Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-23 and Invasion

[FunkMonk]

And now we have right wing tankies like Tucker Carlson convincing Republican voters that Putin is just a normal politician so why should we even care about Russia and Ukraine???

The connections between the far left and far right are bewildering.

So what's the deal with Tucker Carlson?

Is he just in the pocket of Russia? Is it that there's a Democrat in power, so foreign enemies are good because they're against Democrats? Is it just "fuck whatever makes sense because I want the clicks"? Or does he have some sort of actual political philosophy, and what is it?

I think he might just be an old fashioned America First isolationist, which suits Putin just as fine as other useful idiots or someone on the Russian oil dole.

[Razgovory]

And now we have right wing tankies like Tucker Carlson convincing Republican voters that Putin is just a normal politician so why should we even care about Russia and Ukraine???

The connections between the far left and far right are bewildering.

So what's the deal with Tucker Carlson?

Is he just in the pocket of Russia? Is it that there's a Democrat in power, so foreign enemies are good because they're against Democrats? Is it just "fuck whatever makes sense because I want the clicks"? Or does he have some sort of actual political philosophy, and what is it?

He's become one of those pre-WW2 type conservatives who looked at strongmen in Europe and thought that maybe that was the antidote to race-relations, immigration and political radicalism in America.  He's made clear his love for Victor Orban and wants the US to turned into a illiberal Democracy.

[Admiral Yi]

If I had to bet on Tucker Carlson being an active asset of Russian intelligence, on the condition that the true answer is known and will be revealed at some point, then I would be pretty comfortable betting on it at even odds, even at the risk of grumbler thinking that I'm a fool.  The coordination of propaganda is just too strong to readily write off his useful idiocy as just a hobby.

Let's put $100 on that long term.

I think he just embodies the modern Republican ideology, that anything that Democrats favor must be opposed.

[DGuller]

If I had to bet on Tucker Carlson being an active asset of Russian intelligence, on the condition that the true answer is known and will be revealed at some point, then I would be pretty comfortable betting on it at even odds, even at the risk of grumbler thinking that I'm a fool.  The coordination of propaganda is just too strong to readily write off his useful idiocy as just a hobby.

Let's put $100 on that long term.

I think he just embodies the modern Republican ideology, that anything that Democrats favor must be opposed.

To be more spoilsport, this is not a good bet, because you can't prove a negative.  One side can win if intel comes out that definitely ties Tucker to Russians, but absence of that is not proof that he isn't an asset.  My bet was unrealistically hypothetical.

[Admiral Yi]

Concede your point.

[Jacob]

New theory! Tucker Carlson = Gaijin du Moscu

[Syt]

If I had to bet on Tucker Carlson being an active asset of Russian intelligence, on the condition that the true answer is known and will be revealed at some point, then I would be pretty comfortable betting on it at even odds, even at the risk of grumbler thinking that I'm a fool.  The coordination of propaganda is just too strong to readily write off his useful idiocy as just a hobby.

Let's put $100 on that long term.

I think he just embodies the modern Republican ideology, that anything that Democrats favor must be opposed.

To be more spoilsport, this is not a good bet, because you can't prove a negative.  One side can win if intel comes out that definitely ties Tucker to Russians, but absence of that is not proof that he isn't an asset.  My bet was unrealistically hypothetical.

You could put a deadline on it until when he needs to be revealed as spy or not.

[Syt]

As ever Tucker Carlson has quite the take:
https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1496290844797992960?s=20&t=iOij4eqfSg_9zcLgxzi-3g

He does:

https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1496302694088257539

Tucker Carlson
@TuckerCarlson

Why do Democrats want you to hate Putin? Has Putin shipped every middle class job in your town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked your business? Is he teaching your kids to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Does he eat dogs?

Edit: should probably add a time stamp so it's clear this is not an out of context tweet from a year or two ago: 2:55 AM · Feb 23, 2022·Twitter Media Studio (i.e. ca. 3 and a half hours ago)

[Syt]

Oh, and as for the former guy, and possible next guy:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-praises-putins-genius-gop-fissures-grow-ukraine-crisis-rcna17259

"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful," Trump told a conservative podcaster in an interview published Tuesday.

"I said, 'How smart is that?' And he's gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. ... We could use that on our southern border," the former president said, describing Putin as "a guy who's very savvy" and whom he knows "very, very well."

[Jacob]

Oh, and as for the former guy, and possible next guy:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-praises-putins-genius-gop-fissures-grow-ukraine-crisis-rcna17259

I guess that's one of Putin's possible paths forward on this. Go in. Weather the response until Trump comes back (or Trump aligned GOP take Congress in the midterms) and proactively wrecks all trust and coordination within NATO, giving Putin what he wants and more.

[Jacob]

BTW, I think that article on hybrid warfare and Estonia I linked a page back provides an interesting lens for looking at the US as well (and other countries too, of course).

[Eddie Teach]

New theory! Tucker Carlson = Gaijin du Moscu

My theory is that Gaijin du Moscu isn't even Gaijin du Moscu. I don't recall him being nearly so prolific as he was during the short window he was back.

[celedhring]

This gave me a bit of a grognhard on.

https://www.gfsis.org/maps/russian-military-forces

[The Larch]

This gave me a bit of a grognhard on.

https://www.gfsis.org/maps/russian-military-forces

Oh man, you can really get lost on that.

Btw, Crimea has less military presence than I assumed, besides the Black Sea Fleet.

[The Larch]

Ukraine has just announced that it's movilizing its reservists, and has just approved a law that allows the civilian population to carry weapons for self-defence. I guess it allows the formation of new militias?