February 9, 20241 yr 6 hours ago, SympathysSilhouette said: They denied they were going to invade Ukraine until the day they actually did it. The last 10 minutes are actually the most interesting of the otherwise (not very revealing) interview. The biggest problem is that Tucker did not ask Putin any serious geostrategic questions like why Russia is so afraid of the NATO penetration into the East. - Putin says that NATO- Ukrainian victory is impossible on the battlefield, and they deluded themselves that they can win until relatively recently. -is waiting for NATO - US to figure out how to maneuver itself out of the conflict that it knows it can't win. -Ukraine is continuously deteriorating from within and will eventually come to the negotiation table by itself -Believes that Ukraine-Russian tensions will fade away with time due to cultural similarities. So basically he is waiting for the conflict to resolve itself.
February 9, 20241 yr 17 hours ago, Cult Icon said: First half of it is overall disappointing and he has said nothing I've not heard before. Putin just says the pro-Russian propaganda/state version of the conflict, without getting into why 2/3rds of the population desperately want to shift to the West. It starts getting more interesting at 1:06. Putin is not interested in talking to Biden and says that it is useless. All he wants is the NATO weapons shipments to stop and do a political deal. He promises that Russia will never stop fighting. 2. He also says that European governments are braining their 'philistine' population with an imaginary Russian threat. 3. He says that Russia has no interest in invading other countries. 4. Mocks the idea of sending US ground forces into Ukraine as being stupid 5. And lol says that American propaganda is the biggest and most powerful in the world (true) 6. American empire is declining rapidly on the world stage. As you say, the second part is the most interesting... regarding the war. But I found the first part extremely interesting. Putin is basically using an historical development to defend a centralised government as the best type (for Slavic people). He's basically arguing for Communism (or centralism - call it whatever you want, it's the same idea). This is also what the American Left argues for. In that sense, he's very close to the likes of AOC or Bernie Sanders (which is ironic, given how they despise Russia). I strongly disagree with this idea: an omnipotent centralized government is a mistake. It only creates poverty. Even though I like some form of regulation (mostly in regalian functions), I think total control is a sub-optimal form of political power. Western Europe had found (long ago) a great balance between regalian control and freedom for private actors.
February 9, 20241 yr Just now, Enrico_sw said: As you say, the second part is the most interesting... regarding the war. But I found the first part extremely interesting. Putin is basically using an historical development to defend a centralised government as the best type (for Slavic people). He's basically arguing for Communism (or centralism - call it whatever you want, it's the same idea). This is also what the American Left argues for. In that sense, he's very close to the likes of AOC or Bernie Sanders (which is ironic, given how they despise Russia). I strongly disagree with this idea: an omnipotent centralized government is a mistake. It only creates poverty. Even though I like some form of regulation (mostly in regalian functions), I think total control is a sub-optimal form of political power. Western Europe had found (long ago) a great balance between regalian control and freedom for private actors. To summarize my post (for "tldr people"): communism sucks whenever and wherever it's used.
February 11, 20241 yr On 2/9/2024 at 4:19 PM, Enrico_sw said: As you say, the second part is the most interesting... regarding the war. But I found the first part extremely interesting. Putin is basically using an historical development to defend a centralised government as the best type (for Slavic people). He's basically arguing for Communism (or centralism - call it whatever you want, it's the same idea). TBH I don't think he was talking about communism and economics. He was arguing that culturally similar people should be under one government, as it was during the Soviet Union and before it. Even Tucker pointed out this is the "Ukraine is not a real country" speech and tried to stop Putin but he kept on going. Putin was just repeating the points he laid out in his essay "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians". On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians - Wikipedia Article by Vladimir Putin ”On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians“ • President of Russia (kremlin.ru) I think very few people who aren't Russian would sympathize with this historical approach. Times have changed and it appears that at least middle aged Ukrainian men in the West-Central parts of the country are prepared to die for their independence, while former Ukrainian peoples of the South and East are prepared to kill them to prevent them from joining the Western fold. Meaning while young men and women have escaped the country in the millions to either the West or Russia for a better life and to escape conscription. It's a Civil war that Russia is as guilty as fueling as the United States & NATO. In that first hour I found it strange as it undiplomatic and unsympathetic to western audiences- or maybe Putin was focusing more on what the domestic Russian audience would prefer to hear? Besides invoking the historical argument he also threw shade at Biden as being unimportant in the grand scheme of things and blamed the entire war on the US-NATO aggression.
February 12, 20241 yr Another interesting comment in the second half is that he brings up Brothers Karamazov & the "Russian soul". He says that Westerners are more 'pragmatic', and Russians are more 'metaphysical'. I read Brothers and don't fully understand the Russian soul & certainly very few in the West would understand what he meant. Overall so much in this interview was odd.
February 12, 20241 yr 23 hours ago, Cult Icon said: TBH I don't think he was talking about communism and economics. He was arguing that culturally similar people should be under one government, as it was during the Soviet Union and before it. Even Tucker pointed out this is the "Ukraine is not a real country" speech and tried to stop Putin but he kept on going. Putin was just repeating the points he laid out in his essay "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians". On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians - Wikipedia Article by Vladimir Putin ”On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians“ • President of Russia (kremlin.ru) I think very few people who aren't Russian would sympathize with this historical approach. Times have changed and it appears that at least middle aged Ukrainian men in the West-Central parts of the country are prepared to die for their independence, while former Ukrainian peoples of the South and East are prepared to kill them to prevent them from joining the Western fold. Meaning while young men and women have escaped the country in the millions to either the West or Russia for a better life and to escape conscription. It's a Civil war that Russia is as guilty as fueling as the United States & NATO. In that first hour I found it strange as it undiplomatic and unsympathetic to western audiences- or maybe Putin was focusing more on what the domestic Russian audience would prefer to hear? Besides invoking the historical argument he also threw shade at Biden as being unimportant in the grand scheme of things and blamed the entire war on the US-NATO aggression. He talks about a centralised great Russia. That's centralism (communism being one of the forms of centralism). That's how I would summarize his view of the "great Russia" and what communism is:
February 15, 20241 yr Tucker Carlson gained 600,000 subscribers since the putin interview.. He was at 900,000 the day I saw it. Tucker Carlson - YouTube Tucker Carlson Network - YouTube
February 15, 20241 yr On 2/12/2024 at 5:48 PM, Enrico_sw said: He talks about a centralised great Russia. That's centralism (communism being one of the forms of centralism). That's how I would summarize his view of the "great Russia" and what communism is: Communism is primarily about economics: Communism - Wikipedia Putin said that Russia is a 'Market Economy'. Russia/China is a mixed economy like Europe & US. where gov't is mixed with the market. The chief difference is the nature of the mixture, which is different from country to country. Russia is traditionally obsessed with security as it's the largest country in the world, has to govern vast territories, and is pretty easy to invade. Putin's Red line was in 2014 when they were losing their influence in Ukraine. They were very afraid that Ukraine will turn into another US Army base. Then the US re-militarized Ukraine, provided training advisors, and re-activated the Soviet arsenal prior to 2022 invasion. Ukraine was once a very important part of Russian security, the whole territory was highly weaponized and industrialized. IMHO the centralized ethnic argument is just a cover for their (unspoken) issues with NATO penetration into the East. Without knowing too much about Russia internally my first guess is that they are afraid not only of the US-NATO military colonizing Ukraine but also of how the West uses military occupation to infiltrate countries economically, culturally, and politically primarily with multi-national corporations and influencing political processes. This would influence the economy of Russia just by association and threaten their ruling class (oligarchs, government bureaucracy, FSB, military etc) The Biden family also has economic interests in Ukraine, like other US politicians and financiers.
February 16, 20241 yr The Russian forces launched an offensive into Adviika fortified city a few days before the Putin-Tucker meeting. On the same day Zelensky openly fired Army chief Zaluzhnyi. The Ukrainian defenses are collapsing and there are forces getting encircled in a pocket. Units are the process are retreating out of it. Ukr sources claim up to 16 combat battalions getting cut off and Russian 90th Tank division being maneuvered in as a reserve. The new commander-in chief announced a general retreat from the area today. Tucker is clearly representing the 'abandon ship' wing of the Republican party. The Russian strategy of fighting this war very slowly in order to minimize Western support appears to be working as the West gets more and more exhausted both militarily and politically. Even the US war mongering propaganda is only a fraction of what it was 1 yr ago and there is more reporting on Gaza than on Ukraine: Tucker Carlson: "Lindsey Graham’s latest scheme is convincing Republicans that it’s somehow better to loan Zelensky $60 billion, rather than give it to him. Some are falling for this. But it’s fraudulent. Ukraine will never repay the debt, and we’ll never make them. This is just a more dishonest way to send more unaccounted for weapons to the region, delay the inevitable peace deal and kill more forcibly-conscripted Ukrainians, some of whom are nearly Lindsey Graham’s age. It’d be easier to take if he’d join them on the battlefield."
February 17, 20241 yr On 2/15/2024 at 8:27 AM, Cult Icon said: Communism is primarily about economics: Communism - Wikipedia Putin said that Russia is a 'Market Economy'. Russia/China is a mixed economy like Europe & US. where gov't is mixed with the market. The chief difference is the nature of the mixture, which is different from country to country. Russia is traditionally obsessed with security as it's the largest country in the world, has to govern vast territories, and is pretty easy to invade. Putin's Red line was in 2014 when they were losing their influence in Ukraine. They were very afraid that Ukraine will turn into another US Army base. Then the US re-militarized Ukraine, provided training advisors, and re-activated the Soviet arsenal prior to 2022 invasion. Ukraine was once a very important part of Russian security, the whole territory was highly weaponized and industrialized. IMHO the centralized ethnic argument is just a cover for their (unspoken) issues with NATO penetration into the East. Without knowing too much about Russia internally my first guess is that they are afraid not only of the US-NATO military colonizing Ukraine but also of how the West uses military occupation to infiltrate countries economically, culturally, and politically primarily with multi-national corporations and influencing political processes. This would influence the economy of Russia just by association and threaten their ruling class (oligarchs, government bureaucracy, FSB, military etc) The Biden family also has economic interests in Ukraine, like other US politicians and financiers. I love that wikipedia says "Communism (...) is a left-wing to far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology". Ok.... "Left to far-left" Communism is totally far-left, but I guess the wikipedia's writers wanted to water down the perception of this crazy ideology. Typical wikipedia Communism is not just about economics (at least wikipedia agrees on this point), it's also a sociopolitical movement whose aim is total control of society. They can't achieve communism without strong government control. Otherwise, their regime can't hold, pockets of "capitalism" will recreate. Communism is primarily a totalitarianism. Hannah Arend't book on the origins of totalitarianism is a must on the subject. Putin is a former agent of KGB. He's obsessed with control. Russia is what we used to call a "transition economy", but it turns out it has lost of relics from the communist era (the oligarchs being one).
February 17, 20241 yr 5 hours ago, Enrico_sw said: Communism is not just about economics (at least wikipedia agrees on this point), it's also a sociopolitical movement whose aim is total control of society. They can't achieve communism without strong government control. Otherwise, their regime can't hold, pockets of "capitalism" will recreate. Communism is primarily a totalitarianism. Putin is a former agent of KGB. He's obsessed with control. Russia is what we used to call a "transition economy", but it turns out it has lost of relics from the communist era (the oligarchs being one). The emphasis in Russia about the need for a 'Tsar' and a police state is likely similar to why China wants an 'emperor' and why half of America wanted a 'King Trump'- vast country with a vast population is difficult to govern for a weak democratic ruler. It would lead to lack of leadership, chaos and civil war. I think the situation in every country is different. It is much easier to govern a very small country. I think western economic theories about economic development are heavily flawed. We in the west live in the 'service economy' which is actually filled with massive inflation, bullsh*t jobs, corrupt industry structures, de-industrialization, and lack of real economic/cultural/social development. For the US middle and working class, living standards have barely budged in 40 years and have declined for many. The soon to be 34 trillion dollars of debt is another sign of failure. European economic performance has been stagnating for decades too. Then communist China with a mixed economy becomes the biggest real economy in the world with the fastest growth. America like Russia is also ruled by Oligarchs and has a corrupt and incompetent political and military system.
February 21, 20241 yr Combat footage of "elite" 3rd Assault Brigade (Ukraine) equipped with NATO hardware. They arrived and launched a failed counterattack against the Russians at Adviika and were being used as rearguard to help the 16 odd-battalions retreat from the pocket.
February 23, 20241 yr On 2/17/2024 at 4:00 PM, Cult Icon said: The emphasis in Russia about the need for a 'Tsar' and a police state is likely similar to why China wants an 'emperor' and why half of America wanted a 'King Trump'- vast country with a vast population is difficult to govern for a weak democratic ruler. It would lead to lack of leadership, chaos and civil war. I think the situation in every country is different. It is much easier to govern a very small country. I think western economic theories about economic development are heavily flawed. We in the west live in the 'service economy' which is actually filled with massive inflation, bullsh*t jobs, corrupt industry structures, de-industrialization, and lack of real economic/cultural/social development. For the US middle and working class, living standards have barely budged in 40 years and have declined for many. The soon to be 34 trillion dollars of debt is another sign of failure. European economic performance has been stagnating for decades too. Then communist China with a mixed economy becomes the biggest real economy in the world with the fastest growth. America like Russia is also ruled by Oligarchs and has a corrupt and incompetent political and military system. The prosperity of Western Europe (and its children like the USA, Canada or Australia) comes from the fact that there's been (for centuries) a sane competition between and within these countries. Even in the Holy Roman Empire, the structure was built on competition between princes, lords and houses. Competition has brought many intellectual and technological breakthroughs that led to prosperity. Contrary to what a lof of nonsensical leftist "thinkers" believe, Western countries became the world leaders in the 19th/20th century, NOT because they stole a bunch of resources (primary sector) in poor countries, but because their industry (secondary sector) was far superior than anyone else's. The industry has been the key to prosperity, and, competition is the core engine of the industry. I agree with you that most of the tertiary sector is composed of BS jobs. Tertiary companies and jobq are widely overvalued. The reason why there's so much overvaluation is because the competitive intensity has largely decreased in the West. Sane States are supposed to prevent over-concentration in the industry, but that's not what we did. Big oligopolies (Google, Amazon, General Electric, AT&T, Disney, etc.) were allowed. Less competition, less efficient industry, less creativity. This replicates the same flaws that socialist/communist economies have. In short, the industry made the West rich and then Western leaders spoiled it to redistribute it to a BS tertiary economy. The question of a strong leader is a separate topic. BTW, I don't believe that Trump was an autocrat (there are lots of checks and balances in the US and he had the media against him), but Biden's administration is closer to it (it has the media and shitloads of big companies behind it). Trump has a strong character, but his admin was not as forceful as Biden's. People wanted Trump to get rid of corruption and corrupted ideas (like wokism and all the follies that the far left recently developed).
February 23, 20241 yr Just now, Enrico_sw said: In short, the industry made the West rich and then Western leaders spoiled it to redistribute it to a BS tertiary economy. In short, here's a summary:
February 23, 20241 yr Oligopolies that ally with parties to influence elections is one of several seeds of socialism:
February 23, 20241 yr An AI that pushes political agenda is another seed of totalitarianism / socialism: Quote Google’s push to lecture us on diversity goes beyond AI https://nypost.com/2024/02/22/opinion/googles-push-to-lecture-us-on-diversity-goes-beyond-ai/
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