Comments on: Putin and the Cranes

Putin and the Cranes

Cloud King — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:08:28 -0800

President Putin leads a flock of rare cranes in hang glider

By: vuron

vuron — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:12:05 -0800

I'm pretty sure Putin is actually a Super-villain but I have to admit that he's got a certain amount of style. When does he get the powered armor and the mask?

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:13:16 -0800

I'm disappointed he is not bare chested and armed with a rifle.

By: argonauta

argonauta — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:16:21 -0800

Even Paul Ryan couldn't make shit like this up.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:17:34 -0800

The link doesn't work for me, alas.

By: awfurby

awfurby — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:19:10 -0800

Link ends up at a domain parking site.

By: AElfwine Evenstar

AElfwine Evenstar — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:19:42 -0800

It's dead Jim.

By: Dean358

Dean358 — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:19:49 -0800

Do two birds really = a "flock" ? Just askin', with apologies to the Winged Migration creators...

By: spicynuts

spicynuts — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:19:49 -0800

Later he will arm wrestle a babboon named Babboonshka while making borscht from blood of a 12 point stag he chased down and strangled during his morning coffee break

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:21:04 -0800

different link to presumably similar content

By: cjorgensen

cjorgensen — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:21:22 -0800

Maybe he'll inspire some rappers to make a song about him. (link works for me)

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:21:36 -0800

I know he is a monstrous evil despot but MY GOD THAT MAN IS SASSY.

By: Cloud King

Cloud King — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:21:38 -0800

Thats weird, it works for me. Is Russia Today blocked by your filter? Here is another link

By: Flashman

Flashman — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:22:15 -0800

Pooty Poot likes birds that toot

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:22:15 -0800

If anyone was in any doubt that RT is the Putin propaganda channel...

By: laconic skeuomorph

laconic skeuomorph — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:23:28 -0800

I love that smug "I just threw a journalist to his death from my plane thingy" look he effects.

By: hal9k

hal9k — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:29:25 -0800

Communist Pate!

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:30:01 -0800

"Is Russia Today blocked by your filter?" Looks like some kind of ip weirdness. "Russia Today" shows results on Google, but clicking any of the links goes to the domain parking site awfurby mentioned.

By: zeikka

zeikka — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:30:53 -0800

Putin is the closest thing to real life Bond villain.

By: ChuraChura

ChuraChura — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:33:03 -0800

Vladimir Putin: Action Man!

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:33:39 -0800

I'm waiting for the ' accidently' leaked sex tape where he satisfies the entire female cast of the Moscow ballet. At the end they thank him profusely.

By: Bwithh

Bwithh — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:36:27 -0800

We need a sequel to "Conversation 16" Amerikans: write your congressperson!

By: Sticherbeast

Sticherbeast — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:37:08 -0800

Vladimir Putin became the President of Russia only so that he could reenact his favorite parts from Fly Away Home.

By: laconic skeuomorph

laconic skeuomorph — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:38:51 -0800

If anyone was in any doubt that RTMeFi is the Putin propaganda channel...

By: vuron

vuron — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:41:00 -0800

Damn, I'd seen a bunch of those photos seperately ChuraChura but collected together the effect is pretty damned potent. I know it's basically pure propaganda but US politicians would kill for publicity shots like those.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:43:01 -0800

Putin denies part in Pussy Riot case

By: cjorgensen

cjorgensen — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:43:31 -0800

Putin is the closest thing to real life Bond villain. Now that Kim Jong-il is dead and his son is proving to be a buffoon.

By: Jehan

Jehan — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:44:49 -0800

Vladimir Putin: Action Man!

Like Commodus, but sane.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:45:33 -0800

In the US (or other western countries) that kind of thing would look really fake, especially if everyone was doing it. (Can you imagine a picture of Romney piloting a speedboat or petting a bear?) But in Russia they expect leaders to be manly men, hence the photos.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:47:55 -0800

Obama doesn't too bad, but he's got an intentional irony thing going on.

By: spitbull

spitbull — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:49:15 -0800

Who cares, when you've got Paul Ryan on team Blue?

By: Nelson

Nelson — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:50:43 -0800

He's adorable when he's not encouraging his cronies to murder journalists and rob the country blind. Related: montage of Putin bad-ass images (SFW despite chan4chan in the URL).

By: RonButNotStupid

RonButNotStupid — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:53:24 -0800

(Can you imagine a picture of Romney piloting a speedboat or petting a bear?) Almost

By: ph00dz

ph00dz — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:54:39 -0800

So fucking awesome.

By: goethean

goethean — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:57:02 -0800

The project is called Flight of Hope. I'm pretty sure that Hope was hunted down and shot by ex-KGB agents some time ago.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:57:38 -0800

Obama "doesn't" look too bad. Apologies for the missing word. Almost Pft. He's not even the one driving the jetski.

By: BlueHorse

BlueHorse — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:59:13 -0800

Romney, what a putz. Not saying Putin doesn't deserve an afterlife in one of the nether hells, but it's rather endearing how he seems to enjoy being with animals: hugging a puppy and nuzzling a horse, holding the tiger's head, looking at the leopard and the bear. Yes, he has a gun in one pic, and I'm sure he hunts, but I 'get' the idea that once can eat meat, hunt, and still enjoy the company of animals, so please let's not debate on that. The company of journalists doesn't seem to appeal to him....

By: vuron

vuron — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:01:54 -0800

I'm trying to remember another tyrant with a love of animals, I'm sure Metafilter will remind me of who I'm thinking about.

By: goethean

goethean — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:02:33 -0800

Romney, what a putz. What? He's just going to the bank.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:04:38 -0800

I'm trying to remember another tyrant with a love of animals Hrm.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:05:12 -0800

But in Russia they expect leaders to be manly men, hence the photos. I'd be very surprised to see any pictures of Yeltsin or Gorbachev shirtless on a horse.* *Statement is for rhetorical purposes only -- not a request. DO NOT WANT.

By: exogenous

exogenous — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:10:58 -0800

That's not a hang glider: it has a motor and is a "trike" paramotor. Operation Migration in the USA has assisted with whooping crane migration. As noted by pracowity in a comment in 2007:

Like many birds, Whooping cranes learn their migration route by following their parents. But this knowledge is lost when the species is reduced and there are no longer any wild birds using the flyway. Until Operation Migration was asked by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to spearhead a reintroduction of the world's most endangered cranes, there was no method of teaching migration to captive reared Whooping cranes released into the wild. In the first five years of the program, approximately 60 birds have been taught a migration route between Wisconsin and Florida.

By: ersatz

ersatz — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:11:44 -0800

In the US (or other western countries) that kind of thing would look really fake Mission accomplished.

By: zamboni

zamboni — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:15:19 -0800

From the Russia Times facebook page, several hours ago: http://RT.com/ is facing technical difficulties. Our team is working hard to bring the site fully back online, but it may not be available for all users for at least two more hours. It looks like they messed up the domain record, and the fix hasn't propagated everywhere.

By: jeffamaphone

jeffamaphone — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:22:50 -0800

The (recently arrived in the US) Russian guy I work with had many unpleasant things to say about RT and Putin. He enjoyed this comment thread though.

By: darth_tedious

darth_tedious — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:24:11 -0800

>I know he is a monstrous evil despot but MY GOD THAT MAN IS SASSY. His stunts are sort-of endearing, in that few other politicians, let alone autocrats, pursue the nine-year old voter so relentlessly.

By: cjorgensen

cjorgensen — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:27:04 -0800

I just want to read the translation of what Putin thought the cranes tasted like.

By: spitbull

spitbull — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:34:42 -0800

His stunts are sort-of endearing, in that few other politicians, let alone autocrats, pursue the nine-year old voter so relentlessly. posted by darth_tedious The Republicans still trot out Chuck Norris every year, and Herman Cain's stump speech included a stirring quote from theme song to the Pokemon movie. So there's that.

By: absalom

absalom — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:40:22 -0800

He's like Destro made from the DNA of Stalin, Khrushchev, and Andropov.

By: darth_tedious

darth_tedious — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:45:28 -0800

>The Republicans still trot out Chuck Norris every year That said, it's my understanding-- based on what I freely admit is relatively light research and what amounts to hearsay-- that Chuck Norris eats bears after hollowing their souls. I would grant, however, that it's highly unlikely that Herman Cain could take one of the Pokemon; Pokemon are really just too strong, and it's essentially unfair to expect a middle-aged or older human-- even one well trained-- to have a fair chance against them, assuming the conditions under which one might realistically face one in battle.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:57:49 -0800

In Post-Soviet Russia despot IS hero!

By: homunculus

homunculus — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:01:43 -0800

Chuck Norris threatens '1,000 years of darkness' if Obama wins

By: arcticseal

arcticseal — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:02:15 -0800

See his vest, see his vest...

By: symbioid

symbioid — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:02:58 -0800

This really needs an epic classical composition in honor of it, really.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:03:45 -0800

Oh man, Norris vs. Putin in the Thunderdome. Two men enter, one man reigns supreme.

By: jadepearl

jadepearl — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:04:12 -0800

Ah hell, Putin would be a few steps away from being elected governor of Minnesota if he caught a record setting walleye.

By: A dead Quaker

A dead Quaker — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:07:00 -0800

"You think you're so special with your homebrew, Obama? Fuck that shit, I'm SAVING AN ENDANGERED SPECIES! In a TRICYCLE GLIDER!"

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:08:42 -0800

PRESIDENT PUTIN SHALL ENCOMPASS YOUR DOOM!

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:11:06 -0800

"Chuck Norris threatens '1,000 years of darkness' if Obama wins" I'd be careful. Norris might just be able to pull it off.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:15:19 -0800

If he punches the sun, that is.

By: spicynuts

spicynuts — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:24:51 -0800

I'd be very surprised to see any pictures of Yeltsin or Gorbachev shirtless on a horse.* Yes but there are other ways of proving you are a manly man - drinking for one. Yeltsin was Russia's favorite drunk uncle. Everyone loved him. A different kind of manly man but still 'manly' in the Russian psyche. Gorbachev - no one talks about Gorbachev. He is invisible. Draw your own conclusions.

By: sio42

sio42 — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:35:50 -0800

putin makes me realize that people that do bad things can also have oddly almost normal hobbies or whatever. not that this is normal, but it's not like his hobby is siccing his dogs on people like of saddam's sons. or maybe he does but we dont know about it. mostly, putin just confuses me.

By: His thoughts were red thoughts

His thoughts were red thoughts — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:58:39 -0800

Where does this guy find the time to orchestrate the abuse and murder of journalists and activists, with all this adventuring?

By: jet_silver

jet_silver — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 20:11:20 -0800

Putin ~~participates in~~ sits like a sack of potatoes in an experiment....

By: Nomyte

Nomyte — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 20:46:15 -0800

Stalin rides a Vespa. Gromyko hosts saltwater taffy tasting. Brezhnev masters ice dancing.

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 21:00:00 -0800

Khrushchev takes up Chinese calligraphy. Bulganin wins a chili cook-off. Chernenko buys a Harley, wrecks it.

By: Curious Artificer

Curious Artificer — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 21:05:24 -0800

But did he get a hummer in the oval office? Okay, probably.

By: DisreputableDog

DisreputableDog — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:20:14 -0800

C'mon. If you were in power of a country, wouldn't you suddenly realize you could do all sorts of cool shit (even if it was just propoganda)? I wonder if any President has ever thought to himself, "So when do I get to ride a whale?" and "Area 51. Must schedule it as soon as possible. Gonna be AWESOME."

By: Chekhovian

Chekhovian — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:40:05 -0800

But did he get a hummer in the oval office? You do realize that a lot of these photos are probably taken by his "persoal photographer", don't you? And I seem to recall rumors of Putin putining it to some olymipic gymnast/contortionist or something too.

By: Vibrissae

Vibrissae — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:46:42 -0800

Original link is down for some reason - here's one that works That said, Putin is scum, period. He is a little man in spirit and deed, who has once again managed to take his Russian country-fellows down into the rabbit hole of fear, ignorance, and paranoia. All his shenanigans show his insecurity, and need for extreme attention. Putin is an empty man who has helped to re-hollow out the soul of Russia. Fuck you, Vladimir Putin!

By: Nomyte

Nomyte — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:53:32 -0800

Oh, when was it ever not hollow? The heady days of Yeltsin? The all too brief dalliance with Gorbachev?

By: danny the boy

danny the boy — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:02:39 -0800

How many threads have we had here that was mocking how ridiculous and transparent the propaganda coming out of North Korea was under Kim Jong Il, and here we are eating all this Putin stuff up and asking for more.

By: daniel_charms

daniel_charms — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:17:48 -0800

In a press conference given before the historical flight, Vladimir Churov, head of the Central Election Commission of Russia, stated that 146% of the flock had voted for Putin to be their new leader.

By: Skeptic

Skeptic — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:18:26 -0800

Well, Kim Jong Il would have led those cranes from an armored train.

By: fizban

fizban — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:54:47 -0800

I really like this photo with The Surgeonfrom ChuraChura's link. The only one in the list where nobody there finds (or pretends to find) Putin the most interesting person there. I also just noticed that the front rank of the Night Wolves are all on crutches. There is definitely something interesting going on there.

By: justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow

justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 00:43:25 -0800

...who has once again managed to take his Russian country-fellows down into the rabbit hole of fear, ignorance, and paranoia. When has the Russian government not produced fear, ignorance and paranoia? Russia hasn't had a government that was both competent and democratically inclined since the assassination of Alexander the Liberator in 1881.

By: daniel_charms

daniel_charms — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 03:01:19 -0800

Heh. Now that I've watched the video, he doesn't even steer the glider himself, he's just dead weight. Even the camera mounted to the glider probably played a more active and important role in the process.

By: ersatz

ersatz — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 04:36:14 -0800

The Republicans still trot out Chuck Norris every year Peak Chuck Norris was reached in 2006 with dangerous outbreaks in 2008 and late 2011. That meme has overstayed its welcome.

By: XMLicious

XMLicious — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 05:24:47 -0800

Chuck Norris threatens '1,000 years of darkness' if Obama wins Wha... is there a row of Klu Klux Klan costumes on hooks behind them?

By: spicynuts

spicynuts — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 06:44:26 -0800

I wonder if any President has ever thought to himself, "So when do I get to ride a whale?" and "Area 51. Must schedule it as soon as possible. Gonna be AWESOME." yeah his name was Teddy MuthaFuckin Roosevelt

By: The Bellman

The Bellman — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 07:33:36 -0800

Chuck Norris threatens '1,000 years of darkness' if Obama wins. I was absolutely 100% sure that was an Onion link. So sure that I didn't bother clicking it. And then I thought "wait . . . what if . . ." And then I clicked it. And it's real. And. . . I don't even. . . Speechless.

By: bukvich

bukvich — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 07:33:56 -0800

Vladimir Putin is Forrest Gump with wit and forethought. But an equally fictitious character. If he goes before Mrs. Putin her memoir is likely to be a hoot.

By: BlueHorse

BlueHorse — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 13:30:57 -0800

...rumors of Putin putining it to some olymipic gymnast/contortionist... *falls over*

By: shadow vector

shadow vector — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 21:09:06 -0800

Vladimir Putin muses on the benefits of group sex

By: fshgrl

fshgrl — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:06:19 -0800

Related: montage of Putin bad-ass images (SFW despite chan4chan in the URL). The horse in the first one is wear grass reins which is the equine equivalent of training wheels. We use them when we're teaching 6 year olds so they don't get pulled off over the pony's head if he puts it down to eat grass. Just saying.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 08:39:12 -0800

Vladimir Putin flies with cranes, likes sexy group fun, as bafflingly presented by everyone's favorite Taiwanese news outlet Next Media Animation.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 09:10:05 -0800

Putin's Latest Stunt Invites Ridicule, an NYT blog roundup of photoshops in the context of political dissent in Russia.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:14:51 -0800

Russia's Vladimir Putin admits wildlife stunts are staged