Putin Slaps Back Dell

Want to know how to get on Vladimir Putin’s bad side? Offer him charity. Poor Michael Dell learned that lesson the hard way in Davos. The Russian prime minister delivered a 40-minute speech at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum devoted to diversifying away from the dollar and investing in a smart energy partnership with Russia. Then he opened to floor to questions. Dell, ever the friendly computer tycoon, asked how he could help expand IT in Russia. Big mistake. Came the withering reply from judo master Putin: “We don’t need help. We are not invalids. We don’t have limited mental capacity.”