An actual journalist would have pounced on this with something along the lines of, “Help me understand. Are you saying that because Hitler did something that makes it OK?”
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That was worse than when he interviewed John Stewart.
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By blaming Poland for the start of WWII, Putin is not only signaling to the German far right that he will support this narrative in the future, but he also demonstrates that he doesn’t really care about the most important idol of the Russo-Soviet pantheon - WWII heritage.
Don’t think for a second that this isn’t tipping the hat to Germany’s and Austrian’s far right. AfD is currently taking a beating in the polls (its secret meeting discussing the “final solution” to the immigrant problem was discovered), but the Austrian FPÖ is doing quite nicely.
The actual quote: “The Poles nevertheless forced him - they got carried away and forced Hitler - to start The Second World War against them first.”
Putin’s whole two hour speech was specifically tailored for the US and the European far right. All the right messaging was there - Eastern Europe is our backyard, why would US citizens pay to get involved in a family quarrel across the ocean, I won’t attack anyone else, I swear.
It’s just that the packaging was all wrong. The tirade was too long, the presented distorted or selectively picked data couldn’t have resonated with the audience, which lacks a necessary framework of reference. Putin would’ve been better off by speaking in short punchlines.
By opting to bore the average far right voter to death, Putin essentially crippled his message. This must’ve been Putin himself pushing such a format on his speechwriters and policy consultants, since no professional would choose to communicate to Americans in such a manner.
What compels me to even write this short analysis is the sheer evil behind Putin’s, albeit unsuccessful, messaging and the fact that many are now calling him insane or alike.
Putin is not a lunatic, he is a calculated vile individual, who doesn’t know how to approach the modern short attention span Western audience, but who, at the same time, believes himself to be a master of deception and manipulation.
Putin’s arrogance outweighs his actual talent to get his message across and to actually become the puppet master he thinks himself to be, but he’s perfectly rational.
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My Photoshop is on the fritz, or I’d whip up a meme with a photo of Carlson with his resting stupid face, and “I HAVE COME HERE TO NOD AND LOOK STUPID … AND I’M ALL OUTTA NODS” pasted on it.
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You’re ignoring the white supremacy aspect, which is key to the support of Russia… and also, it’s absolutely inaccurate that extremists ignore Africa, because they are indeed pushing extreme LGBQT+ policies in Africa…
And as @KathyPartdeux not every African country is worse than Russia on LGBQT+ rights… That’s painting with an awful broad brush there…
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Thanks for the able assist and the link! Well done.
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The WaPo had this to say:
Carlson spent most of the interview in silence, or looking confounded.
(Emphasis mine)
Isn’t that simply Tucker Mode?
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I’d been thinking about them for like five days in a row 
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PICFONT - Add text to picture is also useful, has loads of mad fonts, and you can use the fonts from your own machine.
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Is this going to be the new “How many times a day do you think of the Roman Empire?” (which is apparently a thing)
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Geez, I don’t know. I was even thinking about how their names mean “stallion” and “horse.”
TBH, I watch a lot of videos made by an Icelandic photographer and geology fan
and I also watch lotsa horsey vids.
Monty did a wonderful job teaching his then-brand new, massive 17.2H (from the ground to the bump at the bottom of his neck, he was then 5 feet 10 - in new money, more than 1.75 meters), green 5-y-o Irish Draft.
Oh, and whenever Monty refers to hunting, the quarry is most often nonexistent, with hounds and horses following a pre-laid scent trail. He rides more rarely with hunts whose hounds follow a human long distance runner. The runner is introduced to the pack, and s/he fusses over hounds and pets them before setting off on the pre-arranged route. Hounds are always V happy to find the runner who’d so kindly rubbed them that morning.
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So what is “hacking”? Running through the woods?
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Hacking is riding a horse outside an arena or riding ring, on a road, a trail, or both. Jumping obstacles may or may not be involved. Hacking can be for pleasure, for horse and rider to relax and enjoy being out of the ring; it can a training session; or some of each.
ETA: We had many all-day trail rides on Jamaican ex-racehorses, and gallopin’ t’rough da bush pon De Island is an unforgettable experience.
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I passed several groups of hackers out in the Cotswolds yesterday. They bring the horses in boxes so they can explore new areas. They park in lay-byes near bridleways so they can avoid a lot of road travel.
It’s always a joy to see horses even though I was never much of a rider.
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One of those “worst person in the world says something you actually agree with” moments
Johnson, in a Daily Mail op-ed Friday, criticized Carlson’s interviewing, saying he was “fawning, guffawing” and had “slack-jawed happiness at having a ‘scoop.’” The former prime minister said he “betrayed” viewers around the world.
“Not since George Galloway went to Baghdad and hailed the indefatigability of Saddam Hussein have we seen such a display of bum-sucking servility to a tyrant,” Johnston argued, adding that Carlson was “just the medium, the sewer, the hose” for Putin to spread his message to America.
Though lying about Brexit, undercutting European unity and damaging the British economy also helped Putin. And he’s still a horrible person.
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It is what one does while trying to light up that first cigarette in the morning.
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I was trying to remember where I heard the words “Carlson” and “humiliated” before. According to The Onion, there’s precedent.
Blurred - NSFW caption.
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Just how many times a day do you think of people who think of the Roman Empire?
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Once. Now.
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