It is tempting to write about current events

But there are already commentators far better informed than myself. Also, if I say one week that I am so glad that Cameron was not given a mandate to support Obama in the move to intervene in Syria, and get on my high horse about interfering in other countries by finding moral grounds to bomb them; the next week all that is irrelevant, because Putin's decision to intervene is so much more interesting and likely to be successful in one way or another. I suppose I am continuing my previous post about the perspective of time. I think it's better to comment after events have run their course.

It is really amazing that Putin decided to publish his arguments in the New York Times, but it is also rather wonderful, because he is taking the debate to the people - although I don't think he encourages this amongst his own electorate. As someone commented in the Guardian website, could Obama address the Russian people in a similar Russian paper? The answer is yes, surprisingly, which shows how I would make a hopeless political commentator.

 you have no IDEA about the extend of freedom of press in Russia - in Russia main TV channels are indeed controlled by Kremlin (though cable TV is not) - but that's all - you can publish in Russian newspapers ANYTHING - read Pravda (which is a media of Communist Party that is opposition to Putin's United Russia party) - they bash Putin on daily basis... The most popular newspapers in Russia are the nationwide tabloid-like daily Komsomolskaya Pravda and Moskovsky Komsomolets - if Obama buys a page for ads and publish his article, then it would be published - but in contrast to USA , nobody in Russia would pay attention to it- Russians simply don't give a hoot about what Obama thinks...

 Putin knew his arguments would not be represented as he wanted them to be represented by any intermediary. The commentators who decode his statement have had a field day - see the Guardian here it is . Putin has perhaps had FUN finding sentiments that his US readers must agree with (or they're UnAmerican) and using them against the US position.

Recently Cameron said, in defense of Putin's belittling of the UK, that we had invented every sport in the world. This is where he clearly needs to take advice before speaking: but I love the idea that we invented sumo wrestling. I don't think we were right in the forefront of skiing or bullfighting, either. Polo was invented out east, somewhere like Mongolia, at around the time when we as a nation were heavily into bear-baiting. Not saying we invented that.