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In the [excellent] interview with Putin, Putin also called many US Presidents quite smart. Are you now also quite dubious of them, because of literally the exac

In the [excellent] interview with Putin, Putin also called many US Presidents quite smart. Are you now also quite dubious of them, because of literally the exact same sort of "praise"? Calling it praise is not even rational - it is an observation. One may call Musk many things, but denying he's both quite intelligent and willful would be absurd.

belter 3y ago
But it did not say it only in the interview.It seems Putin the KGB man, can't stop praising Musk. For example back in Sep: "Russia’s Putin praises Elon Musk as an ‘outstanding person’ and ‘talented businessman’" - https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/12/russias-vladimir-putin-praises-elon-musk-as-an-outstanding-person.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/12/russias-vladimir-putin-prais...
actionfromafar 3y ago
In what way is the interview excellent?
- somenameforme 3y ago
  It was not like an interview with a typical politician, which is perhaps not a surprise, but interesting nonetheless. He was happy to acknowledge when he didn't know things, gave numerous interesting insights in conversations he has had with other world leaders - while actively avoiding betraying their trust of confidence. He also displayed a rather encyclopedic knowledge of history which I found fascinating as a history buff myself. In fact most of the section about Ukraine was largely a lengthy history lesson, including a reasonable overview of how people like Bandera came to be national heroes in Ukraine. I suppose seeing a world leader who actually seems intelligent and "real" was just something novel. The political personality all Western politicians use now a days is something I find irritating. Giving focus tested answers, or no answers at all, while speaking endlessly nonetheless. Even on topics he clearly found irritating, he didn't try to spin things. E.g. - on the Wallstreet Journal guy, he simply focused on the fact that he broke Russian law, and wanted to trade him for a Russian citizen. Basically it felt much more like a diplomat speaking to another diplomat instead of a politician trying to give you the answers he thinks you want to hear, regardless of what he actually thinks.
  - actionfromafar 3y ago
    It doesn't sound like an interview at all, at least not a hard hitting interview with tough questions. More like a promotional tour for a new book or something.
    - somenameforme 3y ago
      Well it wasn't a "trap" interview, if that's what you mean. It also wasn't a "pr tour" type interview of the sort we have repeatedly given Zelensky. I think the thing it reminded me most of was the old school days of interviews with people like Larry King.
      - actionfromafar 3y ago
        Well, Larry King asked pretty tough questions when he interviewed Putin.
        somenameforme 3y ago
        Yeah I was able to find a transcript of his interview with Putin [1] but oddly it does not seem to exist in YouTube in video format unfortunately. It's been years since I've watched him, but skimming through that transcript I can still hear his voice! And yeah, I do think the two interviews are extremely similar in content. He asks significant and poignant questions, without fishing for trap stuff. So e.g. he asks most obviously why Putin invaded, what he even means by 'denazification', why he thinks Britain wanted Ukraine to fight, whether China may end up dominating (and thus undermining the point of) BRICS, the risks and possibilities around potential ongoing escalation, and other such questions. Whenever I hear "hard hitting" in modern times, I just think of a journalist digging up some random dirt to try to shock the interviewee with, using argumentative fallacies like strawmen, and just generally doing whatever they can to agitate the interviewee and get some sensational headline or emotional response. And there was none of that. [1] - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/21558 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/21558

belter 3y ago

But it did not say it only in the interview.It seems Putin the KGB man, can't stop praising Musk. For example back in Sep: "Russia’s Putin praises Elon Musk as an ‘outstanding person’ and ‘talented businessman’" - https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/12/russias-vladimir-putin-praises-elon-musk-as-an-outstanding-person.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/12/russias-vladimir-putin-prais...

actionfromafar 3y ago

In what way is the interview excellent?

somenameforme 3y ago
It was not like an interview with a typical politician, which is perhaps not a surprise, but interesting nonetheless. He was happy to acknowledge when he didn't know things, gave numerous interesting insights in conversations he has had with other world leaders - while actively avoiding betraying their trust of confidence. He also displayed a rather encyclopedic knowledge of history which I found fascinating as a history buff myself. In fact most of the section about Ukraine was largely a lengthy history lesson, including a reasonable overview of how people like Bandera came to be national heroes in Ukraine. I suppose seeing a world leader who actually seems intelligent and "real" was just something novel. The political personality all Western politicians use now a days is something I find irritating. Giving focus tested answers, or no answers at all, while speaking endlessly nonetheless. Even on topics he clearly found irritating, he didn't try to spin things. E.g. - on the Wallstreet Journal guy, he simply focused on the fact that he broke Russian law, and wanted to trade him for a Russian citizen. Basically it felt much more like a diplomat speaking to another diplomat instead of a politician trying to give you the answers he thinks you want to hear, regardless of what he actually thinks.
- actionfromafar 3y ago
  It doesn't sound like an interview at all, at least not a hard hitting interview with tough questions. More like a promotional tour for a new book or something.
  - somenameforme 3y ago
    Well it wasn't a "trap" interview, if that's what you mean. It also wasn't a "pr tour" type interview of the sort we have repeatedly given Zelensky. I think the thing it reminded me most of was the old school days of interviews with people like Larry King.
    - actionfromafar 3y ago
      Well, Larry King asked pretty tough questions when he interviewed Putin.
      - somenameforme 3y ago
        Yeah I was able to find a transcript of his interview with Putin [1] but oddly it does not seem to exist in YouTube in video format unfortunately. It's been years since I've watched him, but skimming through that transcript I can still hear his voice! And yeah, I do think the two interviews are extremely similar in content. He asks significant and poignant questions, without fishing for trap stuff. So e.g. he asks most obviously why Putin invaded, what he even means by 'denazification', why he thinks Britain wanted Ukraine to fight, whether China may end up dominating (and thus undermining the point of) BRICS, the risks and possibilities around potential ongoing escalation, and other such questions. Whenever I hear "hard hitting" in modern times, I just think of a journalist digging up some random dirt to try to shock the interviewee with, using argumentative fallacies like strawmen, and just generally doing whatever they can to agitate the interviewee and get some sensational headline or emotional response. And there was none of that. [1] - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/21558 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/21558