" @crusnchill: Oil is needed, you pay for it, like the rest of the world NOT STEAL IT.  How does that make me a hypocrite? I wanna use oil, I wanna pay for it?  Would Jesus steal oil? I'm sick to death talking to simpletons? Are you honestly saying stealing is OK? Is that what you're saying? That America needs to steal in order to survive, cos that's bullshit, and just to elaborate, the average American Citizen barely sees any "cheap oil", the ones making the big money are the oil companies and the speculators, so both ways the average American gets shafted, by their own businesses and shylocks in the Financial markets who artificially drive up prices, by keeping oil off supply stored in huge tankers. Maybe if you were a true patriot you would get rid of the speculators. You wanna know why they don't, because the government and speculators in Wall Street are all in on it together, they play a game to make as much profit as possible, YOU end up paying for that game. "