GENEVA – Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin usually wears a perfect poker face. But last week in Shangahi, the icy-cold Russian president came awfully close to bursting into a big grin. And why not? Putin had just stolen a march on his western rivals. The US-British attempt to wound Russia’s economy and punish Putin for disobedience had just blown up in their red faces. After 20 years of difficult talks, Russia and China had just signed a huge deal that called for Russia to export  38 billion cubic meters of gas worth some $400 billion to China. The agreement begins in … Continue reading Putin Is Grinning