Fact is, gun rights lawmakers are already posturing to declaw any gun law that comes through Congress.

FORBES: A Gun-Control Battle That Could Actually Damage The Industry Is Escaping Public Attention

But Mr Putin, it seems, did not declaw one set of monsters only to create another set.

ECONOMIST: Putin versus the oligarchs

This week the outgoing Fatah legislature defiantly bestowed on Mr Abbas the power to appoint judges to a constitutional court, which could overturn laws: an attempt to declaw Hamas, which would need to drum up a two-thirds majority in parliament to undo it.

ECONOMIST: Palestine and Israel: A dilemma over Hamas and its cash | The