Vladimir Putin provides a textbook lesson in legal nihilism, pronouncing guilt before verdict, launching blood libel accusations completely unrelated to the charges, and pressuring the court against his favorite political prisoner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.  Worst of all, he kept on talking for hours as though he were hosting Hugo Chavez’s Alo Presidente.  Is there really anything to say about this that hasn’t already been said?  This kind of conduct speaks for itself.