More: President Putin is upping the ante in the tense standoff over Ukraine. Russia announced it will ban all food imports from the EU and other western countries. And in another snub at the US, Putin granted whistleblower Edward Snowden another three years on his temporary visa to reside in Russia. Snowden's presence in Russia is
a considerable irritant to the US intelligence establishment. He is arguably number one on the list of wanted fugitives from "justice". Snowden has not yet been granted political asylum in Russia and it is not clear he is seeking that status. Snowden has said in an interview that he would like to return home eventually. He is reportedly working in the information technology field and has a private bodyguard service. The Kremlin is reportedly also considering banning airlines from overflying Siberia, a move that would considerably increase the cost of Asia destinations from Europe. Vladimirovich enjoys an
87% popularity rating, just one point below when the Russian president took on Georgia. The Current Occupant is at 42%, below Tricky Dick at 67%
{05.08.14} This chart from MOVOTOblog shows the wealthiest resident of each of the fifty states just in case you want to move there and rub elbows:
About half of these plutocrats "earned" their wealth by founding companies. Those are well known names like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Larry Ellison. Another common route to fabulous riches is inheritance, the Waltons of Arkansas, Texas and Wyoming and the Koch Brothers of Kansas being the most well known examples.
Perhaps a more relevant chart to current events is this one showing the trade with a re-emergent Russia. A key factor fueling the current crisis is the amount of EU imports from Russia mostly in the form of energy:
