Latest / International Flavor: Where the Truth Tastes Better / Trump, Putin & Zelensky Before NATO: Anchorage, Konstantinovka, and the War Narrative

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Trump, Putin & Zelensky Before NATO: Anchorage, Konstantinovka, and the War Narrative · International Flavor: Where the Truth Tastes Better

0:00
Hello, good morning. Welcome. I am
0:04
Samuel Trap. This is International
0:08
Flavor. You are listening to
0:12
Dam Radio coming to you live from the
0:13
Lake Ozark real estate of the art
0:16
studio. This fantastical
0:19
sort of Monday freaking morning where if
0:23
you live in Ozark, you still got no
0:25
power at your house. Thank you. Uh,
0:28
whatever storm that was. Did we name
0:30
them? Do we name them here? I don't
0:33
think so. I'm going to name it [ __ ]
0:35
because it took my power. So, I've been
0:38
without power since about I don't know
0:42
1:15 in the afternoon on uh Saturday and
0:46
uh
0:48
chose yesterday to uh [sighs] take a
0:51
trip to St. Louis thinking I'd come back
0:53
and uh perhaps have some power.
0:57
nothing.
0:59
Still no joy at the house of Sam.
1:03
And so, uh, you know, we have a
1:06
restraining order, uh, going to be
1:08
launched against President Trump and,
1:10
uh, uh, the new attack on Natali's
1:14
Maloney. She going to get a restraining
1:15
order for that. Um,
1:18
you know, that'll be exciting. We might
1:20
share some of that. Um
1:25
uh let's see what else we can do here. I
1:29
tell you what, I've been um following
1:34
all weekend the preparations for
1:39
the NATO summit coming up uh tomorrow
1:44
and the next day. I think it's 7th and
1:45
8th and the old Trumpster is going to be
1:48
there. But I wanted to um
1:52
chat a little bit about I wanted to
1:55
start with the
1:59
magical
2:01
mystery phone call that uh came up
2:07
on the 4th of of July. So
2:13
basically
2:15
the old
2:17
Trumpster and Vladimir Vladimir
2:22
uh spoke for about an hour and a half 85
2:26
minutes and um [clears throat]
2:31
oh you wonder I'd have loved to been a
2:33
fly there but I haven't been able to
2:34
find you know they don't they put some
2:37
of the topics discussed the US hasn't
2:40
really put out anything all that uh
2:43
dramatic um at all reporting on what the
2:47
call consisted of and what it didn't. It
2:51
might have been nice to uh to know in
2:54
fact, but nobody's really given up any
2:58
goodies on that. We don't know what they
3:03
said. Uh not all we have basically
3:08
are
3:11
uh
3:13
all we have are the comments from the
3:16
Kremlin. That's what we got. So
3:21
the funny part for me is what happened
3:24
afterward. So let's let's have a
3:26
discussion what we do know about the the
3:30
phone call took place on July the 4th
3:32
2026 Independence Day ahead of the
3:35
summit coming up for NATO in Anchora
3:38
Turkey scheduled for July 7 and 8. Uh
3:43
many of the reports describe it as 90
3:45
minutes or a 90minute call 85. Times of
3:49
India cites Reuters and then Kremlin aid
3:52
Yuri Ushakov saying that Trump offered
3:56
US assistance in finding a solution to
4:00
the Ukraine war and reaffirmed
4:04
Washington's willingness to work toward
4:06
ending the conflict. But according to
4:08
the Kremlin side, Usha describes the
4:12
conversation as businesslike
4:16
constructive. He said Trump confirmed,
4:19
you know, wanting to end this war
4:22
rapidly
4:24
and uh obviously that part isn't
4:28
happening and he wants to find, you
4:31
know, mutual solutions to work it out.
4:33
So he's saying the right thing. Trump um
4:38
was briefed by Putin on the battlefield
4:43
scenario. And this is the funny part for
4:45
me. Um Russian forces, according to any
4:51
realistic
4:53
um
4:54
read of what's going on on the front
4:58
lines, are advancing
5:00
uh swiftly.
5:02
And you know, you can have all kinds of
5:06
uh
5:08
I don't know what denial and deniers,
5:11
including the Green Goblin and um
5:15
Tarski, the commanding general of
5:17
Ukraine, who claim that uh they still
5:21
hold all of uh Constantinovka,
5:24
which we talked about last Thursday and
5:27
Friday. Constantina because a a major
5:29
city in the uh
5:33
uh
5:35
on the front lines and it's you know
5:40
Putin discussed that and he said uh
5:43
Russian forces are advancing confidently
5:46
liberating uh one locality after another
5:50
and that's what all the the the
5:54
well-reasoned and wellthoughtout reports
5:56
are saying uh but you know they appear
6:00
to include Russia saying that they took
6:02
Constantinovka and Ukraine says that's
6:05
not the truth. Uh and that's a city of
6:08
[snorts]
6:09
somewhere in the neighborhood of 80,000
6:11
that is there and the Russians are going
6:14
basement to basement and getting rid of
6:16
uh uh the remaining um people. They've
6:21
offered to shut down for 6 hours
6:24
yesterday. six or eight, I think it was
6:27
six, six out to allow the Ukrainians to
6:29
come in and collect their dead
6:32
uh so they don't have to Russians
6:34
collect them themselves and then turn
6:36
them over later, which is what's
6:37
historically been going on. And uh I say
6:40
this as a matterof fact way because this
6:43
is the same thing we saw in Picrosk,
6:45
same thing we saw in Mir Negrad, same
6:48
wind, same thing we saw in Bachmoot,
6:51
same thing we saw in every city down the
6:54
front line. Hell, we're watching it
6:56
right now in um
7:00
what's the other
7:03
lean in Leman in Kras Leman up on the
7:07
northern side. uh that uh they we're
7:10
watching the same thing go on there.
7:11
Denial, denial, denial, and then 3 4
7:14
months later they say, "Oh yeah, we lost
7:16
that a couple of months ago." They can't
7:19
they can't have this defeat when the
7:21
whole point of bombing the crap out of
7:23
Russia's fuel uh reserves was to show
7:28
that they still are capable of
7:31
something, anything. and they are
7:33
capable of droning the hell out of
7:35
Russia if they wish to call that a
7:38
successful uh war scenario. Well, that's
7:43
what they're trying to do. That's what
7:45
they're claiming is that this is a
7:48
successful war strategy in all they have
7:52
to do is continue to uh
7:57
drone Russian gas stations and Russian
8:00
oil facilities. And that is success
8:04
because they're slated to go to this
8:06
NATO summit and pick up yet another $70
8:10
billion to continue to bomb inside of
8:15
Russia. This is profitable for the
8:18
elites in in Europe. This is well it's
8:22
not actually it's not profitable at all
8:24
but um that's uh that's what they're
8:27
doing. But you watch the BBC and the BBC
8:29
is, you know, turned into look, they've
8:31
attacked Kiev and some people have died.
8:33
Well, you're not you're you're not
8:36
taking the other point of view. Also,
8:38
those, you know, you could call them
8:40
retaliatory strikes. You know, I I call
8:42
it war and and everybody's u
8:46
a bad actor. [laughter]
8:48
You know, they all are a bad actors. But
8:51
Ushikov said to Trump uh told Putin that
8:55
Wititov and Kushner are continuing
8:58
mediation efforts. Yeah, they're not
9:00
very successful and they were prepared
9:03
to visit Moscow again, but uh Putin
9:08
reportedly reminded Trump that he still
9:10
has an open invitation to visit Moscow
9:13
himself. Hell, I'll go with him. Um, the
9:17
public
9:18
Russian position hasn't changed at all.
9:23
Moscow wants a political diplomatic
9:25
settlement, but the one that takes into
9:27
account Russia's fundamental interests,
9:31
including the root cause of the war,
9:34
reality on the ground, Russia's
9:36
territorial and security demands, and
9:39
Russian language concerns inside of
9:42
Ukraine. And Russia continues to say
9:45
that it has to include Moscow's control
9:49
over uh the Donbass region, Zaparisia.
9:53
Um
9:54
um
9:57
if they're not careful, they're going to
9:58
lose Nicolivka and Odessa on top of that
10:01
because uh that's that's the next step
10:04
in this. If they continue attacking uh
10:06
Kim uh Crimea, if they continue
10:11
attacking Crimea the way they're
10:12
attacking, then uh uh they're going to
10:16
they're going to end up losing Odessa
10:17
and uh Nicolivka as well down in the
10:22
south and and te closing off that avenue
10:25
from Transnistria and Malddova all the
10:28
way across to the Black Sea uh and and
10:31
and cutting off their access to that.
10:33
So, what does this all really mean? You
10:35
know, to us, it means the content of the
10:38
call was Trump wants a deal,
10:42
but he won't force it. I mean, they
10:44
don't trust anything. Uh the the
10:46
commentary has all been uh uh nothing
10:50
but negative after Alaska, the Alaskan
10:55
summit, which was supposed to grant us
10:57
all kinds of stuff. And they had a
10:59
working framework. in uh uh one place
11:01
reports that uh that Putin told Trump
11:04
look you know we already had our meeting
11:06
in uh Anchorage
11:09
and uh what did what good did that do
11:13
because Ukraine is not on the is not you
11:17
know you don't control Ukraine you know
11:19
you're you're lackeyis in uh Europe
11:22
control him and uh so you need to do
11:26
something more
11:29
wow Oh, I just watched Trump walk off uh
11:33
the
11:35
Marine Force, what do they call his
11:37
helicopter? And he looked old and tired.
11:41
He did not look good. That's the first
11:43
time I've ever seen him look like that.
11:45
And he was just mosing along the start
11:48
of his day. And he don't he doesn't do
11:51
that. Anyway, what does this mean? This
11:53
call means Trump wants a deal. Putin's
11:55
not offering a ceasefire
11:58
uh detached from large reality like
12:00
everybody in Europe wants. He's not
12:02
going to capitulate. That's not going to
12:04
happen. Uh Russia's telling Trump the
12:07
battlefield has moved. The facts have
12:08
changed and uh you know accept it. Uh
12:13
Trump is trying to keep himself in the
12:15
role of a broker, but he hasn't done
12:17
anything. Not on this one. [snorts] And
12:19
Putin did not need to convince Trump
12:21
that he likes peace. He needed to remind
12:23
him that peace is only possible if
12:26
Washington stops pretending that Ukraine
12:29
can negotiate as if Russia has lost. You
12:34
know, everybody wants to claim Russia
12:36
lost. Russia's not losing.
12:40
You know, it ain't easy, but Russia's
12:42
not losing this war. Ukraine is losing
12:45
and has been forever. So, I don't know.
12:50
right after that call. So then we have
12:53
to start we have to change the narrative
12:56
right we have to change it that uh this
12:59
call was initiated by the way by Trump.
13:02
Trump called Putin which means he wanted
13:06
something wanted to talk about something
13:08
before the NATO conference in Anchora.
13:12
Okay, he wanted to talk with Putin and
13:15
say, "What can we do? Is there something
13:17
there?" And they they did talk. And
13:19
again, nobody's put out a real not like
13:22
a call transcript or anything. You don't
13:24
get that. Um but uh the US hasn't put
13:28
out a whole lot of anything on this
13:30
call. And uh but right after that, there
13:34
are reports that the Green Goblin uh
13:38
phoned
13:39
uh Trump himself. Now, he, you know,
13:42
everybody knows that when Trump is on
13:44
the on the the march or if Trump is
13:47
trying to get something done, Trump
13:50
seems to uh take the opinion of the last
13:54
person he talked to and run with it.
13:56
It's always if you're you're the last
13:58
one to talk to. And so, Zalinski has to
14:01
he knows this. All of Europe knows it.
14:03
And so he has to jump on the phone real
14:06
quick and uh and chat with uh with uh
14:10
Trumpster himself. So the Green Goblin
14:13
gets on the phone. What do we know about
14:15
that call? Uh it's much much shorter.
14:18
There there's, you know, there's reports
14:20
that it only lasted a few minutes.
14:22
There's um
14:25
it had to be initiated. You know, Trump
14:27
had no desire to call him. He called
14:29
Putin. He called somebody who matters.
14:32
and Zilinski doesn't matter and uh and
14:36
Trump is allegedly able to just tell him
14:38
what to do, but so far he hasn't been
14:41
able to tell him what to do. And so uh
14:45
that
14:47
uh he also spoke to him on July 4th
14:50
called the current frontline situation
14:53
and efforts and as Zalinsky says there's
14:56
a real prospect to end the war. or this
14:58
is what he put on his, you know,
15:00
channels
15:02
to end the war uh and that America's
15:05
resolve is decisive. The two agreed to
15:08
continue to discuss more at the NATO
15:10
summit in Anchora. Well, what the hell
15:12
is the Green Goblin doing at the NATO
15:15
summit? Well, as I said, he's got to go
15:17
there and collect his next uh paycheck.
15:22
the the paycheck for the country of
15:24
Ukraine another 70 80 billion dollar
15:27
which happens every three to six months
15:30
three three four times a year this is
15:32
occurring and [snorts] on top of that
15:34
you have the the big the big things
15:37
times of India says that Zalinski
15:40
described the call as very good and they
15:42
discussed the 1200 kilometer front line
15:45
and diplomatic efforts and American
15:49
resolve is going to solve it All the
15:51
same crap they've been talking about as
15:54
that 1,200 mile front or 1200 km front
15:57
keeps pushing to the west and uh taking
16:02
over more series
16:04
Bachmoot I mean all the ones that we've
16:06
already talked about now Constantinovka
16:10
um what is missing from this call is
16:12
almost as important as what is there
16:14
there's no duration for how long this
16:17
call other than that it was short Um,
16:21
there's no detailed White House readout
16:24
talking about Trump's version of the
16:26
call. Ukraine gives the usual diplomatic
16:29
package. You know, we're winning. Um,
16:32
we're bombing the hell out of them
16:34
inside of Russia because that's really
16:35
all they have is people firing drones
16:38
from basement. That's what they got. So,
16:42
Zilenc's his call looks like a reactive
16:45
call. He found out that Putin got 90
16:48
minutes and then he has to make sure he
16:50
got his call in too. That's not proof of
16:52
any sort of panic or anything, but it's
16:55
uh diplomatic damage control is my read
16:59
on that. And Zalinski knows what the
17:02
danger is. It's that Trump is a
17:03
transactional sort of guy. And Trump is
17:06
a, you know, personal. He remembers who
17:09
flatters him, who argues with him, who
17:11
he doesn't like, who wastes his time,
17:14
and who gives him a path to a deal.
17:17
Putin can speak to Trump as one head of
17:19
a state to another, and Zilinski can
17:21
never do that. His whole position
17:25
depends on keeping the US, NATO, and
17:28
Europe locked into his narrative of the
17:32
war. And uh the Constantinoka problem um
17:38
Russia says Constantinfka has fallen.
17:41
All the military uh summary sorts of
17:44
people, the people that follow the front
17:46
lines daily, even the Institute of War,
17:48
if you go out to the Institute of War,
17:50
you can watch their uh live updates of
17:53
the uh front line from all the real
17:57
reports. And that front line continues
17:59
to march westward. And it's west of
18:03
Constantinovka,
18:04
which is where they sent Searski a week
18:07
and a half ago to get to to Sirki is the
18:11
commanding general of all of Ukraine.
18:13
And he needed that city. This city was
18:16
heavily heavily fortified around the
18:20
time they were losing Bahmut, which is I
18:23
don't know 40 60 kilometers to the east.
18:27
and uh maybe further and they haven't uh
18:31
they they remember they were building
18:32
trenches, they were heavy fortified
18:34
positions. We need to go back. This was
18:37
2 years ago and we need to back up and
18:40
uh uh make sure that we never lose
18:42
these. We can't lose our industrial
18:44
potential which comes from um uh places
18:49
like Constantine ofka and and uh several
18:52
other small well medium-size industrial
18:55
cities nearby that are the next in line
18:58
that are going to fall and uh so
19:02
Constantin has fallen and in 2 3 weeks
19:06
maybe a month maybe two months you'll
19:09
you'll see it become the reality that
19:12
Ukraine finally acknowledges, but they
19:16
can't acknowledge it right before the
19:18
next NATO summit where people have a
19:20
potential going, "Look, why in the hell
19:22
do we keep handing them 70 billion bucks
19:25
every 3, four months and then they
19:28
continue to lose big [snorts] cities and
19:30
then they come back and ask say, "Oh
19:33
jeez, if only we had the money." You
19:35
know, they're bombing the crap out of
19:36
Russian oil. There are lines for oil,
19:38
which we discussed last week, or for
19:40
gas. you know, there's there's lines on
19:43
all of this and uh Russians are are
19:46
feeling it. I'm going to get a little
19:47
bit into that, too. But but war, you
19:50
know, the the the people on both sides
19:52
are definitely feeling it. And um so
19:58
the dispute matters uh about whether or
20:02
not uh Russia Russia says Constantinovka
20:06
has fallen. All the military summary
20:08
people, including the Institute of War,
20:10
say it's gone. Ukraine says that's a
20:13
lie.
20:14
Zalinski and
20:17
Zilinski says, "Well, if Ukraine is or
20:21
if Constantin is in uh Putin's hands, he
20:25
can come and meet me there. I'll meet
20:27
him in Constantin.
20:30
Uh, I tell you what, uh, guarantee
20:34
Zalinski ain't going to Constantine
20:37
and, uh, he'd never do it. Well, Putin
20:39
won't either, but but he's not going to
20:41
do it. Zalinski rejects Russia's claim,
20:44
calls it another Russian lie, while
20:47
Ukrainian sources say the city uh is is
20:50
still under uh fighting. There's still
20:53
some fighting. Russia says, "Come get
20:55
your your dead." You know, we'll shut
20:57
down the war for six hours for you to
20:59
come collect your dead and whatever
21:02
people are wounded can get out because
21:04
they're either going to be captured or
21:05
killed. And uh Zalinsk's message is uh
21:10
Russia's lying. We're holding on. Don't
21:13
let Putin talk you into accepting his
21:15
own battlefield claims. And uh Putin
21:19
says, "We're advancing.
21:22
let the ground, you know, let that tell
21:24
what it is and let's get to a diplomatic
21:26
solution on this because we're not
21:27
there. Why does the timing of all this
21:30
matter, especially with the NATO summit
21:31
coming up? It's because uh this is
21:33
scheduled for July 7th and 8th. Trump is
21:36
expected to attend. The Green Goblin's
21:39
going to be there and Trump and Zilinski
21:42
are expected to continue discussion
21:45
while Zalinski, you know, picks up his
21:47
check, counts his money, and how he's
21:49
going to divide it among the oligarchs
21:51
that remain that are still there that
21:53
won't be in the next 6 months. They
21:57
continue to switch the oligarchs around
21:59
and the money just goes to a different
22:02
crew and they all run off to some island
22:05
somewhere or retreat to Israel. Um, so
22:09
this is Trump talks to Putin for an hour
22:11
and a half right before he walks into a
22:13
NATO room full of people who want to
22:16
keep the Ukraine war going. And the
22:19
European fear is obvious. They worry
22:21
Trump will arrive thinking that Putin's
22:23
a reasonable dude. The war is moving
22:25
Russia's way. Ukraine cannot win. Europe
22:28
isn't paying enough. Zalinski is the
22:30
problem, not the solution. NATO needs to
22:33
manage the war. Trump wants to end it
22:35
and get credit for it. That doesn't mean
22:37
Trump's going to do what Putin wants.
22:40
Trump isn't a simple person. Trump's a
22:43
complicated dude. He He might not appear
22:45
it, but that's a complicated guy. But it
22:48
does mean the last serious conversation
22:50
before the summit might matter more with
22:52
Trump than it does with anybody else. So
22:56
the phone call on the 4th of July, the
22:59
250th birthday America is not a courtesy
23:03
call. It wasn't happy birthday America,
23:05
good luck, goodbye. That's two men
23:07
talking through war, battlefields,
23:09
failed diplomacy, anchorage, and the
23:12
mess that it created since August of
23:15
last year. And then here comes the Green
23:17
Goblin. Has to get his call in, too. He
23:20
can't allow Trump to walk into NATO with
23:23
only Putin's voice ringing in his ears
23:25
because that's the danger for Kiev and
23:28
for the European wararm mongers. Trump
23:31
has a habit, we all know this, of
23:34
believing the last person that made a a
23:37
confident argument to him. And Putin had
23:41
an hour and a half to make that
23:42
argument. in uh the Green Goblin didn't
23:44
get as much time. The Kremlin says the
23:47
call was business-like,
23:50
not emotional, not hysterical or
23:52
insulting, constructive.
23:56
Zilinski, his readout is thin. He
23:59
congratulates America, says we're
24:01
winning on the front line. There's a
24:03
real prospect to end the war. Really?
24:05
How?
24:07
With American resolve. That's it.
24:10
American resolve without NATO. without
24:13
Europe, without money, without weapons,
24:16
intelligence, air defense,
24:19
if you don't have America, you don't
24:21
have any of those things. And so the
24:24
real issue in my view is Anchorage. What
24:26
was Anchorage supposed to produce?
24:28
Because from the Russian point of view,
24:30
the spirit of Anchorage has been wasted.
24:33
There have been several commentators who
24:34
said that in the last week. What was
24:36
Anchorage supposed to produce? We don't
24:39
know. If there were understandings
24:41
there, they haven't been implemented. If
24:44
there was supposed to be a path to
24:45
settlement, it's been buried. Uh
24:48
European [snorts]
24:48
pressure, Ukrainian refusal, battlefield
24:52
escalation,
24:54
uh permanent Washington habit of never
24:56
letting a war end if there's still money
24:59
leverage or the ideology of of democracy
25:04
to squeeze out of it.
25:06
So Putin understands something that was
25:09
probably always true. He cannot make a
25:13
final deal with Trump alone. If Zilinski
25:15
has to be part of the political
25:17
machinery, Trump can talk, Putin can
25:20
talk, they may even come to an
25:22
understanding between each other. But
25:25
Ukraine obstructs, Europe will sabotage,
25:29
and the NATO bureaucracy will wrap the
25:31
whole thing in a process forever. So
25:35
nothing happens. I'm still fairly
25:37
positive of Trump's ability to end this.
25:39
But the only way it ends is cut them
25:41
off. Cut them off. Cut off Europe. Cut
25:46
off Ukraine. End this freaking war.
25:49
Russia's already won. Why not
25:52
acknowledge it? What harm is there in
25:54
acknowledging it? So the question going
25:56
into Anara isn't whether Trump likes
25:59
Putin more than Zilinski. Everybody
26:01
knows he does. He don't like Zalinski. I
26:04
think Trump respects Putin in a way he
26:06
cannot does not respect the Green
26:09
Goblin. The question is whether Trump is
26:11
willing to walk into NATO and say,
26:13
"Look, this is enough." He's not going
26:16
to, but it'd be nice if he did. We're
26:18
not funding another forever war so Kiev
26:20
can pretend it's winning while losing
26:23
ground. And Europe can pretend it's
26:24
defending democracy while using Ukraine
26:27
as a weapons lab.
26:30
By the way, a boweapons lab. If Trump
26:34
does that, something might move. I'm not
26:37
very
26:39
uh positive about that. He's not going
26:41
to do it. You know, that that part's
26:43
already over. Russia's going to win on
26:44
the ground eventually. If Trump does
26:47
something though, something might move.
26:49
If he doesn't, then Putin's call is
26:51
another long conversation
26:53
in uh a long list of long conversations.
26:59
Anchorage, Istanbul, energy ceasefires,
27:02
prisoner exchanges, all of this crap
27:06
while the battlefield continues to
27:08
decide what diplomats refuse to admit.
27:13
And uh you know what's Putin's advantage
27:15
on this? He can talk strategic endgame.
27:18
He can say here are the root causes.
27:21
Here are the territorial realities.
27:22
Here's what Russia's going to do. And
27:25
here's what happens if you continue to
27:27
escalate. But Zalinski can talk urgency,
27:30
moral pressure. We need money. Civilians
27:33
are dying. Well, they're dying in
27:34
Russia, too. Ukraine needs air defense.
27:37
America's resolve. You know, don't
27:40
reward Russia.
27:42
Putin isn't offering any sort of quick
27:45
ceasefire, which is all really that
27:47
Trump likes to announce. So this is this
27:50
is why I think this was a even though it
27:52
was an hour and a half call, the news
27:55
coming from it is minimal on the
27:58
American side. Well, the Russian side
27:59
too. They don't expect anything. Uh but
28:02
Zalinski where he's weak is he don't
28:04
have anything to offer Trump except
28:06
continuing more of the same. More
28:09
weapons, more money, more NATO, more OG,
28:13
we're Democrats over here. Well, not
28:15
Democrats. We engage in democracy.
28:19
more promises that more sanctions will
28:23
uh eventually force Russia to retreat.
28:28
Trump wants a deal with the name Trump
28:30
on it somewhere. Putin can offer him
28:33
architecture for a deal. Zalinski can
28:36
offer him applause from NATO and Europe
28:39
only if Trump keeps supporting Ukraine.
28:41
And these are very very different
28:43
incentives.
28:46
So, I don't know what's going to happen.
28:49
I think nothing that the NATO summit's
28:51
just another long line of crap and that
28:54
that that nothing that's going to change
28:56
anything. If if Trump leaves Anchora
29:00
committing to more weapons, more NATO
29:02
integration, and no pressure on Kiev,
29:05
then Putin didn't move him. If Trump
29:08
instead demands direct territorial
29:10
negotiations, perhaps freezes new weapon
29:14
commitments, or pushes Zalinski,
29:17
then the Putin call mattered. But I
29:19
think it didn't matter. Hour and a half
29:21
or not. Um, it'd be interesting to see a
29:24
real White House read out Trump's own
29:27
remarks before or during the NATO summit
29:30
and any Kremlin followup on Witoff,
29:33
Kushner, any movement on any sort of
29:36
direct US, Russia, Ukraine talks. But,
29:39
you know, then maybe that call meant
29:41
something. But I don't think it did. I
29:44
[snorts] think that call was uh an hour
29:47
and a half of platitudes. [snorts]
29:51
So, we wanted to talk about that. I um
29:54
yesterday, it's a little early for this,
29:56
but I'm going to do it anyway. I'm gonna
29:59
play uh probably my favorite uh and
30:04
you're I'm going to call it a war song,
30:05
but it's not um it's not really a war
30:09
song. It's a war result song, but it's
30:11
also, in my humble opinion, there are
30:15
two
30:17
of the greatest and it's debatable by by
30:20
people, you know, who know stuff, but I
30:22
don't know stuff about music. I just
30:24
know what I like. And uh
30:28
I'm telling you that this is the best
30:34
guitar solo
30:36
or guitar
30:38
series of all time. And I don't think
30:41
anyone could dispute it, you know, and
30:44
watching this guy do what he does uh
30:47
both live in the video anywhere is
30:51
freaking amazing. And uh everybody knows
30:53
I like to watch people who uh who can do
30:57
stuff that I could never do in a million
30:59
years. Impressive folks, you know,
31:01
whether it's singing, um playing hockey,
31:04
you know, uh I don't know what. Um
31:07
jumping from air, people that people
31:09
that do stuff that I can't do. Freaking
31:11
ballet dancers, you know, theater, stuff
31:14
like that. I like watching people who uh
31:17
who've committed their lives to
31:19
something and it's like, man, wonder if
31:22
I did that if I'd ever been a good
31:23
baseball player. If you just put your
31:26
mind to your work, my mother would say,
31:28
just just take something seriously,
31:31
[laughter]
31:32
you could be successful. Well, you know,
31:36
I watch these people that learn to play
31:38
the tuba, you know, and can do it an
31:40
amazing form, and I'm going, man, I
31:44
guess I wasn't ready to put in the work
31:46
required for that deal. [cough]
31:50
Excuse me. But that being said, there
31:53
are probably and I used to think it was
31:55
a a close second and uh what's the one
31:58
with Skard? Um
32:01
the that's that's in my view the second.
32:04
And here's the first one and it comes
32:07
from none other than
32:11
suspense suspense. Suspense
32:14
comes from Metallica and this is a war
32:18
song.
32:23
Now, that is a guitar solo. And I'm
32:28
telling you, that is probably well, it
32:32
is the greatest guitar solo of all time.
32:35
And uh people could disagree, you know,
32:39
but I'm right, of course. And uh uh that
32:43
is also a an American view of uh of war
32:48
from one source. Okay? and and they talk
32:52
about it and I've I've played for it
32:54
played it again on the Russian side. I'm
32:56
going to play it again for you and I'm
32:57
even going to tell you what the Lyrics
32:59
say. You could understand the lyrics in
33:01
the Metallica one and uh and it's a a
33:04
pretty good video. I you know what I
33:08
never heard I didn't say I hadn't heard
33:10
of Metallica. I never became a fan of
33:13
Metallica. I've never been uh you know
33:15
some people would consider that heavy
33:17
metal you know the the the I consider
33:20
that rock and roll you know that is that
33:22
is some some good stuff no matter how
33:25
you slice it and uh but I was never the
33:27
biggest of Metallica fans. I think they
33:30
came along a little bit too late for me
33:33
or I wasn't into music in the way that I
33:36
was in my in my real youth. I think I
33:38
was still pretty young when it came out.
33:41
A young man had children by that point.
33:44
In fact, it was I think uh Sam also Sam
33:48
2 who introduced me to Metallica and
33:51
that that song in particular, I think.
33:54
And uh but that was, you know, I'd love
33:57
to go see those guys. I'd go see them in
33:59
concert, you know, without a second
34:02
thought, you know. Um, I would go and I
34:05
would
34:08
I wonder if they can still do it is the
34:11
part you wonder if they can do it. But
34:13
it's a it's definitely a war uh a war
34:15
political statement, you know, no matter
34:17
how you slice it. And the Russians have
34:20
their political statements regarding war
34:22
as well. And we'll play one of those. Um
34:27
also
34:29
um but I wanted to go where am I? Since
34:34
I wanted to talk about Constantine from
34:37
a couple of other points of view because
34:40
Russian state television um is where I'm
34:45
going to start. I'm going to start with
34:47
uh Saliv and the three hours of of well
34:50
two and a half of Soliv programming that
34:53
I that I watch to to program my mind and
34:57
the two people I like Margarita Simenyan
34:59
was there or I like listening to anyway
35:01
because you can get their stuff and uh
35:03
and I thought they gave a uh Soliv is
35:07
always pissed off you know he's always
35:08
yelling about something and uh so he's
35:11
fun to he's fun to watch and there's a
35:13
reason he's
35:15
Whether you believe he's propaganda or
35:19
mostly tells the truth just from a
35:21
Russian point of view uh is your choice.
35:24
I don't care. But uh we never listen
35:27
over here to what they're saying over
35:29
there. Nobody ever listens. And uh those
35:32
that do discount it automatically
35:35
because that's just how they are and
35:38
they're not understanding that this is
35:40
what you know we have our propaganda
35:42
over here and the stuff that we tend to
35:44
believe truthful or not we've got it
35:48
they've got theirs truthful or not but
35:50
that doesn't mean you shouldn't listen
35:52
to the other point of view. And uh so if
35:56
you call it Russian state television,
35:58
no, it's not neutral. And not because
36:00
it's any sort of casual commentary, but
36:03
because the Russian political media
36:06
establishment and how they are
36:08
interpreting this stage of the war, the
36:11
call to Putin or to uh Trump by Putin.
36:15
Salv opens with the city of
36:17
Constantinovka also. And then Margarita
36:21
Simenyan broadens that discussion into
36:23
something quite a bit larger. The idea
36:25
that the West isn't trying to defeat
36:27
Russia on the battlefield, but they're
36:29
trying to and have been trying to defeat
36:32
Russia since 1917
36:35
through the same things, economic
36:37
pressure, fuel disruption, logistic
36:40
stress, elite irresponsibility,
36:43
and psychological
36:45
exhaustion. So Soliv started out by
36:48
saying that in effect there are many
36:50
topics but he wanted to begin with what
36:53
he personally saw and felt and this is
36:56
not a neutral guy. This is a guide that
36:58
is obviously very much on the side of
37:01
Russia and uh the the fight with R. He
37:04
says uh he's a very subjective person.
37:07
even says it himself and that he's
37:09
speaking from his what he saw
37:11
experienced and internally processed
37:13
because he's not presenting some kind of
37:16
a detached journalistic
37:18
uh view which I hope that I sometimes
37:21
put out. I have no belief in the
37:23
Zalinski, you know, the Green Goblin
37:25
side at all. I don't trust any of it.
37:28
And for me it's it's somewhat defeated
37:30
by what has happened and the fact that
37:32
the guy's now 2 years and several months
37:35
into an illegal ah not illegal but uh uh
37:41
uh dictatorship sort of regime. You know
37:44
have elections if you're dem democracy
37:47
have some freaking elections. See if the
37:49
people really want what you're selling
37:51
cuz I think they don't. Um so Salvio
37:55
starts at he says the most important
37:58
thing for him is what he said is that
38:00
the commander-in-chief Putin was in
38:02
uniform and speaking with Russian
38:04
commanders and he does this every
38:06
quarter or so he gets together with all
38:09
the commanders and he wears his military
38:11
uniform and uh you know shows that the
38:14
you know he he's serious about the
38:16
military and then he talks about uh
38:18
Soliv talked about the uh predictable
38:22
calculated ated chaos because of
38:25
Ukrainian counterp.
38:28
He played a played a Putin clip while
38:30
Putin was in uniform. And that clip
38:33
basically says, you know, Russia has to
38:35
continue to analyze who's involved in
38:38
prolonging the war in Ukraine. That's
38:41
not just Ukrainian officers and
38:43
politicians, but instigators, outside
38:46
participants. And Putin said there's
38:48
been several of them about um uh a
38:52
uh what do they call them? Mercenaries
38:55
um leaving the battlefield in Ukraine
38:58
that they're now uh two two three four
39:01
years in they're out. There's a group
39:04
from uh uh Scotland uh another uh
39:08
Australian group that they interviewed
39:11
on their ways out the door. You can get
39:14
on YouTube and watch those videos. Uh,
39:16
look up look up uh uh Scottish or or
39:21
were they British? Well, British I think
39:25
uh soldiers leaving the uh leaving the
39:28
Ukraine war. Watch for that. And then
39:30
then do the same thing. There's a whole
39:32
bunch from um Colombia, the country of
39:35
Colombia that have left as well. Um, so
39:40
Putin says Ukrainians leaders claims of
39:43
success actually help Russia because
39:45
these performances uh disorganize Kiev
39:48
and its sponsors. And so Russian
39:51
commanders have to act, and these are
39:53
his words, rhythmically, rationally,
39:56
consistently to try to preserve Russian
39:58
soldiers lives and execute the the
40:02
staff's general plan. Um, Solivv talked
40:06
about Constantine. They said it's one of
40:08
the seven largest cities of the uh
40:10
Dyetsk people's republic and that among
40:14
cities uh Russia has taken it's the
40:17
second in population after Marople and
40:20
he said it's a city that had had an
40:23
according to Kiev an insurmountable Kiev
40:26
fortress and he says that the fourth
40:28
brigade uh that is that has taken it
40:31
over was once commanded by a guy named
40:34
Colonel Macarov who was uh killed uh
40:38
quite a few months ago and was awarded
40:40
uh the status of hero of Russia after
40:44
being killed and that Soliviov's team
40:45
had filmed with him before he passed
40:47
away was killed. uh Macarov was placed
40:50
by a gay guy named Anton Grunis who's
40:53
now a general and Grunis is in charge of
40:55
the fourth brigade and they played a
40:57
very large role in the takeover of
41:00
Constantinovka and they were on the
41:02
outskirts of Constantinovka filming this
41:05
video and for Salafov Constantinoka
41:08
isn't just a dot on a map it's uh tied
41:12
to fallen Russian officers and stuff
41:14
like that so his interview he asked
41:16
Grunis why Constantin matters to uh
41:19
Russia. And he said uh Grunis said that
41:24
it's part of Ukraine's fortress belt,
41:29
the first heavily fortified city in that
41:32
belt with three serious defensive lines
41:35
in front of it, all of which have been
41:38
breached. He says Ukraine prepared for
41:41
it for years and believe that Russia
41:44
could never break through into
41:46
Constantin.
41:47
And so Soliv said, "What was it that
41:50
made that possible?" And and for me as a
41:52
former military guy, this answer coming
41:55
from a general, I liked it a lot. And
41:59
what he said was, "I like it a lot. I'm
42:02
Forest Force Gump." And uh uh but Grunis
42:05
gave a very short answer. He said, and
42:08
Salvio says, "Well, what made this
42:09
takeover possible?" And he said,
42:11
"Cunning, deception, and maneuvers."
42:15
That's a key military phrase, not brute
42:17
force, not we just bombed the hell out
42:19
of him and went in. Russia uh says that
42:22
Constantino was taken through
42:24
operational maneuvers, deception,
42:26
assault groups working deep inside the
42:29
city before it was ever acknowledged
42:31
publicly. Salv said that Ukrainian side
42:34
was not weak. He said they had some
42:36
pretty serious forces, including the
42:38
nationalist battalions and brigades.
42:40
Grunis mentioned formations like the
42:43
Carpathian, the the 100th, the 28th and
42:48
156 brigades, all of which are gone. Now
42:52
the Russian claim is that Constantine
42:54
was not undefended, was not taken by
42:57
accident. The story is that this was a
42:59
prepared fortress defended by serious uh
43:03
Ukrainian soldiering and broken by
43:06
infiltration, deception, and pressure.
43:09
[snorts] And uh
43:11
Solio talked about uh assault troops
43:14
entering the city and said there were
43:16
some some were working deep inside. Uh
43:19
and he and by the way they interviewed a
43:21
bunch of these guys. Um there were uh
43:24
small battlefield stories. Two two men
43:26
that got rid of 11 enemy fighters, a
43:29
young drone operator, 20 year old old
43:32
that dreamed of capturing a German
43:34
vehicle. Um he's interviewing these
43:36
people. These were live from the front.
43:38
Well, not live, but filmed at the front
43:40
line. Men he visited uh previously that
43:44
he revisited and watched him at work.
43:46
It's a wartime
43:48
I don't know what propaganda story, but
43:51
that doesn't necessarily mean it's all
43:53
false. I mean, I think they were in
43:56
Constantin. Can I prove it? No. But
43:59
[laughter] but I I I think it's it's
44:02
it's ten times more likely that Ukraine
44:05
is lying about yet another city it lost
44:08
than it is that Soliv is filming in fake
44:12
cities, you know, and claiming it's
44:14
Constantine. I don't I don't think
44:16
that's true at all. Um is it all
44:18
completely true and accurate? No. I'm
44:20
sure they killed they lost a lot of
44:22
people taking over Constantinoka, but
44:25
Constantinovka, I've been talking about
44:26
it for a month and a half and they sent
44:28
Cerski there. He's not there now. Why
44:32
Why isn't he filming from Constantin?
44:34
Because they've been overrun. Same thing
44:37
with Leman. It's another big city and
44:40
they're on their way to um
44:44
Damn it, I'm having city problems, you
44:46
know. But these there's a story in mor
44:48
morale boosters and stories of some of
44:51
the guys from the front you know young
44:53
Russian fighters very serious command
44:55
extremely hardened units and
44:58
technological adaptation he keeps um you
45:01
know Salaf comes back to Constantinoa
45:05
after uh so he talked first and he he
45:09
does whatever it is 20 25 minutes and I
45:11
watch his I like his segment on Sunday
45:14
evenings. I like it because it usually
45:16
includes video from the front where he
45:18
goes on, you know, he his show goes
45:22
Sunday through Thursday and on Friday
45:23
and Saturday he goes to the front and
45:26
interviews people and, you know, people
45:27
try to kill him over there. So, uh, you
45:30
know, he goes over and talks to the
45:32
people on the front lines and then he
45:34
films it all and shows it on Sunday
45:36
night. I like watching it. And then uh
45:38
on Sundays um Margarita Simemenan has
45:42
rejoined the cast for Sundays. Um h off
45:46
and on. She's not there as often as she
45:48
used to be, but uh it's been nearly a
45:51
year since uh her husband passed away
45:53
and since uh she was diagnosed with some
45:56
illness that kept her out for a while.
45:58
And so she's back and they're both
45:59
extremely political, but it's it'd be
46:02
like watching uh I don't know um Tucker
46:05
Carlson over here or uh uh Bill O'Reilly
46:09
when he was, you know, doing the nightly
46:11
show every night. It's something similar
46:14
over there. These are the big the big
46:15
ticket heavy hitter players. Okay. Um so
46:20
uh [sighs] the Green Goblin part is
46:23
this. He returned u and talked about
46:26
Ukraine making a demonstrative denial.
46:29
Zilinski says that Russia isn't even in
46:34
uh Constantine of K. Salaf says this is
46:38
a great irony among the Russian troops.
46:40
And this is when he played all the clips
46:43
sent by members of the fourth brigade
46:45
raising flags. He says Ukrainian
46:48
soldiers and captured personnel sitting
46:50
in the center of Constantin.
46:52
Uh there's one nuance that it's under
46:56
the control of the Russian armed forces.
46:58
[laughter] They played a pretty funny
47:00
video of some Ukrainian guys sitting
47:02
there captured. And then he goes, "Yeah,
47:05
it's under control, but happens to be
47:07
under control of the Russian forces."
47:09
Soliv says there are civilians being
47:11
evacuated and that the fourth grade
47:13
brigade alone has 35 flags it's planted
47:17
in various places on Constantinoka. He
47:20
attacked Zilinski, his circle and any
47:23
sellout, fake patriots or war
47:25
correspondents who dispute Russia's
47:28
claim. His message is blunt. Quit
47:30
pretending. The people who are actually
47:32
there know exactly what happened. And it
47:34
was kind of a powerful segment
47:35
truthfully. believe it or don't believe
47:37
it, but I I believe that Russia's in uh
47:40
Constantino right now. And so, you know,
47:44
Zilinski denies the city is gone. Sirki
47:47
denies that it's been taken. So, if you
47:49
have answers with soldiers sitting in
47:51
the center of the city with Russian
47:53
flags and the claim that the fourth
47:55
brigade alone has 35 more. Whether you
47:57
accept it or not, the structure is
47:59
clear. Moscow says K's a bunch of liars
48:02
and the military analysis is nothing
48:05
butformational
48:08
warfare.
48:09
Um, now he did talk quite a bit and I
48:12
wanted to make sure to get to this
48:13
because he also talked quite a bit about
48:16
Russia's internal failures which are
48:18
going on right now. And this is
48:19
important because after he he
48:22
I don't know I guess the word would be
48:24
celebrated the fact that they took over
48:26
Constantine of he switched to Russian
48:29
internal problems and there are many
48:33
fuel the prices for fuel refineries the
48:38
oligarchs continuing to have parties and
48:41
the irresponsibility of the elite. He
48:43
got all mad and was yelling about it.
48:45
[snorts] He said he drove through
48:46
different areas including Rosttov uh
48:49
when he was on his Rostto Vondon when he
48:52
was going to Detsk and he saw fuel
48:55
problems everywhere. He said everywhere
48:58
there were lines at gas stations,
49:00
nervous people. There was sometimes law
49:03
enforcement required to keep the peace,
49:05
you know, there and maintain the order.
49:07
And in Daetsk, he said there was plenty
49:10
of fuel in Daetsk, but it basically
49:13
doubled the price. You know, the normal
49:15
price around 70 75 maybe 80 rubles for a
49:19
liter of 95 octane. And uh he said there
49:23
was 150 rubles a liter, but there was
49:26
plenty of it. So you could go buy it if
49:29
you were willing to pay. And there are
49:30
no lines because they just raised the
49:32
price. and he attacked the spectacle of
49:34
these elites that uh all through the war
49:37
have basically ignored the war and just
49:39
gone on with their partying. [laughter]
49:41
He says these guys included and I think
49:44
it was Boozea he was talking about
49:46
there's a a famous uh Russian she's very
49:49
good um and I like watching her. She's
49:52
on Comedy Club all the time and I watch
49:54
her on Comedy Club and sometimes she
49:56
gets up there and sings and they'll have
49:58
uh you know it's kind of a Saturday
50:00
Night Live sort of format, but they talk
50:03
with all these elite people. You know,
50:05
it'd be a dream of mine to go over and
50:07
get uh put into the audience of uh of u
50:11
Comedy Club. It's been on for 20 years
50:14
and uh and and the same two guys running
50:16
it. uh Victor uh uh
50:20
uh is it Victor Karlamov? Um and then um
50:25
uh anyway, it doesn't matter. Uh there
50:27
it's it's a it's a good show. and boot
50:29
and he was talking making fun of him and
50:31
he said uh he attacked the spectacle of
50:34
this elite party uh far far from the
50:37
front and in Crimea the fuel systems are
50:40
under pressure and the the people are
50:42
you know being bombed and uh you know
50:44
their kids blown up on beaches you know
50:47
by frag grenades and uh he mocked a
50:50
wealthy event that in the last week was
50:53
hiring Olabuza
50:56
and uh he said the money that they that
50:58
they spent on that should have been sent
51:00
to uh Crimea to buy generators for
51:04
people who are having uh power problems.
51:06
And so in one breath, Soliv says Russia
51:09
is winning at Constantinovka and they
51:12
are winning along the front. The next he
51:15
is saying that Russia's internal elite
51:17
behavior is dangerous, shameful and
51:20
could cost them
51:22
uh eventually in the war stuff. He says
51:24
the government understands the fuel
51:26
situation and that they're trying to
51:29
take efforts to uh uh
51:33
repair the scenario and he doesn't want
51:37
to talk about it on the air but he knows
51:39
of plans that are going on because he
51:41
doesn't want the enemy to that listens
51:42
to his program to say anything which
51:44
seemed kind of you know self- serving
51:46
but then again uh probably correct. Then
51:49
came the attack on on corporations. His
51:52
argument was that the big vertically
51:54
integrated energy companies have money
51:57
throughout the war for sports club,
52:00
football teams, public events, elite
52:02
projects, and why don't they spend that
52:04
money on protection for refineries and
52:07
fuel infrastructure instead of wasting
52:09
it on things that don't matter during
52:11
wartime.
52:13
Um, he said they may not be allowed to
52:15
buy weapons themselves, but they can
52:17
build passive defenses, shelters,
52:19
camouflage, protective structures,
52:22
engineering barriers, whatever. And if
52:24
they can't maintain an uninterrupt
52:27
uninterrupted
52:28
operation of their own supply chain
52:30
during wartime, they should admit they
52:32
can't handle the job and let someone do
52:35
it who can, you know, find somebody
52:37
else. So, it's kind of a hard wartime
52:41
uh statist kind of message. Private
52:44
property remains private so long as it
52:46
serves the war effort. If it can't serve
52:48
the war effort, the state might have to
52:50
intervene. And he asks them, he he asks
52:53
him and he's yelling at the TV or the
52:55
camera. He's like, "Who are you working
52:56
for?" He's like, "Are you doing at these
52:59
companies that don't protect their
53:00
critical infrastructure?" He asked if uh
53:03
you know uh you know who who are you
53:08
protecting? Why aren't you spending the
53:09
money for that? You know to take care of
53:11
it. He he talked about officials who
53:15
attend these forums, bureaucratic
53:17
languages. He made a funny uh
53:21
one of the bankers. There was a banker
53:23
that that got interviewed
53:25
that was wearing one yellow sock and one
53:29
red sock and some crazy tie. and he's at
53:32
some forum and Solivio really beat up on
53:35
him and he said, you know, what's this
53:36
lack of seriousness doing? And this is
53:39
coming from me and I have probably a box
53:42
of uh I don't wear them all that often
53:44
anymore, but I used to have a whole
53:45
closet full of suits. I had at least 40
53:48
suits and I have a box of I still have
53:52
them. Uh you know those big tubs you buy
53:54
at Walmart? I got one full of socks that
53:58
are so many different colors. I I had
54:01
tons of them and then uh I had a sock
54:03
fetish and then I have a problem with
54:06
ties and I have I don't know another
54:09
entire tub full of ties. There's got to
54:12
be couple hundred two 300 in there that
54:16
I still have. I should have a a tie sale
54:19
because back in the day those are like
54:21
40 bucks 50 bucks a piece. Who knows
54:24
what they are now. I haven't had to buy
54:25
any ties in a long time and I still
54:28
since I don't wear them now it's always
54:30
you know a different tie but uh I don't
54:32
know maybe I got a like a women's shoe
54:34
problem uh but with men's ties um but he
54:38
argues Soliv was saying the army is not
54:41
going to lose the war Russia has a
54:43
problem created by decades with no
54:45
ideology and I find this very
54:48
interesting because the 1990s
54:52
constitutional prohibition on state
54:55
ideology. You know, people have their
54:58
own ideology. The state doesn't get to
55:00
create it. Russia raised a generation,
55:03
according to Soliv, now get this, this
55:05
is important. Russia raised a generation
55:07
that doesn't feel truly Russian,
55:11
but are
55:13
capitalist traders first,
55:17
citizens of Russia second. and they're
55:20
more like citizens of the world, people
55:22
who live wherever they are comfortable.
55:25
And the '9s were the wild wild west in
55:29
Russia. And it was uh you collapse of
55:33
everything that meant anything to
55:35
anybody over there. And they, you know,
55:38
it was every man for himself. And
55:40
there's some stories of that when I get
55:42
to uh uh talking about Margarita
55:45
Simenyan here um in a little bit. And uh
55:49
he says that Russia right now is going
55:52
through um you know they're facing
55:55
they're at war with the entire west and
55:58
then a technological transformation
56:01
every couple of months every 3 4 months
56:04
he says it becomes a new war. Science
56:06
has to work constantly to produce new
56:08
means of attack or defense. Industry
56:11
cannot be cooled or restrained by
56:13
outdated economic doctrines. So, that
56:17
kind of lines up with what we've
56:18
discussed previously on this program
56:20
about drone wars, about electronic
56:22
warfare, Starlink, counter drone
56:25
systems, those little laser ones that
56:27
the Russians are using to shoot a laser
56:29
at another drone and take it out. And uh
56:33
that tactical innovation is obsolete
56:35
within a couple of months. And uh you
56:38
know he he he attacked um you know the
56:41
colored sock guy like I was telling you.
56:44
He's like why you spend money on some of
56:46
this uh innovation and quit you know
56:48
spending on you know your idiotic sock
56:51
colors. He says the colored but the
56:53
colored socks aren't really the issue.
56:56
You know I like my colored socks. The
56:59
socks are just a metaphor. Or what Soliv
57:01
is saying is that soldiers are dying,
57:03
refineries are burning, and Crimea needs
57:06
fuel and generators, but the financial
57:08
elite, that class is still performing
57:11
their uh, you know, their dancing monkey
57:14
tricks on the public stage. And, uh, so
57:18
I don't know. Um, I found that to be a
57:22
very interesting segment whether you
57:24
believe it or not. And nobody listens
57:26
enough. So, I figured I'd uh I'd I'd put
57:29
that out about the about a different
57:31
point of view. And it's certainly not
57:33
pro- Ukrainian. You know, there I
57:35
haven't been pro- Ukrainian for a long
57:38
time, if I ever was. And I'm not anti-
57:41
Ukraine. I'm not even pro-Russia. I'm
57:44
pro-Russian point of view, you know,
57:46
that we need to listen to it, and we
57:48
never do. And diplomacy is dead. But,
57:51
uh, you know, the the war is being tough
57:53
on them, too. And this is why I want to
57:55
play for you another war song. Now, I've
57:57
played this over I've played this to you
58:00
before and uh it's uh
58:05
uh but it's one of my favorite um
58:09
um [clears throat]
58:10
Russian songs on uh on the war as well.
58:16
Just like that was a war song that I
58:17
played from Metallica, we're going to
58:20
play you a war song from uh Victor Soy.
58:25
And I know if you listen to me
58:27
regularly, you've heard this one before.
58:30
So, we're gonna play it for you again
58:32
just because and and but before we did,
58:34
I wanted to share with you the uh the
58:37
lyrics of this that they they get there
58:40
because this is in Russian and it's uh
58:42
obviously and it's uh interesting what
58:45
they what the words are. And this
58:47
translation that I found online isn't
58:49
very good, but basically it starts out
58:52
we're in a warm place and on the street,
58:55
you know, we're headed into the street
58:58
where our footprints are made with our
59:03
stardust covered boots. You know, he's
59:06
talking about how we leave with such a
59:08
great impression of what we're doing for
59:10
the country. They sparkle and they
59:12
shine. [snorts] And uh you know we are
59:15
uh here we are shepherds of uh of
59:20
of basically hardbacked chairs
59:24
um with dazzling dreams of our own below
59:28
the bright sun. We haven't touched the
59:31
trigger yet but when it's the right time
59:33
to touch we will. And uh it and then he
59:37
talks about our blood type is stamped on
59:40
our sleeve. Our serial numbers are
59:43
stamped on our sleeve. Wish me luck in
59:45
the flight in the fight. Uh
59:49
that I won't die in this field of green.
59:51
This field of green. Wish me luck
59:55
and uh that I'm lucky. I'm able to pay,
59:58
but I really don't want a triumph at any
1:00:01
price. I never want to step on somebody
1:00:04
else's chest or to put somebody else's
1:00:07
chest under my boots. Um, I would rather
1:00:10
stay here with you. Just stay here with
1:00:12
you. But the stars haven't aligned that
1:00:16
way. They're still pointing my way into
1:00:18
battle. And then they talk again about
1:00:21
the uh the my blood type is on my
1:00:24
sleeve. My serial number is on my
1:00:26
sleeve. Wish me luck in the field of
1:00:28
green and blah blah blah. But it's a
1:00:30
great song and uh certainly about about
1:00:33
war and it's more of the realities and
1:00:35
the uh it's a little different than
1:00:38
because the the Metallica one is if
1:00:41
anything is anti-war and this one isn't
1:00:44
necessarily anti-war. It's more of an
1:00:46
acceptance of a duty is what it seems
1:00:49
like to me. And uh so at any rate uh
1:00:52
here it is groupi by Victor Soy and
1:00:56
Kino.
1:00:58
So, that song came out in uh
1:01:03
in uh when did that come out? In the
1:01:05
90s. And remember, I don't know if
1:01:07
anybody remembers this, but if anything,
1:01:09
the US should have been paying attention
1:01:11
a little bit better because what was
1:01:16
going on was that
1:01:21
Russia was embroiled in what country?
1:01:26
Afghanistan.
1:01:28
They were there for a good number of
1:01:30
years. I don't remember at all, but it
1:01:32
was I want to say 8 to 10 years they
1:01:35
were there and they had been there off
1:01:37
and on for a long time both pre and
1:01:39
after the Soviet Union and uh you know
1:01:44
there were military I remember when I
1:01:46
was in the military uh Russia was
1:01:48
engaged in some of this going on in the
1:01:50
'9s right and [snorts] uh it's a big a
1:01:53
big deal for them because uh it didn't
1:01:56
result in anything just like ours in
1:01:59
Afghanist stand. And I remember
1:02:01
listening to people in the military
1:02:03
going, "Oh, gez, you know, those
1:02:05
Russians, you know, they suck. They
1:02:06
can't beat they can't even beat up third
1:02:09
world country like Afghanistan." I was
1:02:11
like, I'm not so sure I'd believe that,
1:02:14
you know, if you if that that place, you
1:02:18
know, what did we do in Iraq? You know,
1:02:21
for God's sake, we didn't win. You know,
1:02:24
that's not a victory, by the way. And uh
1:02:27
uh and then we go where? right into
1:02:29
Afghanistan in the same old thing, you
1:02:31
know. In fact, ours looked worse coming
1:02:34
out. You know, they left and they
1:02:35
finally gave up and um it's uh
1:02:41
uh it's it's not good. Anyway, that uh
1:02:45
that song was Victor Soy Group is is
1:02:48
what it's called. And uh basically blood
1:02:51
type is what that means. And it's uh
1:02:54
again a war song that came out during
1:02:56
the Afghanistan war and during the 90s
1:02:59
which were a freaking mess anyway. And
1:03:02
uh you know some of and it's a large
1:03:04
cultural event uh even to those today
1:03:08
the the '9s would be like our depression
1:03:10
years. You know take the worst years
1:03:13
that uh you could think of in America
1:03:15
and throw them in in ' 90s. And that was
1:03:17
a horror story for everybody uh living
1:03:21
through it. Um, I wanted to get into the
1:03:23
Margarita Simenyan. And now I'm about
1:03:26
out of time. I've I've I've gone too
1:03:28
far. But Simenyan talks about Trump in
1:03:30
the United States, but gets into a
1:03:32
longer historical argument. America has
1:03:36
presidents who talk differently, but
1:03:38
the, you know, from one another. But the
1:03:40
American states strategic attitude
1:03:42
toward Russia has never changed. So,
1:03:46
presidents come and go, but America's
1:03:48
always treated Russia as an enemy and is
1:03:51
basically her thesis. And and uh Trump
1:03:54
may want better relationshipships with
1:03:56
Russia, but America isn't a monarchy and
1:03:59
he don't get to make that up. And I
1:04:01
mean, hell, if I could get it, I would
1:04:02
want it, too, because there's money to
1:04:04
be made. And she says Russia woke up to
1:04:07
a conversation between Putin and Trump
1:04:09
on the 4th. She says it's unclear
1:04:11
whether it was a good or bad sign, you
1:04:14
know, any sign at all. She says she has
1:04:16
a personal impression that Trump really
1:04:18
wants what he says he wants. Excellent
1:04:21
relations with Russia, joint projects,
1:04:25
big ships, you know, big projects and a
1:04:28
different relationship. But the
1:04:30
constraint is the United States has
1:04:34
never had a tradition of of uh
1:04:36
sovereignty of the ruler in being able
1:04:38
to pull that off.
1:04:40
Uh you know what Trump says today may be
1:04:43
pleasant or interesting but it'll be
1:04:45
revised, reversed, or contradicted
1:04:48
tomorrow. Trump might be sincere, but
1:04:50
sincerity doesn't equal the power to
1:04:52
change anything. the American system
1:04:54
isn't built to let him reverse the
1:04:58
state's strategic direction to Russia.
1:05:01
And uh she in talked about a famous line
1:05:05
that was attributed to Truman. If you
1:05:07
want to get a friend in Washington,
1:05:09
she's talking to Donald Trump. This is
1:05:11
Truman said this. You want to get a
1:05:13
friend in Washington, get a dog.
1:05:17
And she applied that to Trump. She said
1:05:19
in her view, what Trump thinks may
1:05:21
interest Russia more than it interests
1:05:23
his own system because Russia listens to
1:05:26
him seriously, but his own people don't
1:05:29
listen. They block him. They manage him,
1:05:31
reinterpret him. If America stops
1:05:34
supporting everyone, the war ends
1:05:36
tomorrow is what she said. And if Trump,
1:05:39
and that's what I say. So if Trump
1:05:41
really becomes a mediator and stops the
1:05:43
US supporting Ukraine and the others,
1:05:45
the war would end very quickly. I mean,
1:05:47
everybody knows this. Then Russia would
1:05:49
have to believe that America has changed
1:05:51
or that Trump defeated the deep state
1:05:54
for real and didn't just say it that the
1:05:56
corporations and the wararmongers. Now,
1:05:58
this is this is it very much in line
1:06:01
with the way I think, which is probably
1:06:02
why I like it so much and I like
1:06:04
listening to her. But she says she sees
1:06:07
no evidence that the US strategy toward
1:06:09
Russia has changed in more than a
1:06:11
century. Woodro Wilson, she says, had a
1:06:14
forrussia argument. She says that since
1:06:18
America became aware of Russia at the
1:06:20
beginning of the uh uh 20th century in
1:06:24
the early 1900s, they became aware of
1:06:27
Russia as a strategic object. The
1:06:29
American attitude has always been
1:06:31
consistent. Russia is too large and the
1:06:34
world would be calmer if Russia was
1:06:36
divided. And she attributes to Woodro
1:06:39
Wilson and his adviser a diary entry
1:06:43
stating that the world would be calmer
1:06:45
if instead of one enormous Russia, there
1:06:48
were at least four Russas, Siberia, and
1:06:52
three more parts
1:06:54
divided among European countries. And
1:06:57
her argument isn't historical. She says
1:07:00
they wanted this then and they still
1:07:02
want this now. So basically what she's
1:07:04
saying is that the western objective is
1:07:06
not policy change in Moscow. It's
1:07:08
territorial and civilized reduction of
1:07:11
Russia. You know civilizational
1:07:13
reduction of Russia. Russia has to
1:07:15
become smaller, weaker, divided, more
1:07:17
manageable. And uh you know she talked
1:07:20
about then she talked about Woodro
1:07:22
Wilson and said you know he created the
1:07:24
League of Nations but then they didn't
1:07:26
get to join it. It was for other people
1:07:28
her and I don't know if that's true or
1:07:29
not. I don't remember much about the
1:07:31
League of Nations, but her point is that
1:07:33
America is good at these big beautiful
1:07:35
declarations, freedom, equality,
1:07:37
humanity, noble service to mankind, but
1:07:40
when it comes to binding itself to the
1:07:41
same rules that it applies to everybody
1:07:43
else, it refuses. And she [snorts] notes
1:07:46
that the US didn't join the League of
1:07:48
Nations that will Wilson himself helped
1:07:50
inspire. So, American rhetoric is
1:07:54
universalist, but American action is
1:07:57
self-interested.
1:07:59
Now that was interesting, I thought. And
1:08:01
she said that America is a country of
1:08:03
great convictions. And she says, and she
1:08:06
studied in the United States. She was
1:08:07
educated here. And students asked where
1:08:09
she was from. Now, I believe this too
1:08:11
because that same thing has happened
1:08:13
when you mentioned Ukraine. Kids can't,
1:08:15
you know, no high school kid can point
1:08:17
to it on a map. They don't know where
1:08:18
the hell it is. And they couldn't pick
1:08:20
out Russia either. And it's it's not
1:08:24
untrue. They don't know where it is. She
1:08:26
pointed out the top half of the map and
1:08:28
said that huge area there is Russia. And
1:08:30
she says then they wondered why it was
1:08:32
so large. And she said American
1:08:34
presidents and ad advisers have wondered
1:08:37
the same thing and want Russia to be
1:08:40
smaller.
1:08:41
Um
1:08:43
she then talked about something about
1:08:45
the pledge of allegiance. She said
1:08:47
American children enter school at six
1:08:49
years old. And and this she was saying
1:08:52
you know in every classroom there's an
1:08:54
American flag. There are flags in many
1:08:56
other places, churches, houses, and
1:08:58
every morning children stand and put
1:09:00
their hands over their hearts and pledge
1:09:02
loyalty to the flag. And she notes the
1:09:05
line about one nation, indivisible, with
1:09:07
liberty and justice for all. And she
1:09:09
says, "Imagine having that drilled into
1:09:11
you every morning from the age of six."
1:09:13
Now the communists did something similar
1:09:16
with their kamsumolski you know their
1:09:18
pat their uh pioneers is basically what
1:09:21
they were young children the pioneer
1:09:22
they did the same thing but it was not
1:09:25
everyone okay and that you live in a
1:09:27
country of freedom and justice for all
1:09:29
you can't help but believe it it's
1:09:31
imprinting almost like Pavlov's dog is
1:09:35
what she said you grow up thinking you
1:09:36
live in the freest and most just country
1:09:38
in the world and that produces the
1:09:41
enormous self-regard that Russia is
1:09:44
amazed by but cannot change. And she
1:09:47
contrasts America is a country of great
1:09:51
self-confidence and Russia is a country
1:09:54
of doubt.
1:09:56
And she really said that she this is a
1:09:58
fascinating Russian critique of America
1:10:01
because she isn't saying Americans are
1:10:03
weak. She's saying Americans are trained
1:10:04
from childhood into some sort of a
1:10:08
national certainty. in Russia is trained
1:10:10
in reflection,
1:10:12
hesitation,
1:10:13
doubt, um,
1:10:16
poetry, melancholy. I mean, all of the
1:10:19
And it's true. They have a certain I
1:10:21
mean, it's absolutely true. They're
1:10:23
extremely thoughtful and extremely
1:10:27
uh I don't I don't even know how to
1:10:28
describe it, but uh they are romantic
1:10:33
for sure. and they think of Ro, you
1:10:36
know, the big, you know, they want the
1:10:38
Russian the romance of Russia from 200
1:10:42
years ago. They want all of that and and
1:10:44
but they doubt because people are
1:10:46
always, you know, they're always
1:10:49
attacked. You know what I mean? And
1:10:51
there's some some the reason I'm sharing
1:10:53
this because it actually is is very
1:10:58
uh it's it's a reality. Now, I don't
1:11:00
want to say that it's all absolutely
1:11:01
true. People are people and people are
1:11:03
different. But she says, "America came
1:11:05
out of a Protestant logic of wealth."
1:11:08
And this is true. If you're not rich,
1:11:11
God must not have granted you wealth
1:11:14
because you're guilty of something. You
1:11:16
know, you're not you're not holy. Russia
1:11:19
came out of reflection. Should we do
1:11:20
this? Should we not do this? What will
1:11:23
pe people think of us if we do? And she
1:11:26
says it matters, especially in war.
1:11:28
Americans pay taxes and they approach
1:11:30
war by asking what's this war going to
1:11:33
bring to us profitable or not? And most
1:11:35
of them are not. And if Russia can prove
1:11:38
the war brings America harm, not
1:11:39
benefit, then not only Trump but the
1:11:43
people restraining Trump may reconsider.
1:11:46
And that's, you know, she isn't saying
1:11:48
America has to be America has to be
1:11:50
morally persuaded. She has to say she
1:11:54
says that America has to be persuaded
1:11:56
that the war is not profitable.
1:12:00
And you know that's really true. The
1:12:04
morality of war means nothing to us.
1:12:06
It's whether or not it brings us benefit
1:12:09
in the end. What have we gotten from all
1:12:10
the wars that we've engaged in? Zero.
1:12:13
They weren't even for the right thing.
1:12:16
We like to think they were, but they
1:12:18
weren't. Weapons of mass destruction. I
1:12:20
mean, what a croc of [ __ ] That wasn't
1:12:22
true. I mean, not at all. And the heart
1:12:24
of her segment had to do with 1916 and
1:12:27
17. And then, sadly, I'm going to have
1:12:28
to go. She says, "The British have
1:12:30
reread the textbook. They remembered
1:12:32
that Russia can only be destroyed from
1:12:34
within." And that was attributed to the
1:12:38
author Clausitz, and she argued this is
1:12:41
exactly how it happened in 1917, and
1:12:44
exactly what they're trying to do now.
1:12:47
In World War I, Russia and Britain were
1:12:49
allies and Russia was close to victory
1:12:52
and Russia expected gains including the
1:12:54
Bosphorus, Dinell's, Gars,
1:12:56
Constantinople. Britain could not allow
1:12:59
Russia to receive those gains and
1:13:01
therefore through ambassador Bucharin
1:13:03
and influence among Grand Dukes and
1:13:05
elites. Britain stirred up internal
1:13:07
disorder that led to the February
1:13:09
revolution which began in the logistics
1:13:12
chaos, snowed in railways, confusion and
1:13:15
breadlines in Petrorad and Russia is
1:13:18
according you know a quote from Rosanov
1:13:21
faded away in two three days and turned
1:13:24
into uh the Soviet Union. It was an
1:13:27
interesting what she's saying is fuel
1:13:29
lines, refinery attacks, airport
1:13:31
disruption, tourism stresses, and panic
1:13:34
narratives aren't separatists. They're
1:13:36
the modern equivalent of bread lines and
1:13:39
railroy chaos trying to turn them into
1:13:42
February 1917
1:13:44
through drones and no protection.
1:13:47
An interesting thing to end the show
1:13:51
upon. I appreciate you listening to
1:13:54
International Flavor. Glad you joined
1:13:56
this morning. I hope you have a
1:13:58
fantastic
1:14:00
mid Missouri week and in fact day. I'm
1:14:03
feeling pretty positive about the day my
1:14:05
damn self. I will see you tomorrow
1:14:08
bright and early 7:30 to 9 on
1:14:10
International Flavor.