Happy is the man who can shed tears easily...

Why do I envy people who can shed tears easily? I now suffer from chronic dry eyes and even have silicon implants (hey, they are in my eyes!) to try and keep them moist. These punctal plugs are a help, but I still need eye drops.

People who sympathise with me suggest that I watch those Korean weepy soap operas. I am not that desperate -- yet.

So, I understandably have weepy-envy for those who can turn on the waterworks at the drop of a hat, or -- in the case of Vladimir Putin -- at the drop of a vote (in his favour, of course).

The Russian prime minister reclaimed his presidency in the recent election there and is set to rule as president for the next six years, and 12, if he seeks a second term.

He is now also famous for shedding tears when the presidential election results were announced. But I am amused by this AFP wire story below, carried in xinmsn.com. It labelled the story of a crying Putin under "Weird News" and headlined it "Moscow struggles to believe in Putin's tears". Here it is (complete with a "It's Botox flowing out!" comment):

http://news.xin.msn.com/en/weird/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5961967

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Meanwhile, a check on Google showed up some slick PR efforts by his army of supporters since last year. Here are two must-see YouTube videos. The first has a bevy of Russian babes in it, and is titled "A Man Like Putin":

http://russianhistoryblog.org/2011/02/youtube-of-the-week-a-man-like-putin-with-english-subtitles/

The central character in this other video clip is also a pro-Putin babe. Don't miss the last part!...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG2XV2n9efc

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Picture of the Day: MOM comes a-calling
(TODAY, 6 Mar, page 4)

There are people who say Singapore is a nanny state. I'm not sure, but there definitely are tough-looking guys going around with "MOM" emblazoned on their vests:

MOM is the Ministry of Manpower, and the picture above shows The Man from MOM making an arrest. Now, what we need next is a government agency named UNCLE.