One thing to remember if you're trying to understand Trump's continual love of Putin.
Putin is an enemy of the west. He's an enemy of democracy. He's an enemy of the rights of ordinary people.
But he's not an enemy of the rich.
@ianbetteridge he hasn't been doing enough about safety standards for windows in penthouse appartments, but I guess that isn't a concern for rich people outside of Russia.
And it's not a problem for rich people in Russia as long as they keep up their contributions to his re-election fund.
Oct 17, 2026, 10:08 AM@ianbetteridge do east and west or nations really matter any more? It feels pretty openly "oligarchs versus the rest of us". Nations only matter when they are controlled by an oligarch (Gulf states, Russia, China, USA) but they only reflect the whim of the man at the top, not any national interest
s/reject/reflect/
(Thx to @juandesant for catching the autocarrot)
I'm not sure that nations only matter when they are controlled by an oligarch. There's something in my head about nations being controlled by rich people. Rather than just an oligarch in the political sense. I don't know. I need to think about that a little more.