Beyond Bizarro
In another case of life imitating art -- oh, shock! -- Vladimir Putin recommends circumcision as a way of keeping safe, now that the West is being attacked by Islamic terrorists.
At a press conference at the end of the EU-Russian summit in Brussels a Danish reporter asked him why Russia is using land mines in the Muslim North Caucasus republic and exterminating Chechen civilians.
Mr. Putin, former head of the KGB, sometimes uses the tough talk of spooks and crooks. His answer:
"You, if I am not mistaken, represent an ally [of the US war on terror] and are therefore in danger," Mr Putin told the reporter, according to a transcript that appeared in the Vremya Novostei daily."They [the Chechens] talk about killing non-Muslims and if you are a Christian, you are in danger. And even if you are an atheist, you are in danger," Mr Putin is quoting as saying.
"If you decide to become a Muslim - even then you are not safe, because traditional Islam contradicts the conditions and goals that they [the Chechens rebels] set.
"But if you are prepared to become the most radical Islamist and prepared to get circumcised - I invite you to Moscow.
"We have specialists that deal with this problem. I suggest that you do such an operation that nothing grows out of you again," Mr Putin reportedly said."
It's lucky for the reporter that Putin can't get him into the basement of the infamous Lubyanka prison. I'm sure the particular operation Putin recommended was done there many times. If not worse.