Latest / International Flavor: Where the Truth Tastes Better / Gaza “Peace Board” Gambit, and Cheburashka Cheer: Trump Tariffs, Arctic Angst, Ovechkin Pushback, Spain Rail Tragedy

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Gaza “Peace Board” Gambit, and Cheburashka Cheer: Trump Tariffs, Arctic Angst, Ovechkin Pushback, Spain Rail Tragedy · International Flavor: Where the Truth Tastes Better

0:01
Hello, good morning, welcome.
0:03
I am Samuel Trapp.
0:05
This is International Flavor.
0:07
A little late this morning, but none the
0:10
worse for the wear.
0:13
It's a happy holiday for most of us.
0:16
People aren't working today.
0:19
I thought about not working.
0:20
I must admit, when I realized I was
0:23
going to be late for a fleeting moment,
0:26
I decided, I had almost decided anyway, that
0:30
I was not going to arrive today.
0:33
Then I was like, no, I have some
0:37
other things I need to do, some errands
0:40
to run.
0:42
Some exciting news in the life of Samuel
0:45
Edward von Trapp.
0:48
I'm not a von Trapp.
0:50
I'm just a plain old ordinary Trapp.
0:52
It's only the royalty who get to use
0:56
the von, or those that think they are
1:01
royalty and are not.
1:04
At any rate, I'm here this morning in,
1:08
excuse me, still coughing.
1:11
A lingering cough, as they call it.
1:13
Perhaps it's emphysema.
1:15
Maybe I have emphysema.
1:17
That would be depressing because I've never smoked
1:20
a cigarette.
1:22
Allegedly, there was one time when a former
1:28
brother-in-law of mine, who is a
1:32
great dude, and I really thought he was
1:35
one of the best dudes on the planet,
1:38
accused me of, while drunk, taking a puff
1:42
on his marijuana.
1:47
Other than that, I'm really not a user
1:49
of that sort of thing, and I don't
1:51
recall it.
1:52
So, if you're Bill Clinton, it never occurred,
1:55
or Hillary.
1:56
I do not recall.
1:59
I just, I don't recall in my old
2:02
age, whether or not I did not have
2:06
sexual relations, or you create your own definitions
2:09
for words.
2:11
Perhaps those things would work for me.
2:14
No, I'm not a politician.
2:18
I'm not a politician.
2:19
I'm a businessman.
2:21
Maybe we should play that again, because I
2:22
did like some Depeche Mode in my youth
2:27
as well, as the odd bit of drinking.
2:33
I realize that I believe, and I find
2:41
it amusing, I find it rather comical, in
2:44
fact, that now we've sent out all these
2:49
geniuses to speak to the world about the
2:55
necessity, you know, to claim that Russia and
3:00
China are going to take over Greenland.
3:02
And so, as a preemptive strike, we need
3:06
to do it ourselves.
3:07
So much so, that come February 1, we're
3:11
going to penalize the European Union members who
3:17
need to be penalized anyway.
3:23
They, you know, they should be punished.
3:25
I agree with that.
3:26
I think that, you know, a bunch of
3:27
morons.
3:28
But, you know, they're no better than the,
3:33
what is this guy's name?
3:35
Is it Besant?
3:36
What a nut.
3:39
Did you watch him on the news yesterday?
3:41
I've only seen the clips.
3:43
And I've always thought that that guy is
3:45
probably your least, well, intelligent.
3:56
Or if you're, how about we put it
3:58
this way?
3:59
Leave your advertising to people like Rubio.
4:03
That boy is a gifted liar.
4:08
He's very good.
4:10
And he's hidden his spots for quite a
4:15
long time.
4:16
And so, let him do that instead of
4:20
having your spokesman be, there's two of them
4:24
that are just, um, what is the other
4:27
guy's name?
4:28
Steven something.
4:30
And he's, those two, those two are your
4:34
non-advertisers.
4:35
Leave Trump out there talking about the efficacy
4:38
of, uh, season Greenland.
4:42
We got to take it in a preemptive
4:44
strike.
4:45
And then, and the new thing is now
4:46
that the art of the deal didn't work.
4:49
We, um, we put leverage out upon the
4:54
old, uh, people from Europe and, uh, the
4:59
U S needs to take control of Greenland
5:02
is the argument because European nations are too
5:07
weak to protect the strategic Arctic Island in
5:11
a potential future conflict, which never existed before.
5:16
But now I tell you what Greenland is
5:19
under fire.
5:20
They're going to be stolen by God.
5:22
We should be defending Canada next because those
5:25
darn ruskies in China men are going to
5:28
be stealing the Arctic.
5:30
Remember years and years, uh, it was only
5:32
months ago.
5:33
It was one year ago when I was
5:36
talking about the, uh, the fact that the,
5:40
the United States is extremely behind very, very
5:45
much far behind in the, uh, uh, Arctic
5:52
race.
5:54
If you want to call it like that,
5:56
um, Russia has fleet, a fleet of nuclear
6:02
icebreakers.
6:03
They've been investing when it wasn't popular to
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invest in the Arctic and they have been
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doing, and then they've created shorter routes, not
6:14
for the U S they created them for
6:16
themselves, for China, for India, for allies.
6:20
Right.
6:21
And the U S can't have that because
6:24
we need to control the world of finance.
6:28
And, uh, so if you do take Besant
6:32
at, at his word, um, these, these people,
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all these doggone, these doggone freeloading Europeans have,
6:45
uh, have, uh, are there too weak to
6:48
protect the strategic Arctic island in potential future
6:51
conflict?
6:52
There would be no future conflict if everybody
6:56
jumped on the same economic bandwagon, but we
7:00
have to paint everything in war.
7:03
I was noticing, uh, uh, that, uh, gas,
7:07
you know, and I don't buy the, the,
7:09
the, the cheap stuff.
7:12
I do kind of a reverse sort of
7:14
thing.
7:15
I've, I've always believed in, uh, uh, either
7:18
buying a, um, an octane sort of booster
7:21
or, or paying for the good stuff, you
7:25
know?
7:25
And, uh, you know, when my, uh, I
7:30
I've, I've had two trucks make it 300
7:35
,000 plus miles.
7:37
Um, and I, I did that by, uh,
7:41
you know, minding the oil, replacing a transmission.
7:47
Actually the other one, the second one made
7:49
it to 300,000, 310,000 before the,
7:53
uh, transmission went.
7:56
And by putting in, uh, premium, uh, fuel
8:00
on a regular basis, not every, not every
8:03
tank, but like every third, you know, and
8:06
every third tank or something I'd, I'd put
8:09
in, uh, premium.
8:11
Um, but watching this, uh, uh, and, and
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I like how when people are mocking, which
8:19
the media still does to Trump and company,
8:23
they'll put in pictures of Bessant, uh, looking
8:28
like, you know, a, a car used car
8:31
salesman.
8:32
And they, they'll put him in with the,
8:34
you know, hands, um, hands out gesturing, you
8:37
know, and selling you whatever used car he's
8:41
selling you this time.
8:43
And he says, he suggested that Washington's partners
8:48
will eventually come around to the idea of
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handing over a Greenland.
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And, uh, but I was, I was watching
8:59
on, you know, the, the pump too.
9:02
I saw gas, uh, the other day, the
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cheap variety, like $2 and 45 cents.
9:11
We haven't said, man, I was paying four
9:13
bucks a gallon.
9:14
Um, not too many years ago.
9:17
And, uh, I remember the fleecing of America
9:21
by, uh, by oil.
9:23
And so perhaps the, you know, and these
9:27
are this, this is a positive, a very
9:30
positive, you know, I don't, I don't want
9:32
to, I say some of the things that
9:36
I say, and, uh, I still disagree fundamentally
9:40
on a fundamental basis with a lot of
9:43
foreign policy moves by the Trump administration.
9:47
I, I just disagree on a fundamental basis.
9:50
I don't believe the world should be seen
9:55
through the lens of constant conflict and constant.
9:59
We, you know, me great me, you know,
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uh, I saw today, I assume Jr left
10:07
this here for our peer perusal.
10:10
And it says something about the ask the
10:13
amazing Trump, it's the amazing Trump button or
10:16
something like that, which I, I didn't play
10:18
with yet.
10:19
But, uh, before I leave today, I shall
10:21
push the button and see what it does.
10:24
I'm assuming it'll just say, you know, uh,
10:28
the Arctic is ours, or it's going to
10:30
be, you know, something like that.
10:32
But for now he had with, if, if
10:35
you don't have a button, you have to
10:36
go out and listen to, to, uh, you
10:39
know, use car salesmen like Besant.
10:41
And, uh, he, of course, over the weekend
10:45
suggested that Washington's partners will come around to
10:51
the idea.
10:52
Uh, Trump has long sought American control over
10:55
Greenland, but it really is an autonomous Danish
11:00
territory.
11:01
And it only has a population of about
11:03
56,000 people.
11:05
Um, I don't understand why we have to
11:10
turn it into the United States.
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Nobody has articulated that to me.
11:15
And then these, uh, fake threats of, of
11:20
Russia and China taking it over that I
11:25
disagree with, you know, but if you want
11:28
to, you know, perhaps you, you, I don't
11:32
understand why we couldn't, um, play, play better
11:38
with others.
11:39
You know what I mean?
11:40
Um, the argue are arguing.
11:45
The Island is critical to defense is wrong,
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you know, against Russia and China.
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Trump's push, um, is creating huge risks between
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Washington and European NATO, but they don't really
12:00
have much to do because they really are
12:02
weak and they've already knifed themselves in the,
12:06
in the chest by, uh, by creating an
12:11
enemy that doesn't exist in Russia and going
12:16
into business more with China.
12:18
And I think if anything, this, um, this
12:21
move by Trump is going to run, it's
12:24
going to first force them further into the
12:27
arms of the waiting, uh, Chinese.
12:30
Um, if you're not paying attention, the, uh,
12:35
the Chinese are very quickly, very, very quickly
12:43
unloading us debt and excuse me.
12:50
And I think that Trump runs the risk
12:53
of pulling, he's already pulled the pin on
12:56
the hand grenade and he's holding on to
12:59
the hand grenade, uh, while still holding in
13:05
the, um, the release, uh, for, you know,
13:09
for, because you pull the pin, you hold
13:11
the, the, the, uh, lever down and then
13:15
you throw it.
13:17
And when it, you know, you have several
13:18
seconds, I've only thrown one hand grenade in
13:21
my life because everyone's required to in basic
13:23
training and you have to throw that hand
13:27
grenade.
13:28
And, uh, you know, I was freaked out
13:30
by it.
13:31
Even then, you know, I was afraid that
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I would drop the damn thing and, uh,
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uh, end up in parts as parts, you
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know, and you can't have that.
13:42
And, uh, at any rate, this hand grenade
13:44
pin has been pulled.
13:46
And, uh, if anything, what it's going to
13:49
do is, uh, force alternatives that are already
13:55
being forced.
13:56
And since the, uh, the Venezuela push and
13:59
the stealing of, uh, oil in Venezuela, um,
14:03
it's, it's, it's even going more quickly.
14:07
So in an interview on NBC on Sunday,
14:10
best sent once again, says, uh, Greenland is
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essential to us defense in an upcoming battle
14:18
for the Arctic is what he says and
14:21
saying that Washington won't outsource our national security.
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Now I heard something about the, uh, whatever
14:28
our version is of the, uh, of the
14:31
iron dome that you have to, that they
14:34
have to, we have to steal it for,
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uh, for those purposes.
14:39
Um, down the road, this fight for the
14:42
Arctic is real says Besson.
14:46
If there were, if there were an attack
14:49
on Greenland from Russia, from some other area,
14:53
we would get dragged in.
14:55
So better now the logic here is astounding.
15:00
Better now, peace through strength.
15:03
You know, that they've been baking this and,
15:06
and, uh, this cake and, and creating it
15:09
because they have, this is the used car
15:12
salesman in him and in, in the Trump
15:15
administration and making it so better now, peace
15:18
through strength, make it part of the United
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States.
15:22
We are the strongest country in the world.
15:25
Europeans project weakness.
15:27
The U S projects strength.
15:30
And he argued that European countries had shown
15:32
they were unable to push back against Russia
15:36
in Ukraine.
15:38
So what have we done?
15:40
You know, we threw money at it for
15:42
quite a few years.
15:44
Uh, Trump, Trump hasn't done anything to resolve
15:47
the conflict in Ukraine.
15:50
He hasn't cut them off.
15:51
The smart move would have been to cut
15:53
them off a long time ago.
15:54
I've been saying that forever Europeans, you know,
15:58
right in that, but, but who they've been
15:59
following, you know, it's been a year of
16:02
chaos since, uh, you know, at least on
16:05
that front, you know, uh, of mismanagement of,
16:09
uh, of, uh, reversals.
16:11
Do you say one thing, you do another,
16:13
then you do one thing and you say
16:15
another, and you just keep on going, you
16:17
know, I can settle it 24 hours.
16:20
I'll have it settled before I take office.
16:22
I'll have it settled.
16:23
Then, you know, he needs to be held
16:25
account for these things too, you know, and,
16:28
and I agree it's not his war.
16:30
It, uh, uh, it, it was his war
16:33
in the beginning, you know, to some extent
16:36
because he's the one that gave, uh, uh,
16:40
well, what did he give away stinger missiles
16:43
or something like that?
16:44
I forget what he said.
16:45
He gave him that Obama gave them, you
16:47
know, MREs and blankets and, uh, I gave
16:50
him weapons and, uh, but now he's completely
16:55
swapped.
16:55
He's stolen, um, Venezuela, and now he's going
17:00
to steal Greenland and he's just coming out
17:04
of the closet, you know, of peace at
17:06
any rate.
17:07
Um, what, uh, excuse me, still coughing today.
17:12
What would happen in Ukraine if the U
17:15
S pulled it support out, the whole thing
17:18
would collapse.
17:19
He said, calling the choice between Greenland and
17:23
NATO, a false one.
17:25
Trump has threatened tariffs on eight European countries,
17:29
opposing his Greenland push as tensions continue to
17:32
escalate.
17:34
Um, the EU voices support for Denmark and
17:37
is considering a retaliation package of its own.
17:42
Although Germany pulled back the five troops it
17:45
sent over, uh, because that, that got Trump
17:50
going.
17:50
Did you read his long, um, um, a
17:55
true social post, uh, that was pretty comical
17:58
where, where he, he, he basically, you know,
18:02
was talking about the dog sledding and they
18:04
sent over literally, and this was stupid.
18:06
Anyway, why in the world would you bother
18:09
to send 20 troops over?
18:11
Obviously that's gonna, uh, uh, push, piss him
18:17
off and push them over the edge, which
18:20
obviously it is.
18:21
Russia has huge Arctic presence, but it's thousands
18:24
of kilometers, uh, from Greenland.
18:28
And they call the situation extraordinary noting that
18:32
it recognizes the Island as Danish territory, uh,
18:38
rather entertaining.
18:39
And the people from Greenland doesn't want, do
18:43
not want that.
18:44
Did I just say that bad grammar on
18:47
a Monday morning, but it's a holiday.
18:48
Do you get a bad grammar passes on
18:52
holidays as well?
18:54
Um, let's see.
18:58
I wanted to share with you one of
19:00
the, uh, I don't know if you know
19:01
who this is, but, uh, uh, back, um,
19:07
year, year and a half ago, I watched
19:09
a really funny, uh, it was hilarious.
19:11
In fact, a, uh, Russian, they have a
19:15
show called comedy club and there's a phenomenon
19:18
that has occurred in Russia.
19:21
And, uh, let's see, uh, it, it, that
19:25
phenomenon is called Chaburashka and Chaburashka is this
19:30
little bear.
19:32
It's a Soviet cartoon, but, and, and, and
19:35
I like, uh, Masha, a Masha and the
19:39
bear is pretty funny kid too.
19:42
And, um, there was a Soviet cartoon about
19:45
loneliness, friendship, and hope has turned into the
19:48
country's biggest modern film success.
19:52
And this Chaburashka is everywhere.
19:56
And they have Chaburashka and they got these
19:58
huge ears and it's a little, I guess
20:03
it's a bear, uh, the Chaburashka bear, but
20:07
in most countries, the holiday season in Russia
20:10
is time for family friendly movie premieres, but
20:14
in Russia, the celebrations last at least a
20:17
week after new year.
20:20
Uh, so there's an even bigger demand for
20:22
family entertainment, uh, competing for the attention of
20:25
parents and children are fairy tales, comedies about
20:30
getting away from the city and the long
20:33
running movie franchise Yolki, which has released new
20:37
installments almost every year since 2010, but not
20:43
this year.
20:45
In early January Chaburashka 2 directed by Dmitry
20:51
Dyachenko broke Russia's box office into the global
20:55
conversation.
20:57
In its first week of release, the film
21:02
ranked number three worldwide in theatrical box office
21:08
charts, outperforming many international competitors.
21:13
And in just two weeks Chaburashka 2 has
21:17
crossed the 5 billion ruble mark, becoming only
21:20
the second film in Russian history to do
21:24
so.
21:25
The only other movie to reach that milestone
21:28
was its predecessor.
21:32
And at first glance, the success of the
21:34
sequel about a mysterious furry creature from a
21:38
Soviet children's cartoon may seem public puzzling, but
21:43
Chaburashka's story, which began with a book grew
21:46
into a beloved animated series and evolved into
21:49
a record breaking live action franchise.
21:53
And it taps into something deeper than nostalgia.
21:56
Beneath its family friendly surface lies a reflection
22:00
of Soviet and modern anxieties, loneliness, and the
22:05
enduring need for kindness and connection.
22:11
So the Soviet friendship blues on December 31st,
22:16
1969, a new cartoon was released by Soyuzmultfilm.
22:26
Soyuzmultfilm is a Soviet cartoon.
22:30
According to the plot, a fruit seller at
22:34
a market opened a box of oranges and
22:37
discovered a creature unknown to science.
22:41
The creature was sleepy.
22:43
And when the seller tried to set it
22:45
upright, it fell over twice.
22:48
Fell over again, huh?
22:50
You're quite a Chaburashka, the fruit seller remarked.
22:54
In Russian, it's a play on words.
22:56
Chaburashka is from the...
23:00
It's like the word clumsy.
23:04
Cherebakh...
23:05
Shit.
23:08
Cheburakhnutsia is to fall over.
23:11
Cheburakhnutsia.
23:12
That is how the creature got its name.
23:15
Soon after, Chaburashka met a lonely crocodile, inspired
23:20
a grumpy old woman to become kind, and
23:24
even went to school.
23:26
Based on a book by Edward Ouspensky, the
23:29
cartoon Giena the Crocodile became a hit in
23:33
the USSR. I've known about Giena the Crocodile
23:36
for a very long time.
23:40
And he sang birthday songs.
23:43
And I remember watching that.
23:46
I still know the song.
23:47
I could sing it to you in Russian.
23:49
And it begins with...
23:53
And that is how you learn.
23:56
That is how children learn.
23:58
That is how we learned in my Russian
24:01
school in Monterey, California, Defense Language Institute.
24:05
And part of it was listening to Giena
24:08
the Crocodile.
24:09
And we saw Chaburashka.
24:12
But Chaburashka was actually secondary to the Malt
24:17
film, which was Giena the Crocodile.
24:21
In Giena the Crocodile, now there's Masha Medved,
24:24
which is...
24:25
Masha is a little girl's name.
24:27
And the Medved is a bear, of course.
24:31
And Masha and she's always out tormenting this
24:37
bear.
24:38
She's a devious child.
24:39
Anyway, Chaburashka came from the word Chaburakhnutsia, which
24:45
is to fall over.
24:45
That's how the creature got its name.
24:47
But soon after, Met the Crocodile, Giena the
24:50
Crocodile was quickly hit in the USSR. To
24:52
be fair, there wasn't much competition.
24:55
Soviet animation was in its infancy.
24:58
And the year lacked major family movie releases.
25:01
It wasn't about the market, however.
25:03
People were attracted by the cartoon's unique animation
25:07
style, the ear-worn songs, and the famous
25:11
author, Edward Ouspensky.
25:14
But above all, they liked the memorable main
25:17
characters, which were Giena the Crocodile, who's an
25:20
intelligent crocodile who sports a hat and a
25:23
bow tie, and he plays chess.
25:25
He doesn't have many friends.
25:27
But once he does find companions, he realizes
25:29
that there are many lonely people in his
25:32
city.
25:32
So he's determined to do something about it.
25:35
He builds a house for friends, where everyone
25:41
can find companionship.
25:43
Moreover, Giena continues to assist others and helps
25:46
his friends find their place in life.
25:48
He's a melancholy, occasionally awkward and somewhat pessimistic,
25:53
sounds like me.
25:54
But ultimately, he is the image of a
25:56
caring adult.
25:58
And in Russian film, I like them.
26:01
In contrast, Cheburashka embodies childlike optimism.
26:06
Cheburashka is very, very positive on life.
26:10
And Cheburashka is the only one who isn't
26:12
afraid of the rat.
26:14
The assistant of the film's antagonist, old lady
26:17
Shapoklyak, because he doesn't know that rats are
26:26
considered scary.
26:28
Worried he might not fit in, he strives
26:30
to connect with everybody.
26:31
Viewers are enchanted by this childlike sincerity and
26:35
lines like, let me carry the bags and
26:37
you can carry me.
26:40
The character's experiences and aspirations show real issues
26:44
in the USSR at the time.
26:47
Back then, post-war demographic boom had subsided
26:51
and birth rates had been declining.
26:54
Additionally, a new wave of urbanization and industrialization
26:57
was underway, which caused families across the country
27:01
to relocate to other cities and even different
27:04
republics in the Soviet Union.
27:07
Everybody had trouble making new friends.
27:09
Kids struggled as they changed schools, often moving
27:13
to places with fewer peers, while adults found
27:16
it tough to connect due to challenges of
27:18
moving and adapting to new places in a
27:21
country that was still recovering from losing 26
27:25
million people in World War II.
27:28
So emotional resonance and vibrant animation secured Gena
27:35
the Crocodile and Cheburashka, which nobody knows what
27:38
it is.
27:39
It's a huge-eared bear.
27:43
They became toys and mascots for Russia's Olympic
27:46
team.
27:47
They graced postage stamps, inspired popular jokes, and
27:51
even saw international adaptations like the Japanese series
27:56
Cheburashka Arere, which retold the story of the
27:59
House of Friends in short episodes in Japan.
28:09
So, bridging the generation gap with fur, and
28:13
during the 2020-2023 holiday season, Cheburashka returned
28:20
to the big screen TV, not as a
28:22
cartoon, but this time as a live-action
28:26
animated comedy.
28:28
And other things changed as well.
28:30
This time, Cheburashka didn't arrive in a box
28:32
of oranges.
28:33
Instead, the creature is swept into Russia by
28:35
a powerful tornado from an orange grove.
28:39
Gena is no longer a crocodile, but a
28:41
grumpy janitor with a botanical garden, trying to
28:44
mend his relationship with his daughter.
28:47
Old Lady Shapoklyak has transformed into the head
28:52
of a corporation, aiming to buy out the
28:55
chocolate shop owned by Gena's daughter.
28:59
Initially reluctant to welcome Cheburashka into his life,
29:02
Gena gradually warms up, especially as the creature
29:07
helps his grandson speak for the first time.
29:10
Cheburashka learns to read, unites the family, saves
29:13
the small business from bankruptcy, and even softens
29:16
the heart of the hardened entrepreneur.
29:19
So, rather than sticking with the original plot,
29:23
with minor tweaks and updates, as is common
29:25
in live-action remakes of cartoon classics, the
29:29
creators opted for a completely new story.
29:34
The original Soviet cartoon no longer shows Russian
29:38
society.
29:39
People aren't as isolated as before.
29:42
Both kids and adults can connect through social
29:45
media, interest-based communities, etc.
29:48
Today's pressing issues revolve around strained generational bonds,
29:53
the quest for individuality in a global world,
29:57
and finding genuine meaningful connection.
30:00
Gena has changed too.
30:02
The creators believed that an awkward, intelligent Gena
30:05
wouldn't be as appealing to modern viewers, but
30:08
I love Gena the Crocodile.
30:10
I thought Gena was a very good character,
30:13
and Cheburashka was always a second, you know,
30:15
to Gena, but they reversed it.
30:18
The filmmakers knew that many Russians feel sentimental
30:21
about the beloved Soviet cartoon, and they could
30:25
have gone the safe way by relying on
30:28
a star-studded cast and sticking to an
30:32
old plot, like they did with Slyokin Param,
30:36
which is a romance, which means, uh, have
30:39
a nice bath, and it was one of
30:41
the, it's a a Christmas movie, uh, well,
30:45
it's really not, but it's a holiday movie.
30:47
It's a New Year's, uh, adventure, where one
30:51
of the, I mean, I watch that every
30:53
year.
30:53
It's in my my repertoire, and they, and
30:55
they, they have it in, they have English
30:57
versions of it, and they've created new versions
31:00
of this, um, you know, the Home Alone
31:02
series, but, uh, it's, these are, these are
31:04
adults, and the original still takes the cake,
31:07
in, in my humble opinion, and the Russians
31:10
have, well, the Russian cinema and Odessa cinema
31:14
has some, some great films.
31:16
I've talked about them before, and, uh, and
31:18
I find them quite positive, uh, so the
31:21
filmmakers knew that many Russians feel sentimental about,
31:24
uh, the cartoon.
31:26
Um, the critics had mixed reviews, um, about,
31:31
uh, you know, the, uh, the, um, the
31:36
way the cartoon, which isn't really, they, they,
31:39
they had a cartoon figure, but it wasn't
31:41
a cartoon.
31:42
It was more like a, uh, animation of
31:45
a figure that worked, you know, like, I
31:48
don't know, pick, pick one in the United
31:50
States.
31:50
We've done it before, too.
31:52
Um, even though Cheburashka was marketed, marketed as
31:55
a holiday film, viewers continue to flock to
31:57
movie theaters well after the holidays.
32:00
Five months to comedy gross seven billion rubles,
32:03
which made it the highest grossing Russian film
32:06
and placed it among the top 20 global
32:09
box office hits of that year.
32:12
Analysts believe the recently released sequel will break,
32:15
uh, those box office records.
32:18
So, the global remake trend has reached Russia.
32:24
This is what they claim is Cheburashka's secret,
32:27
but not every new take on a beloved
32:29
classic is a success.
32:30
Cheburashka stands out because its creator's updated story,
32:35
but didn't change the essence.
32:36
The endearing creature from afar remains innocent, kind
32:40
-hearted, optimistic, and friendly, but the film doesn't
32:44
attempt to explain Cheburashka's origins.
32:47
Um, they don't, uh, complicate his character or
32:51
subvert the expectations.
32:54
Modern viewers, even those who typically favor realistic
32:57
and gritty, need such unapologetically kind and uplifting
33:01
characters.
33:02
That's why Cheburashka is universally beloved.
33:06
Recently, a member of the State Duma jokingly
33:10
suggested that Cheburashka might be Jewish, claiming that
33:15
in 1969, inges in the, uh, hinges, oranges
33:20
in the USSR were imported only from Israel.
33:24
So, the mysterious creature must have gotten into
33:27
one of those boxes.
33:29
Not everyone found this joke amusing.
33:31
Some argued that Cheburashka originated in Russia and
33:35
can only be Russian.
33:37
Others note that Cheburashka's nationality is irrelevant.
33:41
The furry creature belongs to the whole world.
33:46
Um, now, I liked, I like so many
33:49
Russian films and so many, I'll go see
33:52
Cheburashka too, but about, had to be, geez,
33:56
in the, in the season of, of 2023,
34:00
when the New Year season came, it was
34:04
such a huge, uh, story, Cheburashka, that they,
34:12
um, this comedy club, uh, which has been
34:18
around for, geez, 20, 25 years.
34:21
It's been around a long time.
34:23
You could watch Pavlovoy and, uh, uh, Garik
34:27
Harlamov are the two main, uh, main comedians
34:31
on there.
34:31
And, uh, you've basically watched these guys grow
34:35
up, um, from the time they were in
34:38
their, geez, mid twenties, early twenties, until, you
34:42
know, they're, you know, a divorce or two,
34:46
you know, between them, different things, different jokes,
34:50
but it's still a fantastic hit.
34:52
And one of the things I would love
34:54
to do would be to be in the,
34:56
uh, in the studio, uh, for a taping
35:00
of, uh, of a comedy club, but about,
35:06
uh, in, in the 2023 New Year's edition,
35:10
which was probably one of the funniest comedy
35:14
shows I have ever seen.
35:16
Oh my God.
35:17
I was laughing my ass off the entire
35:21
time.
35:22
And, uh, during it, they had, so they
35:27
have a guy who is a Putin double.
35:30
He speaks like him.
35:33
He, his mannerisms are identical and he's a
35:37
comedian and he is, he's got one role,
35:42
you know, he doesn't play any other role
35:45
on, I've never seen him in a different
35:48
comedy club doing something else.
35:50
I'd have to go, look, maybe that's not
35:52
true, but I've never seen him do anything
35:54
except play Vladimir Putin.
35:57
And, uh, during it, um, another guy, uh,
36:01
named, um, uh, Denise, uh, Denise, uh, well,
36:09
I can't remember, but, uh, but, but a
36:11
comedian named Denise, damn it.
36:14
It'll come to me, but he's freaking hilarious
36:16
too.
36:17
And, uh, he, he always does, uh, uh,
36:20
uh, well, it doesn't matter.
36:22
He's freaking hilarious.
36:24
And he came out in a Cheburashka suit
36:29
and excuse me, I'm really little, uh, I
36:33
don't, I don't have any coffee today, but,
36:35
um, he, uh, came out as Cheburashka on
36:40
the stage and this enormous Cheburashka thing.
36:43
And everybody was laughing at him and, uh,
36:46
Putin comes out on the stage, this other
36:48
comedian.
36:49
And, um, he was sending Cheburashka on a
36:53
secret mission and he had a secret mission.
36:56
And it was when the world was making
36:59
fun of Joe Biden.
37:01
And, oh my God, it was so freaking
37:04
hilarious what they were just, uh, they were
37:08
sending Cheburashka on a secret mission to take
37:12
over as president of the United States.
37:15
And part of the funny part was, well,
37:17
you know, you, uh, you don't speak well
37:20
that fits, you know, you don't, you don't,
37:23
you speak like a child.
37:26
Well, so does the president, you know, he
37:29
was going to knock off Joe Biden and
37:31
Putin is sending Cheburashka to be in charge
37:35
of the United States.
37:36
And anyways, pretty funny episode, uh, hilarious.
37:39
Anyway, I've, uh, I've, I wanted to talk
37:42
about, about, uh, uh, certainly Cheburashka and some
37:46
of the history of, uh, of what they
37:48
do.
37:49
And now this is, um, really a big
37:54
deal.
37:55
Uh, you know, number three in the world
37:58
is, is where they are.
37:59
And if, and if they do it in
38:01
English, I mean, heck it's beautiful for kids
38:03
to watch.
38:04
It's great kids.
38:05
At least the first one was, um, you
38:07
know, I, I watched it in, and again,
38:10
Crocodile and, uh, and Cheburashka were, were, were
38:13
pretty funny.
38:14
You know, I, I've, I always watched again
38:17
at Crocodile and I've, uh, uh, always saying
38:20
the birthday wishes.
38:22
No, well, anybody who speaks Russian, you know,
38:24
the, the, the little birthday, um, basically it's,
38:30
um, uh, uh, a birthday song that ends
38:35
with, uh, unfortunately birthdays only come one time
38:38
per year is the end of the song.
38:42
Um, let's see.
38:44
I, man, there's so much news on, on
38:51
Greenland that people are talking about and getting
38:56
Greenland would be a huge historical achievement for,
39:01
for Trump, according to a political consultant.
39:06
Um, and, uh, uh, there's a, let's see,
39:14
let's, I wanted to go to another story
39:16
of what I see as a very American
39:21
and also very Russian.
39:24
It's, uh, Russians and Americans standing up, you
39:30
know, we, we stand up to things that
39:32
we disagree with.
39:33
We stand up.
39:34
Well, uh, Russians do as well.
39:38
And let's talk about the Russian hockey legend,
39:45
Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Ovechkin, the Washington Capitol star
39:53
passed up Gretzky last year.
39:56
Was it maybe a year before, um, Russian
40:00
hockey legend, Alexander Ovechkin has refused to participate
40:06
in an NHL event in support of the
40:11
LGBTQ community.
40:14
Ovechkin's team, the Capitals hosted their annual pride
40:18
night during a game against the Panthers Panthers
40:23
on Saturday, several players wrapped their hockey sticks
40:28
with rainbow colored tape ahead of the matchup
40:33
Ovechkin, uh, took to the ice using traditional
40:38
white tape on his stick, staying true to
40:41
his previous rejection of virtue signaling the Capitals
40:46
lost to the Panthers with a score of
40:49
two to five coach Spencer Carberry said after
40:53
the game, it was a great night to
40:57
celebrate bright pride, which we could have gotten
41:01
the wind tonight.
41:04
Um, the, and you know, uh, the NHL
41:11
introduced pride night events more than two decades
41:16
ago.
41:16
The use of LGBTQ specialty gear was banned
41:21
in 2023 after several Russian players refused to
41:27
wear rainbow themed sweaters, citing religious beliefs.
41:31
The league later overturned restrictions on the use
41:34
of rainbow colored tape and allowed players to
41:38
decide individually whether to use it during games.
41:47
Yeah.
41:47
At the time capitals, captain Ovechkin praise the
41:52
league's leadership for not imposing sanctions on players
41:56
who refuse to participate in pride night.
41:59
Well, what can I say here?
42:01
He said, well done.
42:03
It should be like this everywhere.
42:08
Ovechkin made history last year when he scored
42:11
his 895th regular season goal in the NHL,
42:16
surpassing Wayne Gretzky's longstanding record.
42:19
He has since added more goals, bringing his
42:22
career total to 917.
42:24
Yeah.
42:26
Shortly after breaking the NHL's all time scoring
42:30
record, Ovechkin was added to Ukraine's meter towards
42:35
list, which is a controversial state linked website
42:39
that lists individuals described as enemies of the
42:43
country for working to whitewash Russia's reputation by
42:50
participating in international sporting events.
42:54
So the database contains personal information of individuals
42:58
accused of posing a threat to Ukraine's national
43:01
security and is described by critics as a
43:05
kill list because multiple cases of people who
43:09
are listed on it are killed or died
43:11
under suspicious circumstances.
43:18
Yes.
43:19
A few more things about Greenland, just because
43:24
I find it amusing.
43:27
Demand for survival supplies and long lasting food
43:33
products, including MREs, has soared in Greenland's capital
43:37
city of Nuuk.
43:39
CNN reported Monday, citing local retailers, the surge
43:43
comes amid growing concern over U.S. interference
43:47
on the Arctic Island.
43:49
And then it talks about, you know, the
43:53
idiot Besant and not too bright as a
44:00
salesperson.
44:02
Let's see.
44:03
Shopkeepers in Nuuk told CNN that residents are
44:07
buying camping stove, long shelf life food and
44:10
freeze dried meals in abundance.
44:13
Meanwhile, locals interviewed by Reuters Sunday say they
44:18
strongly oppose any U.S. takeover of Greenland,
44:23
describing Trump's remarks as irrational and threatening.
44:31
Greenlanders stress that they are not intimidated, express
44:34
confidence the plan would fail and pointing to
44:38
political and military support.
44:41
Last week, several states blah, blah, blah.
44:44
I won't read that again.
44:46
But the EU, let's let's get to these
44:49
geniuses and then I want to get to
44:51
the latest Trump Putin news.
44:55
This is a let's see.
44:58
The EU is preparing its most powerful trade
45:05
weapons in response to Donald Trump.
45:10
Escalating tariff threats is what what are going
45:14
on here.
45:17
Yeah.
45:18
An emergency meeting on Sunday yesterday, EU members
45:24
signaled strong unity with Denmark and Greenland, but
45:29
chose not to immediately trigger the anti-coercion
45:34
instrument, which is called the trade bazooka, the
45:38
ACI.
45:40
The bloc is ready to revive a suspended
45:44
retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods if Trump
45:48
imposes the new duties, said a person familiar
45:53
with the talks.
45:54
The confrontation intensified Saturday when Trump announced a
45:59
10 percent tariff starting February 1st for eight
46:03
European nations, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands,
46:08
UK, Finland, for opposing his bid to acquire
46:12
Greenland.
46:13
He warned the levy would go to 25
46:16
percent on June one if there's no deal
46:19
for the U.S. to take over, to
46:23
take over.
46:24
The EU potential countermeasures exist on two levels,
46:28
and the most immediate is the 93 billion
46:32
euro retaliation package, which was prepared last year
46:37
in response to Trump's first tariff round.
46:42
And remember, Ursula von der Leyen came in
46:45
and just basically capitulated to Trump at that
46:49
time.
46:49
Why wouldn't he say that this is what
46:51
he's going to do?
46:52
Because she just gave up, you know.
46:56
An EU diplomat told Reuters the package will
47:00
automatically come back into force on February 6th.
47:05
More significantly, leaders are actively discussing the unprecedented
47:13
use of ACI, this anti-coercion instrument.
47:21
Now, this was adopted in 2023.
47:25
It allows the bloc to punish economic coercion
47:30
with measures like restricting access to their own
47:34
markets, investment, or intellectual property rights.
47:39
It was designed with adversarial economic powers in
47:44
mind.
47:45
French President Emmanuel Macron, not a genius either,
47:51
reportedly explicitly called for its activation after branding
47:56
Trump's threats unacceptable.
47:59
He will ask in the name of France
48:02
for the activation of the anti-coercion instrument,
48:06
his office stated on Sunday.
48:08
European Council President Antonio Costa has convened an
48:14
extraordinary summit of EU leaders for Thursday, January
48:18
22, to coordinate a united stance.
48:23
The bloc is ready to defend itself against
48:27
any form of coercion.
48:30
Oh really?
48:34
Let's see.
48:37
Trump, meanwhile, there's a couple of stories on
48:42
him I want to talk about.
48:45
Because he got the Nobel Prize.
48:48
Indirectly, this, whatever her name is, I forget,
48:53
Menudo.
48:54
I can't remember.
48:55
That's a soup, isn't it?
48:57
But let's see.
48:59
Where is my next story?
49:03
Before I get to this one, I wanted
49:06
to jump in on the Putin, Putin
49:17
-Trump news.
49:18
Here it is.
49:21
So this is today's biggest piece of news.
49:25
So yesterday, there was a speech, a 15
49:29
-minute speech I listened to by Putin.
49:36
First of the year, you know, he's talking
49:38
about all these positive things and all the
49:40
things that are going on.
49:42
And he said, Russia has been invited to
49:48
sit, excuse me, on a new peace board,
49:52
which is proposed by US President Trump and
49:56
meant to steer post-war governance and reconstruction
50:00
in Gaza, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
50:06
Trump proposed a board late last year following
50:09
a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
50:11
The initiative envisages an international council overseeing
50:21
reconstruction funding, security arrangements, and political coordination in
50:27
Gaza, working alongside a Palestinian technocrat administration during
50:33
transition periods.
50:35
The White House said the body could later
50:37
be expanded to address other conflicts.
50:40
According to draft documents, countries can join the
50:44
board, but their participation would be capped at
50:49
three years unless they pay more than a
50:53
billion in cash in the first year.
50:57
This is interesting.
50:59
They invite, you know, Trump invited India to
51:01
join it as well.
51:02
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov confirmed that
51:06
Putin had been invited to join the body
51:09
through diplomatic channels.
51:11
We are studying the details of the proposal.
51:14
We hope to hold contacts with the US
51:17
side to clarify all the nuances, he said,
51:20
without elaborating on specifics.
51:23
A wide range of countries across Europe, the
51:26
Middle East, Asia, including US allies and regional
51:30
powers, have confirmed receiving invitation letters.
51:35
Viktor Orban, Hungarian Prime Minister, and Vietnamese Communist
51:40
Party chief To Lam have accepted invitations, but
51:46
several other countries have expressed caution, saying they
51:49
would like the US to elaborate on what
51:52
membership in the body would mean and entail,
51:57
with critics arguing that the board could overlap
52:00
with or sideline existing UN mechanisms.
52:05
So, you know, I found this interesting because
52:10
it appears that the US is out, well,
52:16
through Trump, or Trump is out creating all
52:19
new all new international bodies.
52:26
Remember last week they announced, Trump announced, withdrawal
52:31
from 66 do-nothing bodies, right?
52:36
Or bodies that are anti-US, well, they
52:44
don't have enough US focus.
52:49
I'm not sure how I feel about this,
52:53
creating your own board, but it seems like
52:55
a valuable thing.
52:58
But if you don't tell Israel that they
53:01
have to, you know, quit destroying the place,
53:05
what good is it going to do?
53:08
You know, the peace isn't holding out, you
53:11
know, but now we're certainly interested
53:21
in peace over there.
53:22
I'm interested in peace everywhere.
53:24
And we had a another story to go
53:31
through.
53:31
Where is this one?
53:34
Also on the old Trumpster.
53:38
So this one had to do over the
53:42
Nobel Peace Prize that I wanted to get
53:46
to as well.
53:47
US President Trump has rebuked Norway for not
53:51
awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to him, saying
53:57
the decision had freed him from any obligation
54:00
to think of peace.
54:04
Purely of peace is what he said, according
54:07
to a letter circulated by multiple media outlets
54:10
Monday.
54:11
Trump made the jab in a message to
54:13
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Garstone blasting Norway over
54:19
its refusal to give me the Nobel Peace
54:23
Prize for having stopped eight wars, all caps
54:27
plus.
54:28
In light of this, the US president said
54:31
he no longer feels an obligation to think
54:35
purely of peace.
54:36
But he noted that peace would still remain
54:39
predominant on his agenda.
54:41
And he could now focus on what is
54:44
good and proper for the United States of
54:46
America, even if that means not peace.
54:50
Excuse me.
54:52
Trump continued the letter by pivoting to his
54:55
push for establishing US control over Greenland and
54:58
autonomous Danish territory, arguing that the world is
55:03
not secure unless we have complete and total
55:06
control of Greenland.
55:11
Excuse me.
55:12
Sorry about that.
55:14
He questioned Denmark's claim to Greenland, too, saying
55:18
that there are no written documents establishing ownership
55:22
and arguing that Copenhagen could not protect a
55:24
strategic Arctic island from Russia and China.
55:27
I've done more for NATO than any other
55:30
person since its founding.
55:32
And now NATO should do something for the
55:36
United States.
55:37
I'm not sure where Trump gets off saying
55:41
that he has done more for NATO than
55:42
any other person since its founding.
55:45
What has he done?
55:47
I mean, I want to know specifically what
55:50
he's talking about.
55:52
Is he talking about upping the five percent
55:54
from the rest of everybody else?
55:56
I don't I don't know.
55:57
Anyway, the US and European members of Bababa
56:01
tensions escalate, blah, blah, blah.
56:03
Um, let's see.
56:05
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the
56:08
independent Norwegian Nobel Nobel Committee.
56:13
Officials in Oslo insist they have no influence
56:17
over its decisions.
56:19
The twenty twenty five Nobel Peace Prize was
56:23
awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Carino Mercado,
56:30
who in January gifted the medal to Trump.
56:35
While the US president praised the move as
56:39
a wonderful gesture of mutual respect, the Nobel
56:42
Committee refused to recognize the handover, saying the
56:46
award and title can neither be revoked, shared
56:50
nor transferred to others.
56:58
All that is is a ploy for him
57:01
to appoint her as supreme goddess of Venezuela.
57:07
That's what that is.
57:09
And so that's quite self-serving.
57:13
No doubt in her story.
57:16
I find that just the world of the
57:20
ridiculous is just almost comical.
57:27
The UK says it will not yield to
57:31
Trump on Greenland.
57:33
What do you think of this with the
57:37
UK, our longest ally?
57:42
What do you think of that?
57:45
UK's culture secretary, Lisa Nandy.
57:51
Let's see the British position on the US
57:58
bid to acquire Greenland is non negotiable, says
58:04
British culture secretary Lisa Nandy.
58:08
She vowed that the UK government will not
58:11
yield to pressure from Trump, who has announced
58:15
plans to impose trade tariffs.
58:18
Trump claims US sovereignty over Greenland is necessary.
58:25
Yeah, because of his hypothetical Chinese and Russian
58:29
takeovers, the move has drawn varying degrees of
58:32
criticism from Europe.
58:35
Our position on Greenland is non negotiable.
58:38
We've made that very clear and we'll continue
58:40
to make that clear, said Nandy.
58:44
Starmer, good old Starmer, has said the island's
58:49
future is a matter for Greenlanders and Danes
58:52
to decide.
58:55
And imposing tariffs on NATO states resisting Trump's
59:00
aspirations is completely wrong.
59:04
Yeah.
59:06
But old Starmer, he's not a genius, is
59:10
he?
59:13
This is like, this is better than watching,
59:17
you know, theater, you know, this story.
59:20
I mean, you couldn't.
59:22
This is unbelievable to me that, you know,
59:26
where we go from here.
59:28
I don't know.
59:28
I'm keeping an eye on it.
59:30
But I no longer trust that sane heads
59:35
will prevail.
59:36
Not that I ever have.
59:38
But very, very interesting times we be living
59:44
in.
59:46
So I talk about high speed rail quite
59:50
a bit.
59:51
And there was 40 people killed in a
59:56
high speed train collision.
1:00:00
And it says 39 people killed and dozens
1:00:03
injured after two high speed trains collided in
1:00:09
southern Spain.
1:00:10
Emergency services reported that 73 people were injured
1:00:15
with 24 still in serious condition, including four
1:00:20
minors.
1:00:21
The incident happened in the Adamus municipality near
1:00:26
the city of Cordoba in Spain.
1:00:30
It's in the Andalusia region.
1:00:33
And it happened at 7.45 p.m.
1:00:38
Sunday.
1:00:40
The tail end of a train traveling from
1:00:43
Malaga to Madrid with about 300 passengers on
1:00:47
board went off the track and crashed into
1:00:52
an incoming train carrying 200 people from Madrid
1:00:55
to Huelva, causing it to also derail, said
1:01:00
the operator.
1:01:01
Rescuers were deployed on site, removed all of
1:01:05
the survivors from the overturned carriages by midnight,
1:01:09
Spanish transport minister Oscar Puente said.
1:01:13
But he warned that the death toll will
1:01:16
rise and the search for bodies is continuing.
1:01:20
And there was a video of it, which
1:01:24
you can find.
1:01:26
The reason for the crash have yet to
1:01:29
be established, said that the incident is truly
1:01:32
strange because it happened on a flat stretch
1:01:35
of track that had been renovated last May.
1:01:39
The train was the first to derail, is
1:01:44
less than four years old, so they can't
1:01:47
figure out what happened.
1:01:49
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed condolences to
1:01:54
families and loved ones.
1:01:55
Tonight is one of deep sadness for the
1:01:57
country, he said on X.
1:02:00
I guess everybody is X-ifying and truth
1:02:05
socialing.
1:02:06
Spain has the largest rail network for trains
1:02:09
traveling at speeds over 250 kilometers per hour
1:02:13
in the EU, and they have 3,000
1:02:16
kilometers, 1,900 miles or so of track.
1:02:20
The country last had a major railway accident
1:02:23
in 2013, when 80 people were killed after
1:02:27
a train derailed in the northwestern city of
1:02:31
Santiago de Compostela.
1:02:36
Yeah, that's unfortunate.
1:02:38
That's very sad.
1:02:39
Our hearts go out to them, and we
1:02:41
don't like to see that.
1:02:43
They can get around their country, but boy,
1:02:49
if you crash in a train going...
1:02:51
Well, any train crash is still a bad
1:02:54
news anyway, and certainly if they're going high
1:02:58
speeds like that.
1:03:02
So let us see what else we can
1:03:06
share with you on this beautiful Monday morning.
1:03:10
You know what I wanted to search for?
1:03:12
So I think I'm gonna try to end
1:03:15
the show with this, because I like it,
1:03:22
but I need to go to YouTube to
1:03:25
find it.
1:03:29
Let's see, and I have to find out
1:03:33
who or where it is, because it is
1:03:39
what we are...
1:03:40
I don't think JR has this in the
1:03:43
repertoire, and it came from one of my
1:03:52
favorite albums that is by a
1:04:04
group called OMD, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark,
1:04:14
and I'm gonna play one for you.
1:04:20
That will be symbolic for the
1:04:30
fact that it is Martin Luther King Day
1:04:33
today, and I believe I have found it,
1:04:36
but I don't wish to play it just
1:04:38
yet.
1:04:39
I shall play it when we are leaving.
1:04:42
I wonder why I've been suddenly required to
1:04:46
go through advertising on YouTube.
1:04:51
Is anybody else going through that?
1:04:53
It's freaking irritating.
1:04:54
I don't like it at all that they
1:04:58
are hitting me up for advertising, and
1:05:06
we're gonna play that when we exit stage
1:05:11
right later after the show.
1:05:16
What else do we have in the opinion
1:05:18
end here?
1:05:20
Maybe we could end with that.
1:05:23
I find this...
1:05:25
Here's an article published.
1:05:34
It's an opinion piece, but it's very positive
1:05:38
of the old Trumpster, and this is written
1:05:42
by Nadezhda Romanenko.
1:05:46
She's a political analyst, and I've shared some
1:05:50
of her work before.
1:05:53
I like reading opinions from around the planet,
1:05:58
and she is one of the ones that
1:06:00
I like to share with you.
1:06:02
She's sane, you know.
1:06:05
Sometimes people are just loopy, and oops, now
1:06:10
the screen's gone black.
1:06:11
What have I done?
1:06:13
Well, it wasn't me.
1:06:14
It was my evil twin brother.
1:06:17
Let's see.
1:06:18
But the article...
1:06:20
Nope, it just went black again.
1:06:22
This wasn't me.
1:06:23
I didn't do it.
1:06:25
Okay, well, I wonder if this is going
1:06:27
to continue, because then I shan't be able
1:06:29
to share this with you.
1:06:33
But it's, again, the old Trump and Greenland.
1:06:36
But this one, whatever the methods, history remembers
1:06:42
results, and it is hard to argue with
1:06:46
the single largest expansion of U.S. territory.
1:06:51
If Trump were to consummate, and this is
1:06:55
by Nadezhda...
1:06:56
Damn it, why does the screen keep going
1:06:58
black?
1:06:58
J.R., this is troubling.
1:07:01
If Donald Trump were to consummate a purchase
1:07:05
of Greenland, he would almost certainly secure a
1:07:08
place in both American and global history.
1:07:12
Beyond the spectacle of it all, the scale
1:07:15
alone would be staggering.
1:07:18
Greenland spans roughly 2.17 million square miles,
1:07:23
making it comparable in size to the entire
1:07:27
Louisiana Purchase of 1803, and larger than the
1:07:32
1867 Alaska Purchase.
1:07:36
Fold that landmass into today's United States, and
1:07:39
America's total area would jump past Canada, placing
1:07:45
the U.S. second only to Russia in
1:07:49
territorial size.
1:07:50
In a system where size, resources, and strategic
1:07:55
depth still matter, such a shift would be
1:08:01
read around the world as an assertion of
1:08:04
enduring American reach.
1:08:08
Prestige is only part of the story.
1:08:11
I think it's not part of the story.
1:08:14
Greenland sits astride the Arctic, where warming seas
1:08:18
are reshaping trade routes and great power competition.
1:08:23
It hosts critical radar and space-tracking infrastructure
1:08:28
and lies close to emerging maritime lanes and
1:08:32
subsea resources.
1:08:34
Its geology, long discussed for rare earth and
1:08:38
critical minerals, add a layer of economic promise.
1:08:43
For a president who measures success in visible,
1:08:47
audacious strokes, the symbolism of converting a long,
1:08:53
moot idea into a concrete map change would
1:08:57
be irresistible and historically resonant.
1:09:04
How would Trump be remembered at home if
1:09:07
he pulled it off peacefully through purchase?
1:09:10
American memory tends to fix on outcomes, not
1:09:14
process.
1:09:15
The Louisiana Purchase is celebrated for doubling the
1:09:19
nation, the young nation, not for the constitutional
1:09:23
scruples it raised at the time.
1:09:26
The Alaska Purchase, derided as Seaward's Folly, is
1:09:31
now taught as strategic foresight.
1:09:34
The sheer scale of Greenland would make it
1:09:38
the single largest one-time expansion in U
1:09:42
.S. history, narrowly edging out Louisiana in raw
1:09:47
area.
1:09:49
That alone would place any president in the
1:09:52
pantheon of consequential leaders.
1:09:55
Trump would likely be discussed in the same
1:09:57
breath as Jefferson and, by sheer magnitude of
1:10:02
territorial change, alongside the transformative figures students first
1:10:08
learn.
1:10:10
None of this denies the friction such a
1:10:14
move would create.
1:10:15
Denmark and Greenland possess their own political dynamics
1:10:19
and legal prerogatives, and Washington's meek European allies
1:10:24
have signaled discomfort with any transactional treatment of
1:10:28
sovereignty.
1:10:29
The rhetoric around a rules-based Arctic —
1:10:33
there's no rules-based anything else — would
1:10:37
not vanish overnight, but in the end it
1:10:40
would be reframed.
1:10:42
History's rules are often codified after the fact
1:10:46
to fit the outcomes major powers achieve.
1:10:50
That is an interesting statement and why I
1:10:54
wanted to share this article.
1:10:57
History's rules are often codified after the fact
1:11:02
to fit the outcomes major powers achieve.
1:11:07
That's well written and very true.
1:11:10
That is basically the same statement as, you
1:11:15
know, the rewrites of history go to the
1:11:18
victor, right?
1:11:20
If a peaceful, lawful purchase were concluded, the
1:11:25
international system would move quickly to recognize the
1:11:28
new reality, just as it did after prior
1:11:32
land cessions in the 19th century.
1:11:35
The controversy and the pressure exerted to enact
1:11:39
such purchase would mitigate from front pages of
1:11:42
newspapers to footnotes and history books.
1:11:46
Quite true.
1:11:47
Domestically, opposition would be sharp in the moment,
1:11:52
especially over process, cost, and precedent.
1:11:56
It would be massively amplified by the divisiveness
1:12:00
of Trump's figure, yet American political memory is
1:12:05
selective.
1:12:06
That's another very big tell.
1:12:10
American political memory is selective.
1:12:14
If the acquisition delivered clear strategic advantage and
1:12:19
was followed by effective integration and investment, the
1:12:24
drama of the negotiations would fade while the
1:12:27
map endured.
1:12:29
Schoolroom globes would change.
1:12:32
So would calculations in defense, climate science, and
1:12:36
resource policy.
1:12:38
Over time, anniversaries, not the acrimony, would structure
1:12:43
how most citizens encounter the story.
1:12:47
There are, of course, ways this legacy could
1:12:50
sour.
1:12:52
America remembers big swings, but it also remembers
1:12:56
boondoggles.
1:12:58
If the path to acquisition trampled consent, sparks
1:13:04
long-running dispute, or fails to deliver tangible
1:13:08
benefit, the afterglow would dim and the comparison
1:13:13
to Jefferson or Seward would feel strained for
1:13:19
a time.
1:13:20
Still, if Trump were to acquire Greenland, historians
1:13:25
would struggle to write the modern American story
1:13:28
without giving him a central chapter.
1:13:32
The combination of scale, symbolism, and strategic repositioning
1:13:40
would be too significant to treat as a
1:13:43
footnote.
1:13:44
Whatever one thinks of his methods, the legacy
1:13:48
question in the scenario is straightforward.
1:13:51
The map would testify on his behalf long
1:13:56
after today's arguments have quieted.
1:13:59
That is how history so often works.
1:14:03
Outcomes etched in borders become the monuments.
1:14:10
Pause for a minute and reflect upon those
1:14:14
words because it's absolutely true.
1:14:17
America, you know, people still talk today about
1:14:21
us destroying millions upon millions of indigenous Indians
1:14:27
here and in our takeover coast to coast,
1:14:34
including in the Louisiana purchase, which we purchased
1:14:38
from someone who didn't own it.
1:14:42
But if Trump pulls off the same thing,
1:14:45
Jesus, hopefully we won't kill all the Aleutian
1:14:49
people up there if they're still Aleuts or
1:14:51
if they're, you know, they are Eskimo based.
1:14:54
And I saw something about all of the
1:15:01
advertising elements are out in America trying to
1:15:05
make this normal, you know, that we're stealing
1:15:08
Greenland and trying to make it normal that
1:15:12
we're doing so.
1:15:13
We have our own cultural secretary who, I
1:15:18
forget her name, but she was out talking
1:15:20
about, oh, gee, they have summits between Eskimos
1:15:25
in Greenland and those in Alaska.
1:15:28
We already are working together, basically, is what
1:15:32
what her take on that was.
1:15:34
Don't you find that amusing?
1:15:37
Anyway, that that is unfortunately, the writing is
1:15:45
on the wall.
1:15:46
I don't believe that anybody's going to withstand
1:15:49
this too much.
1:15:52
I kind of doubt it.
1:15:54
And we shall see what shall be seen.
1:15:58
But the rich get richer.
1:16:00
I don't imagine.
1:16:02
I wonder.
1:16:03
So I suppose it would be interesting to
1:16:06
see what who owns what in Greenland or
1:16:11
if Trump is just going to do what
1:16:13
he did in Greenland and give it to
1:16:15
to the oil companies.
1:16:17
You're going to give it to whom do
1:16:20
the do if he buys it.
1:16:23
Well, you know, if we buy it, what
1:16:26
what happens to the people who own the
1:16:29
land at present?
1:16:33
What happens?
1:16:34
You know, I'd like to know quite a
1:16:37
bit more about this.
1:16:40
And on Martin Luther King Day, because I
1:16:46
enjoy this, I'm going to play for you
1:16:50
the orchestral maneuvers in the dark.
1:16:55
And I like this and I don't think
1:16:57
Jay has it.
1:16:58
So I didn't even go look.
1:17:00
I don't know how to search in his
1:17:02
deal anyway.
1:17:02
But here I think this will play correctly
1:17:06
for us, hopefully without commercial.