Putin Pulled His Punches

Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin showed us what we're missing in the West. [The Rude Awakening] February 09, 2024 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Putin Pulled His Punches [pub] Credit: [Tucker Carlson Network]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Imagine listening to a [President give a thirty-minute lecture]( about his country’s history and alleged historical claims. Contrast that with the daily dribblings from the Oval Office, which are more akin to grunts and groans. It reminds me of John Gielgud’s Hobson in the 1981 movie Arthur when he catches Dudley Moore’s Arthur in bed with a hooker named Gloria. Arthur introduces Gloria, who, stunned, cannot get a word out and just lets out a sound resembling “Hi.” The inimitable Gielgud delivers a crushing rebuke: Yes... You obviously have a wonderful economy with words, Gloria. I look forward to your next syllable with great eagerness. That’s how I feel when I try to watch Joe Biden give a speech. I just finished watching the Tucker Carlson/Vladimir Putin interview. And you know what? I think Putin pulled his punches. Clearly, Putin doesn’t want a war with America over Ukraine, and I think that guided his entire thinking during this interview. The man has a grievance, but he uses his time to explain his position logically. And despite what the UK press has said since, he said nothing that could be considered hawkish. But I’ll get back to the nitty-gritty later. A Dearth of Western Leadership This interview demonstrated that the West lacks leadership comparable to Putin’s. No Western leader is so steeped in his own country’s history and willing to defend it the way Putin, right or wrong, defends Russia. Certainly not Joe Biden nor Rishi Sunak. Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron look like amateurs and are too bent on “Europe” rather than Germany or France. Trudeau and Zelensky? Give me a break. The West thirsts for organization and leadership. It gets neither from Biden, but Russia gets both from Putin. “If that’s the case, then, Sean, why do you think Trump is the answer?” Because, my friend, I think he’s the only person who can smash the DC Deep State. “But Trump didn’t last time he was President.” You’re right. Trump didn’t think he was going to win and, as a result, was wholly unprepared for the job and the outright treasonous behavior of those who kept their jobs from the Obama administration and were meant to serve him. That won’t happen this time, as [Steve Bannon has said a group of 3,000 Trump-supporting would-be officials have been trained to operate the levers of power]( if his former boss returns to the White House. Bannon said this would help Mr Trump bypass the so-called "deep state" that frustrated his efforts in his first term. With all that said, let’s hear some of Putin’s answers to Tucker’s questions. Interview Golden Nuggets On Russia potentially entering NATO: Vladimir Putin: At a meeting here in the Kremlin with the outgoing President Bill Clinton, right here in the next room, I said to him, I asked him: Bill, do you think if Russia asked to join NATO, do you think it would happen?" Suddenly he said, "you know, it's interesting. I think so." But in the evening, when we met for dinner, he said: You know, I've talked to my team, no, it's not possible now. You can ask him. I think he will watch our interview; he'll confirm it. I wouldn't have said anything like that if it hadn't happened. Okay, well, it's impossible now. On the Potential of a Widening Conflict: Tucker: Do you think NATO is worried about this becoming a global war or a nuclear conflict? Vladimir Putin: At least that's what they're talking about. And they're trying to intimidate their own population with an imaginary Russian threat. This is an obvious fact. And thinking people, not philistines, but thinking people, analysts, those who are engaged in real politics, just smart people, understand perfectly well that this is a fake. They're trying to fuel the Russian threat. Tucker: The threat I think you're referring to is a Russian invasion of Poland. Latvia. Expansionist behavior. Can you imagine a scenario where you send Russian troops to Poland? Vladimir Putin: Only in one case, if Poland attacks Russia. Why? Because we have no interest in Poland, Latvia, or anywhere else. Why would we do that? We simply don't have any interest. It's just threat-mongering. On the US: Tucker: One of, our Senior United States senators from the state of New York, Chuck Schumer, said yesterday, I believe, that we have to continue to fund the Ukrainian effort, or U.S. soldier citizens could wind up fighting there. How do you assess that? Vladimir Putin: This is a provocation and a cheap provocation at that. I do not understand why American soldiers should fight in Ukraine. They are mercenaries from the United States. They're the bigger number of mercenaries comes from Poland, with mercenaries from the United States in second place and mercenaries from Georgia in third place. Well, if somebody has the desire to send regular troops, that would certainly bring humanity to the brink of a very serious global conflict. This is obvious. Does the United States need this? What for? Thousands of miles away from your national territory. Don't you have anything better to do? You have issues on the border. Issues with migration, issues with the national debt. More than $33 trillion. You have nothing better to do. So you should fight in Ukraine. Wouldn't it be better to negotiate with Russia? Make an agreement. Already understanding the situation that is developing today, realizing that Russia will fight for its interests to the end. And realizing this actually a return to common sense, start respecting our country and its interests and look for certain solutions. It seems to me that this is much smarter and more rational. On Nordstream and Ze Germans (quite funny): Tucker: Who blew up Nord Stream? Vladimir Putin: You for sure. Tucker: I was busy that day. I did not blow up Nord Stream. Thank you though. Vladimir Putin: You personally may have an alibi, but the CIA has no such alibi. Tucker: Did you have evidence that NATO or the CIA did it? Vladimir Putin: You know, I won't get into details, but people always say in such cases, look for someone who is interested. But in this case, we should not only look for someone who is interested, but also for someone who has capabilities, because there may be many people interested, but not all of them are capable of sinking to the bottom of the Baltic Sea and carrying out this explosion. These two components should be connected. Who is interested and who is capable of doing it? Tucker: But I'm confused. I mean, that's the biggest act of industrial terrorism ever, and it's the largest emission of CO2 in history. Okay, so if you had evidence and presumably given your security services or Intel services, you would that NATO, the US, CIA, the West did this, why wouldn't you present it and win a propaganda victory? Vladimir Putin: In the war of propaganda, it is very difficult to defeat the United States because the United States controls all the world's media and many European media. The ultimate beneficiary of the biggest European media are American financial institutions. Don't you know that? So it is possible to get involved in this work, but it is cost-prohibitive, so to speak. We can simply shine the spotlight on our sources of information and we will not achieve results. It is clear to the whole world what happened then. Even American analysts talk about it directly. It's true. Tucker: Yes I, but here's a question you may able to answer. You worked in Germany famously. The Germans clearly know that their NATO partner did this, but they. And it damaged their economy greatly. It may never recover. Why are they being silent about it? That's very confusing to me. Why wouldn't the Germans say something about it? Vladimir Putin: This also confuses me, but today's German leadership is guided by the interests of the collective West rather than its national interests. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain the logic of their action or inaction. After all, it is not only about Nord Stream one, which was blowing up and the Nord Stream two was damaged, but one pipe is safe and sound and gas can be supplied to Europe through it. But Germany does not open it. We are ready. Please. There is another route through Poland called Yamal Europe, which also allows for a large flow. Poland has closed it, but Poland pecks from the German hand. It receives money from the pan-European funds, and Germany is the main donor to these pan-European funds. Germany feeds Poland to a certain extent and they close their route to Germany. Why? I don't understand Ukraine, to which the Germans supply weapons and give money. Germany is the second sponsor of the United States in terms of financial aid to Ukraine. There are two gas routes through Ukraine. They simply closed one route. The Ukrainians. Open the second route. And please get gas from Russia. They do not open it. Why don't the Germans say, look, guys, we give you money and weapons. Open up the valve. Please let the gas from Russia pass through for us. We are buying liquefied gas at exorbitant prices in Europe, which brings the level of our competitiveness and economy in general down to zero. So do you want us to give you money? Let us have the decent existence to make money for our economy because this is where the money we give you comes from. They refuse to do so. Why? Ask them. That is what is like in their heads. Those are highly incompetent people. Wrap Up If you haven’t watched [this interview]( take some time to do so. I watched it at 2x speed, which you can control on the video viewer, because you don’t miss anything going fast, and it only takes an hour. In the vain of Goebbels, ChéNN accused Tucker of giving a softball interview. But he did his best, trying to find out what his audience wanted to know. On the other hand, Putin didn’t lay the boot in quite as hard as I thought he would. Have a wonderful weekend! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening X (formerly Twitter): [@seaniechaos]( P.S. 6 days ago... James Altucher [made a massive Apple prediction]( 15 hours before an expected announcement. Those who listened were able to take action. For everyone else, James had shut the doors. Over 1,800 people wanted to get in... and James said “no.” Now, given the latest news James is seeing… He’s reopening this for a very limited time. If you missed his prediction last week... [Click here now for a second chance to see his NEXT big Apple prediction ]( In Case You Missed It… Ride America's Coffin to Riches! [Sean Ring] SEAN RING The Wall Street Journal recently published an article titled “[Why Americans Are So Down on a Strong Economy]( Unlike The Journal, I don’t think the people they interviewed are idiots. These people, like most, have found out that disinflation doesn’t equal deflation. That means the rate of price increases has slowed (disinflation), but prices haven’t fallen (falling prices means deflation). [Meme] Credit: [@beinlibertarian]( My friend and colleague Zach Scheidt gave this example: “If you’re in a car and go from 65 mph to 95 mph, you’ve accelerated (inflation). But if you’re going 95 mph and put the car in cruise control, you may not be accelerating anymore (disinflation), but you’re not slowing down either (deflation).” Americans intuitively and empirically understand that. Government statisticians, Fed-subsidized economists, and “Nobel Prize Winners” like Paul Krugman don’t. But here’s another reason. [Congrats, you earned this…]( As one of my readers, you qualify for [this special deal.]( Only a small fraction of our readers will have the chance to see this. Fortunately, you’re one of them. All you have to do is [click here now to see how to claim your special deal.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( The S&P 500 5,000? The broad market is about to hit 5,000, yet another all-time high! [S&P 5000] Yesterday, we reached 4,999.89 in intraday trading before closing at 4,995.06. It’s just a matter of time before we bust through 5,000, the algos go wild, and we’re trading well above that level. In fact, my long-term target for the SPX is 6,000. And we may get there before the end of the year. By that notion alone, you must participate in this rally. Everyone in the market continues to get richer. Even if you’re not fully invested yet, you still have a chance to get in. And you should. Today. [Margin %] Credit: [( We're not even near the all-time highs in margin, which is the amount investors borrow to speculate in the market. The thing is, most Americans aren’t participating. And if they are, they do so through their 401(k) plans, so the wealth increase doesn’t feel tangible. As you’ll see below, much of this “wealth” is related to US debt. But first, let’s visit my pick of the year. Blue Horseshoe Loves PLTR Palantir popped on Tuesday when they announced their first annual profit… and higher-than-expected forecasted earnings for 2024. [pub] I recommended PLTR at the Paradigm Shift Summit 2023 back in October. It briefly rose above $20 before falling back to $16. Now, it’s flown through that $20 level and closed at $23.60. You’re sitting on a nearly 50% gain if you bought back in October. Congratulations! Incidentally, PLTR’s new target price is $32. So, you still have time to make a return of over 33%. Ok, enough of my self-congratulatory nonsense. Why did I pick Palantir? Because the USG loves to spy on everyone: Russians, Chinese, American citizens. And since you can do nothing about it, you may as well be compensated for it. Economists call it [The Cantillon Effect]( which I wrote about in the Rude before. And that’s my theory here. America is in its declining years, and the USG is intent on destroying what’s left of the city on the hill. So you may as well get compensated for it. How is the USG wrecking the place? With insidious and unpayable debt due to unwinnable wars. Vindman’s Hoodwink This week’s Tweet of Economic Illiteracy goes to Alex Vindman, the Ukrainian-born US Army Colonel. Clearly, Vindman isn’t remotely acquainted with the economic concept of opportunity cost or Bastiat’s broken window fallacy. He loves to use his ancestral homeland as an excuse to rebuild the US Army. Read this first. [Vindman X] Credit: @AVindman First, those funds - all $60 billion - will flow straight into the US military-industrial complex. But for how many jobs? And it won’t add to the tax base; it redistributes from the already existing tax base. How about a big refund, then? Can’t do that because we’ve got a $33 trillion debt? Then why spend more at all? Second, since it’s your money, not his, what would you do with your share of the $60 billion? Help pay for your kid’s tuition? Put an addition on your house? Take a nice vacation? Who knows… but you almost certainly wouldn’t be buying arms to fight a war that has nothing to do with you. That’s opportunity cost, or what Bastiat would call “The Unseen.” Third, replacing munitions that are either blown up or, in Ukraine’s case, more likely stolen and resold in arms auctions, is not a good use of money in any event. [As Bastiat wrote]( HAVE YOU EVER WITNESSED the anger of the good shopkeeper, John Q. Citizen, when his careless son happened to break a pane of glass? If you have been present at such a scene, you will most assuredly bear witness to the fact that every one of the spectators, were there even thirty of them, by common consent apparently, offered the unfortunate owner this invariable consolation: “It is an ill wind that blows nobody good. Everybody must live, and what would become of the glaziers if panes of glass were never broken?” Now, this form of condolence contains an entire theory that it will be well to show up in this simple case, seeing that it is precisely the same as that which, unhappily, regulates the greater part of our economic institutions. Suppose it cost six francs to repair the damage, and you say that the accident brings six francs to the glazier’s trade — that it encourages that trade to the amount of six francs — I grant it; I have not a word to say against it; you reason justly. The glazier comes, performs his task, receives his six francs, rubs his hands, and, in his heart, “blesses the careless child. All this is that which is seen. But if, on the other hand, you come to the conclusion, as is too often the case, that it is a good thing to break windows, that it causes money to circulate, and that the encouragement of industry in general will be the result of it, you will oblige me to call out, “Stop there! Your theory is confined to that which is seen; it takes no account of that which is not seen.” It is not seen that as our shopkeeper has spent six francs upon one thing, he cannot spend them upon another. It is not seen that if he had not had a window to replace, he would, perhaps, have replaced his old shoes, or added another book to his library. In short, he would have employed his six francs in some way that this accident has prevented. Vindman thinks like a bureaucrat because, ultimately, he is a bureaucrat. And, well, the government doesn’t have to make a profit, as we can see next. Debt: Crowding Out or Propping Up? It was a shame seeing Larry Kudlow cry about how he was wrong about a recession. No, Larry, the economy is a disaster. The numbers won’t reflect it because of all the new debt issued. The debt masks the recession. For every $1 of growth, we add $1.55 to the deficit and $2.50 of new debt. It’s a goddamned disgrace! [GDP Vs budget] Credit: [@DarioCpx]( Let’s do a quick thought experiment. What if I told you that the Suez Canal was shut to Western tankers, there were wars in Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan (very soon), and yet the US economy was humming along just fine? Where do you think oil would be trading? $100, $125, $150 a barrel? WTI Oil is trading under $75. That’s how bad the economy is doing. Wrap Up There’s no saving the world. There is only saving yourself. I’m sorry America and the rest of the West are in such a sad state. But there’s nothing we can do about it but protect ourselves. So, if you haven’t already, get long. We’ve got a lot of time left in this rally. The SPX may hit 5,000 today, but it’ll reach 6,000 before you know it. But if you’re still scared… still unconvinced… then [listen to my friend and colleague James Altucher](. James isn’t telling you to buy AAPL… that’s way too expensive for now. But how about a $2 stock of a company that supplies AAPL for their all-important new Vision Pro? You can still make out big even if you only buy 50 shares. James thinks this stock can hit $200 in ten years. That’s a $100 investment potentially turning into a $10,000 win. [Just watch this video]( to see what James has to say. Ride on Coffin Riders! Baby, ride on! Have a great day. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2024 Paradigm Press, LLC. 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Rude Awakening, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@rudeawakening.info. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, [contact us here]( or call (844)-731-0984. 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