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As the Winter Olympics approach, a perfect storm of problems are plaguing the regime of Vladimir Putin. Foremost, of course, is the threat of terrorist attacks similar to the ones last month in Volgograd, and Putin has turned Sochi into an armed camp of security forces and police. Added to that is the unrest in the Ukraine over their government's desire to draw closer to Putin's Russia and away from the European Union, something that Ukrainians oppose. Lastly, there's an atmosphere of intolerance and political oppression pervading the Olympics that are part of Putin's style. We'll be watching some events, but not without holding our noses.
(cartoon: Jim Morin, The Miami Herald, via Gocomics.com)
