Shachmati
Shachmati, Russian from the Persian al schah mat; the King is dead. Il est Mort. Poetically: Mr. Kurtz, he dead. More simply chess. Chess is the game of kings. Or at least it sounds good to say so. The Kings of this world were gathered in St Petersburg last week and the games were afoot. In this light consider the insult comedy of vlad the impaler
Jokes backfire at G8 as leaders smart from Putin's acid tongue - World - Times Online [other acts included Bush and Blair trying out either an old Abbot and Costello routine perhaps Fry and Laurie, and Bush with a bit of Benny Hill]. For our own President Bush who is well known for preferring to be on the giving end of sarcasm. Putin had first ""To be honest, we certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq," Mr Putin said, prompting laughter and applause from reporters." And then for for Prime Minister Tony Blair "There are also other questions; questions, let's say, about the fight against corruption. We'd be interested in hearing your experience, including how it applies to Lord Levy." Recent statements from Vice President Cheney were dismissed with "unsuccessful hunting shot". That was not all of it either, apparently when President Bush first arrived and went out to Putin's Dacha where he was enthusiastically met by the Russian President's dog. Putin's off-the-cuff comment was along the lines of: my dog bigger jumps higher runs faster, meaner than your dog Barney [I think I heard this on last Friday's Diane Rehm]. The G-8 now with all the nuance and subtly of a third grade recess. I also recall reading somewhere that at a previous meeting of the two leaders when George Bush tried to pressure Putin on freedom of the press, Putin retorted - Well you fired Dan Rather. Which in many ways accurately captures that moment in time. Certainly there are web loggists out there who have stenciled Rather's face to their crates. But they were mere errand boys sent by a grocers clerk. If I may take a moment and apply a small equation: Hinderaker + Captains Quarters to obtain Hindquarters as an all purpose designation of the blogs of the hyper-ventilating right. George W. Bush used his family connections to get himself into the Texas air national guard in order to avoid duty in Vietnam, and then he used similar connections to walk away from that when he tired of it and duty became inconvenient. The broad outlines of this, frankly, are self evident. Dan Rather, in the right forest, if barking up the wrong tree. The past is past. For now I want to say that if Mr. Putin thinks he is making a point here he isn't Putin's 'Sovereign Democracy'. I just need someone to say so - to say something like this It's time to stop pretending that the Kremlin shares the free world's interests. The high energy prices the Putin administration requires to keep its hold on power are driven by the tensions that come with every North Korean missile launching and Iranian nuclear threat. It's no surprise that Russia continues to block United Nations sanctions against these rogue states. The mystery is why the West continues to treat Russia like an ally. Garry Kasparov [Mr. Kasparov is the co-chairman of the All-Russia Civil Congress and the chairman of the United Civil Front of Russia.]
What's Bad for Putin Is Best for Russians - New York Times.
I am assuming that this is the same Garry Kasparov (Grandmaster) who held the FIDE world Chess Championship between 1985 and 1993.
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