Latest / International Flavor: Where the Truth Tastes Better / Future Untangled: The Macro Consequences of Tariffs, Arctic Power Plays, NATO Fractures, and the World’s Quiet Pivot Away

Transcript

Future Untangled: The Macro Consequences of Tariffs, Arctic Power Plays, NATO Fractures, and the World’s Quiet Pivot Away · International Flavor: Where the Truth Tastes Better

• 0:00
  Hello, good morning, welcome. This is International Flavor. I'm Samuel Trapp. I'm coming to you live
• 0:07
  from the Lake Ozark Real Estate of the Art Studio. And I'm not sure how I wanted to get started this
• 0:15
  morning. There's so much out there. And what I thought I'd do is I watched a pretty interesting,
• 0:22
  I've been, you know that when I speak to you about all this stuff, I sometimes get a little
• 0:27
  bit worked up about it because of the disagreements I have on the global level. And I heard something
• 0:34
  pretty interesting in this video. Now I'd heard it myself, but this guy picked up on it too.
• 0:41
  So I've been thinking consequences and every action has a reaction, especially in the
• 0:49
  international stage, right? And oh, by the way, if you feel like calling in this morning, I am live
• 0:56
  5737468020. If you want to talk about anything, that's just fine. I don't have any, I mean,
• 1:01
  I have a whole bunch of content, but nothing I can't, you know, push off. So there's no real
• 1:07
  essay this morning. I'm just gonna share a bunch of news with you and my thoughts on a couple of
• 1:13
  things because I think it's important. I always talk about effects and reactions and how things
• 1:19
  go. And last week I was talking to you about a guy that I sometimes listen to that, you know,
• 1:26
  how it works on YouTube. If you watch a certain channel, that channel will pop up again on your
• 1:32
  feed, right? And so I was in all seriousness, repairing a bathroom, putting in a new toilet,
• 1:39
  some new flooring, stuff like that. And I was listening to these, to these YouTube things,
• 1:44
  and they just kind of roll into the next one. And since this was in a history of mine, it came on,
• 1:50
  I'm actually glad I listened to it. But I'd heard the Canada, I believe it was Carney who said it,
• 1:59
  it might be someone else. But I think it was Carney who said something, we have to deal with
• 2:04
  the world we're presented or something like that, not the world as we would like to see it. And I
• 2:10
  suppose I sometimes forget that because I probably get a little more worked up. You know, I can't do
• 2:19
  anything about any of it except let you know, and hopefully get people thinking in ways that help
• 2:28
  them individually prepare for things that are coming. And I've been talking about consequences
• 2:36
  for a good long time. Because everything that that the West has done has created
• 2:43
  flight from from, you know, Western based organizations. And now we're leaving them
• 2:53
  ourselves. I told you a couple of times once last week, and once again, yesterday about us departing
• 2:59
  from some 60 plus organizations that don't mirror our long term plans, according to the Trump
• 3:09
  administration. And I'm not against that. I don't really care. You know, we could, we could, of
• 3:13
  course, talk about any of those things. And I'm always much more of a macro guy. Because these
• 3:20
  things are big, and they are reality, you know, and so I like to present some something that tells
• 3:28
  you what will be or at least makes you think about it, whether you think what's going on in the Trump
• 3:35
  administration is correct or not. And like I said, domestically, I generally support the guy.
• 3:41
  And internationally, I generally do not support what we are doing internationally. And a lot of
• 3:48
  that is because of the, I don't know, the lack of neighborliness, the might makes right
• 3:58
  paste we're taking. And there's a few things on that theme today. But there's been one big push
• 4:06
  since Trump became president, and it's getting bigger, it's getting faster. And I'm not saying
• 4:13
  that America is going to collapse over him. Hell, he's probably going to take Greenland.
• 4:18
  There's only what 50,000 58,000 something like that people that live there. And you're just
• 4:25
  going to take it over because we don't care about laws anymore. We're just well, screw you guys,
• 4:32
  I'm taking it just like he did in Venezuela. And just like the US has been doing under every
• 4:38
  president president for a long time, just not as open and not as blatant, you know, what he is
• 4:44
  saying is the same crap that the Lindsey Graham's in the Marco Rubio's of the world, the neocon world
• 4:50
  and the Democrats, the unit party have been doing forever. So this is just a continuation of that
• 4:56
  they lost in Ukraine. So that was a big blow to them. And these type of people, the loss in
• 5:03
  Ukraine, and the knowledge that most of us in America are through with, with that, well,
• 5:11
  much easier to go in and kidnap a sitting president and say he's guilty of crimes in
• 5:18
  the United States, which as a lawyer, you know, I'd love to find the jurisdiction on any of that.
• 5:23
  There isn't any, and there's just none. And it's what they did, what they did in that is clearly,
• 5:30
  and they've been very clear about it's for oil. And there are other things that Trump has been
• 5:34
  his America first policy is a brutal reality check for the rest of the world. And NATO's feeling it.
• 5:44
  China's unloading us debt at a record pace. I went through that with you last week. And they are
• 5:51
  they are unloading. And this is forcing our so called allies to pick up the slack because we
• 5:59
  still need that debt. And Trump knows this, he's got to make some big, some big moves. And
• 6:06
  so from a macro level, which is what I'm always focusing on is the big picture on a macro level,
• 6:14
  Trump knows this. And so I wonder if the Lindsey Graham, Lindsey Graham and Rubio,
• 6:20
  they're doing it because that's, that's what they believe. They believe, they believe that,
• 6:25
  you know, we're always right. No matter what we do, Trump, he don't care. I think he knows it.
• 6:31
  But he's saying, I don't care if it's right or wrong. I need to do this. And here's how it is
• 6:35
  being I'm making a deal. And if you don't want a deal, well, screw you, I'll make I'll force the
• 6:40
  deal upon you. And, you know, from from a point of view of, of America expanding and trying to,
• 6:49
  you know, maintain its top dog position, which we're gonna for a good deal of time,
• 6:57
  no matter what. But there's also effects on this that are whittling away at what the world
• 7:07
  thinks of America, which was, in a lot of respects, not all that positive in the first place,
• 7:15
  because of these type of actions that have been going on for years. And so there, when I was
• 7:21
  listening on the, you know, while otherwise engaged in activities and having things on in
• 7:27
  the background, which I want to do, I, I listened to this, and the video is about 12 minutes long.
• 7:38
  And I'm not sure if we're going to play the whole thing. But there's a guy named,
• 7:42
  and I shared something with you last week about his and this came up, and I thought it was well
• 7:49
  worth sharing. And it's an effect. And I want to talk about effects, because the effect is
• 7:58
  hitting us, and it's going to continue to hit us. And I want you to listen to this guy's reasoning.
• 8:05
  And I thought about just paraphrasing what he said, but he put it so well, that I think that
• 8:10
  you should pay attention to it, and maybe even listen to his channel. He's been pretty solid
• 8:17
  on the stuff that I've heard him so far. Not that I get to be the evaluator of that anyway, but,
• 8:22
  but I appreciate his point of view. And what he's saying is pretty, pretty truthful. And I like it.
• 8:30
  And, and it makes complete sense. And on the big picture, a lot of times we don't really
• 8:35
  understand what, well, I don't want to say that, but I understand. And I know everybody that
• 8:40
  listens to me is generally intelligent anyway. And so I realized that the people that listen to
• 8:46
  this station are people who wish to know a different perspective. Mine is a little different
• 8:51
  than some of the other people, especially with regard to our international misdeeds, which are
• 9:00
  many. So this guy's name is Cyrus Jansen, J-A-N-S-S-E-N. And he has his own channel,
• 9:08
  and he has, you know, close to a million subscribers. And he's, he's, this video is 15
• 9:16
  minutes. And I think we're going to play the bulk of it. And if, but he does have,
• 9:24
  the only thing I don't like is he pitches, you know,
• 9:30
  advertising a little bit, you know what I mean? Not, not really, but you know,
• 9:34
  I don't mind that you'll hear the clickbait stuff. Well, click here, like here, that kind of thing,
• 9:39
  which everybody has to do to grow their channel. And I don't do it enough. So my channel doesn't
• 9:43
  grow. No, it grows in Russia, but it doesn't grow here because I really, I don't have my
• 9:49
  video channel. Anyway, I'm babbling. Let's get to the, to the information that this guy gave.
• 9:55
  And the title is why Canada is choosing China. And you won't believe, you know, the effect of
• 10:02
  what the US did, basically. And I happen to agree with this point of view, because on a large scale,
• 10:10
  I watched it, you know, the real estate market in Florida, where I'm a broker, just like I'm
• 10:15
  a broker in Missouri for real estate, has taken a big hit from Canadians, specifically Canadians
• 10:25
  bailing on the US. Now, for years, they have been, well, forever, they've come back and forth. There
• 10:33
  are no visas at the border. You can come over and you can stay and it's never a big deal, right?
• 10:39
  If you don't, as long as you don't stay, I can't remember the amount of time, but it's like six
• 10:43
  months or something like that. And so a lot of people have second residences from Canada and
• 10:48
  Florida, just like a lot of Northern Americans, they have a place in Florida where they go during
• 10:54
  the cold months. And, but Canada is bailing. And I mean, like as a group in mass, you know,
• 11:01
  after all the Trump tariffs, after all the, you know, there's some BS, the Canada's the 51st state
• 11:08
  sort of thing, you know, and so these effects are more macro, but you definitely feel it, you know,
• 11:15
  they're not individual. These are individual things, but we're seeing them because a lot of individuals
• 11:20
  are making these plays and a lot of countries are paying attention to and what we are sowing today,
• 11:28
  we will reap tomorrow. And so I want to share most of this video with you. And I may interrupt him
• 11:35
  from time to time, make a couple of comments, but, but I like this video. So I, there, there isn't
• 11:39
  much, but if there's advertising in it, I'm really sorry about that. Um, because I, you know,
• 11:44
  I'll pay attention and try to skip it if possible. Okay. But this guy is Cyrus Jansen, why Canada's
• 11:50
  choosing China and pay attention to this. Well, the biggest geopolitical story of 2026 just
• 11:57
  unfolded last week as Canada, the United States largest and most important ally has suddenly made
• 12:02
  a dramatic shift away from the U S and is now pivoting to China for a brighter future. Canadian
• 12:07
  prime minister, Mark Carney traveled to Beijing this week, marking the first time in nearly a
• 12:12
  decade, a Canadian prime minister has visited China. It was a bold move for the Canadians and
• 12:17
  social media has been on fire the past week as many Americans are collectively losing their mind
• 12:23
  with Canada's decision to pivot to China. But if you think this is a bluff from Canada,
• 12:27
  just listen to what Canada's foreign minister Anita and not said this week,
• 12:32
  it is necessary for us to diversify our trading partners and to grow non-U.S. trade by at least
• 12:37
  50% over the next 10 years. This is not Canada hedging against the United States.
• 12:43
  This is a strategic reversal, but prime minister to pay attention to that. Uh, we are going to
• 12:49
  change it by 50%. We need to, we need to diversify our relationships. And by the way,
• 12:56
  Europe is doing the same thing. And this is, this, this was absolutely correct analysis.
• 13:02
  Mr. Mark Carney gave a simple yet profound quote that honestly explains this entire situation
• 13:08
  in the simplest way possible. We take the world as it is not as we wish it to be.
• 13:14
  This quote sounds simple, but yet it explains everything you need to know about Canada's
• 13:18
  decision to shift closer to China in a perfect world. The U S and Canada would be like brothers
• 13:23
  and enjoy robust trade between the two nations. This is certainly how Canadians
• 13:27
  wish the world to be. But nine months ago, Trump launched a trade war against the entire world,
• 13:33
  including its closest ally, Canada, multiple Canadian industries from steel,
• 13:38
  aluminum, automotives, lumber, and copper were all hit with high us tariffs.
• 13:43
  Tariffs and global instability is one of the major reasons assets like the U S dollar
• 13:48
  have declined. And the price of gold has skyrocketed in the past 12 months,
• 13:52
  but stay tuned to the end of today's video. And I'll explain how you can profit from this.
• 13:57
  But instead of working with Canada, the United States most important trade partner,
• 14:01
  Trump threatened to annex the country and jokingly referred to it as the 51st state
• 14:05
  Canadian started boycotting travel to the U S American liquor was pulled off the shelves and
• 14:10
  replaced with local Canadian brands. And it goes without saying the United States reputation in
• 14:15
  along with Canadian views of Trump have soured to a historic low at the end of 2025.
• 14:21
  And this is where the second part of Carney's quote comes into play because Canadians are now
• 14:26
  taking the world as it is and recognizing the United States under Trump is not a reliable
• 14:32
  trading partner for the immediate future. The one comparison I will give you with the
• 14:36
  United States, our relationship, this is no insight is much more multifaceted,
• 14:41
  much deeper, much broader than it is with China. Uh, but yes, uh, in terms of, uh, our relationship
• 14:48
  has progressed in recent months with China. It is more, it is more predictable. Um, and you see,
• 14:55
  uh, results coming from that. Do you hear that? That that's a big deal. What he just said
• 15:01
  that, uh, they are in Europe's doing the same thing, by the way, the tariffs, this is one of
• 15:06
  the after effects of the tariffs and it's getting faster because of what the threats we're making
• 15:12
  against Greenland and what we have already done illegally in Venezuela. And so, uh, these are
• 15:20
  gonna have longterm effects upon us. And so the, the looking inward as Trump is doing is, uh,
• 15:28
  gonna be a mixed bag. You know what I mean? I mean, short term. Oh, sure. We get to steal all
• 15:34
  Venezuela's oil. Oh, sure. We can take all the resources of Greenland. We'll just annex it.
• 15:40
  What are 50,000, 60,000, you know, Eskimos going to do about it or Greenlanders going to do about
• 15:47
  it? You know, not much. What's, what's NATO going to do about it? Not much. I mean, the reality is
• 15:53
  if we want to steal it, we can stole Venezuela, you know, it's a, uh, and I don't mean, you know,
• 16:00
  we take the world as it is the Mark Carney quote. I remember that quote. And, uh, you know, I, I
• 16:05
  think it's quite interesting. Anyway, let us proceed. Quote from the Canadian prime minister
• 16:10
  would have been unimaginable a year ago, but it's hard to find fault in calling China the more
• 16:15
  predictable and reliable trading partner. Trump has imposed pause, exempted and changed tariff
• 16:21
  policies with Canada. No less than six times over the past year alone. These on again, off again,
• 16:27
  tariff policies make it almost impossible for Canadian industries to do business with the U S
• 16:33
  as no business leader can plan ahead. And every day you are subject to the emotional feelings of
• 16:38
  the U S president and his effort to conquer Greenland. Trump once again turned on tariffs
• 16:43
  against his European allies with eight countries in Europe now facing tariffs as a penalty to force
• 16:49
  their hand and allow the United States to acquire Greenland. Last week, I shared this tweet from
• 16:54
  Michael McFaul, a former U S ambassador who wrote, if Trump keeps acting like the leader
• 16:59
  of an Imperial rogue state, more and more countries will begin to lean towards China,
• 17:03
  which will be perceived as the more rational, peaceful rules of biting great power. The
• 17:09
  ambassador's tweet has come true because Canada's shift to China is unprecedented and will have
• 17:14
  global ramifications, but unfortunately for the U S it may just be the tip of the iceberg.
• 17:19
  The financial times broke this story entitled Trump is making the world fall in love with China
• 17:25
  countries that once saw American success as their own. Now view the U S as an adversary and Beijing
• 17:31
  as a model. Once again, this perfectly describes the situation in Canada, and this should be
• 17:36
  alarming to every U S citizen because the data backs up these claims with considerable evidence.
• 17:42
  Don't believe me. Well, let's dive into the research and look at this report from the
• 17:46
  European council on foreign relations entitled how Trump is making China great again and what
• 17:52
  it means for Europe. Because across the globe, most nations now have a very different opinion of
• 17:57
  both the United States and China. When citizens were asked, do you think China will have more
• 18:02
  or less global influence over the next decade? Every single country responded positively that
• 18:08
  China will have more influence with even 54% of Americans also feeling Beijing will only get
• 18:14
  stronger. When asked the question, what do you think about China? The majority of countries,
• 18:19
  including 51% of us citizens feel China is an ally or trusted partner with which we must
• 18:26
  strategically cooperate. But here are the truly shocking results of the survey, because look at
• 18:31
  how the world now views the United States. The same countries were asked if they felt the U S
• 18:35
  was an ally to their country. And with the exception of India, every single country recorded
• 18:41
  a dramatic decline in how they view the U S now, that is, it's not shocking. It's a par for the
• 18:49
  course with what we've been doing lately. But, but, uh, the question was generally speaking,
• 18:54
  think about the U S which of the following best reflects your view on what the U S is to your
• 19:01
  country and share of respondents seeing the U S as an ally that shares our interests and values
• 19:08
  in percent. India was the only one at 50%, 49 to 54, all the rest, South Korea, 40%
• 19:19
  Brazil, 26 to 29% the UK for God's sake, 25 to 37% South Africa, 19 to 23% Ukraine, 18 to 27%
• 19:34
  the EU, 10, 16 to 21% Turkey says 10 to 12% China, 10 to 15% Switzerland, eight to 13% and Russia,
• 19:48
  2% say that the U S is an ally. Now these are frightening numbers. Now the same thing, when
• 19:57
  you look at, look at this from the point of view of, um, what they said in response to China was
• 20:05
  almost the direct opposite. Every one of these countries said very positive things about China.
• 20:12
  They were all over 50%. Now that should scare you. No, scare isn't the right word. It should
• 20:21
  give you pause. It's information that you should have in, uh, in, in, in considering,
• 20:27
  you know, what, what's the important part of this? Why, why do we talk about these things? Because
• 20:34
  they're important. And our fearless leaders aren't, aren't really doing us a lot of good
• 20:42
  on the big world stage. They're just not. And they haven't been for some time. Remember me
• 20:51
  pointing out a long time ago, eh, maybe more than once that, that China hasn't been involved in any
• 20:58
  conflicts in forever. They had a two day conflict that, well, it's been going on for years on a
• 21:05
  border with India, but I've been talking about that, which they said to put it aside, um,
• 21:10
  at the BRICS conference in Russia last year. And they haven't, uh, you know, had, they still
• 21:17
  have working groups together trying to peacefully settle that because they're allies in the BRICS
• 21:22
  nations. Right. And they had to get rid of these conflicts. They can't be representative and get
• 21:28
  people to flock to BRICS like they're doing while if two of the biggest members have a conflict.
• 21:33
  So that, that was an important point. And, uh, but China hasn't been involved in anything else,
• 21:39
  you know, uh, they've had, um, I can't remember what it was, 79. I can't remember the last time
• 21:45
  that they had a real conflict and it only lasted a few days. America, we're, we're, we're, we are
• 21:50
  the country of conflict. If there is no conflict, we create it. You know, we're going to go in and
• 21:56
  take over, uh, Greenland. Anyway, I, uh, I, I apologize for the commentary because he was on a
• 22:03
  Right now only 16% of Europeans and only 25% of UK citizens think of the U S as an ally. And when
• 22:12
  you ask these same citizens, if they feel the election of Donald Trump has been a good or bad
• 22:16
  thing for us citizens, every single country responded negatively showing a dramatic decline
• 22:22
  in Trump's popularity around the world. What's incredible about this survey is that it's from
• 22:26
  November, 2025, long before the invasion of Venezuela and the increased threats to annex
• 22:31
  Greenland. Trump has no doubt shaken the globe, but the world is falling for China. Trump's major
• 22:37
  foreign policy theme for 2026 has been one of colonialism and expansionism. According to
• 22:42
  Stephen Miller, Trump's homeland security advisor might makes right. And the United States will
• 22:48
  take a new territory, annex whatever it wants, control the entire Western hemisphere and create
• 22:53
  a new world order. But this vision certainly doesn't align with Canadian values. And for
• 22:58
  some perspective on this, just listen to the words of Stephen Harper, who is widely known as
• 23:03
  the most pro American prime minister in Canadian history. This really is a wake up call for this
• 23:10
  country to truly diversify its trade export markets. You know, that's why we did sign the
• 23:17
  trade deals all around the world, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Canada has been to
• 23:23
  be blunt. This is, you know, nothing against the US. The reality is independent of the current
• 23:28
  disputes. Canada has been to use business term, and I'm in the investment business. Now, we have
• 23:35
  been grossly overweight the United States as a country. And there is no reason for that just
• 23:41
  because we have that geographic proximity does not justify the degree of dependence that we have on a
• 23:49
  single market, which is sometimes disadvantageous. This clip from Stephen Harper is so important to
• 23:54
  understand Canada's shift away from the United States. Stephen Harper was the Canadian prime
• 23:59
  minister from 2006 to 2015 and oversaw one of the most prosperous times in Canadian economic
• 24:06
  history. The economy became so strong that even the Canadian dollar reached par with the US dollar
• 24:11
  in September 2007 under his leadership. Now, the main reason Harper's economy blossomed was in fact
• 24:17
  a much closer and deeper relationship with China. Harper expanded trade with China and many Canadian
• 24:23
  industries like aluminum and timber skyrocketed in profits as the Canadians were able to export
• 24:29
  their products to the quickly developing Chinese economy. So in reality, Canada announcing a new
• 24:35
  shift to China is not something new. In fact, it should be seen as a revival of past foreign policy
• 24:40
  objectives. But what's remarkable to see is just how big a missed opportunity this is for the United
• 24:46
  States because Canada has always been extremely loyal to US interests. Don't forget it was the
• 24:52
  Canadian government who arrested China's Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the Huawei CEO on behalf of the
• 24:58
  US government for Donald Trump during his first term as US president. Meng Wanzhou was under house
• 25:03
  arrest in Canada for nearly three years causing significant tension between Canada and China,
• 25:09
  all for the benefit of the United States. You literally couldn't find a better and more reliable
• 25:14
  ally than Canada. But Trump has signaled to the world that his America first policy actually means
• 25:20
  America alone. And Canada is not the only country making new moves as a result. The EU just signed
• 25:26
  one of the world's largest free trade agreements with the two biggest economies of South America,
• 25:31
  Brazil and Argentina, along with Paraguay and Uruguay. This deal was 25 years in the making,
• 25:37
  but accelerated to the finish line because of Donald Trump's new foreign policy. Europe and
• 25:43
  China have also come together and finalized a price agreement for Chinese electric vehicles to enter
• 25:49
  the EU. Once again, this deal came about as a result of Donald Trump's trade war. But Canada's
• 25:55
  new trade deal with China is perhaps the most consequential because Canada has always been the
• 26:00
  little brother to the United States. And this new deal will change the future of the North American
• 26:05
  market. First, it reduces tariffs on two key products, EVs and canola oil, that will bolster
• 26:11
  trade between the two countries by several billion dollars a year. Second, it will slowly introduce a
• 26:17
  new breed of Chinese EVs to the North American market. And that should scare everyone now. And
• 26:23
  I think I'm going to end right there. If you want to go listen to the rest of his video, there's
• 26:27
  plenty on there. And it's very well put together. And he he does some some backup there. Made my
• 26:36
  show prep a little bit easy today, so I didn't have to go look for that. And he's he's he's
• 26:42
  definitely worth listening to when when and he does his homework. And so and his videos are, you
• 26:48
  know, 15 minutes, you know, 10 to 20 minutes, usually in a very well put together. And anyway,
• 26:57
  his name is Cyrus Jansen, just to let you know one more time. But the effects of what the world
• 27:04
  is seeing, and what what these Trump moves are making on a macro scale on a global scale,
• 27:12
  you know, that deal with South America is a big deal. The the EVs are the biggest issue.
• 27:22
  Completely. China is dominating the EV market. And after sanctions, they moved into Russia.
• 27:31
  They're everywhere in Russia, these EV vehicles from China. They're inexpensive. They are
• 27:39
  fantastic. They're very nice cars. I've rode in several of them, Uber vehicles and stuff like
• 27:45
  that. These EVs are phenomenal. And Canada is importing Chinese EVs. They're not going Tesla,
• 27:52
  they're doing Chinese models. And tell you what, they will come into the US through Canada. And so
• 28:00
  he talks about canola oil, he talks about these EVs, but these EVs are already all over the world
• 28:06
  in China. The important things to take from this is China is a global partner that does not
• 28:16
  dictate who gets to be in charge of the oil in Venezuela, whether or not the US can have
• 28:25
  the island of Greer, the territory of Greenland. Now remember, and I wanted to point out as well
• 28:31
  that in the Arctic, Russia and China, as well as India have made big trade movements going
• 28:39
  through the Arctic Russian nuclear icebreaker fleets and the warming temperatures have made
• 28:48
  that pathway, that ocean, very viable as a trade corridor for getting around and avoiding
• 28:58
  US-controlled places like the Panama Canal, which Trump made these moves right away.
• 29:04
  Like coming in the Suez Canal, getting from the Indian Sea into the Mediterranean was a
• 29:14
  for countries. And so China has been developing these, I've spoken before about many of the
• 29:24
  global belts and road project, the initiative that China has been doing in funding infrastructure all
• 29:30
  over, ports, rail, mostly, that are allowing transport of their goods all over the world.
• 29:40
  And another pathway is the Arctic. I gave that several months or two ago. I talked about
• 29:50
  creating a bridge tunnel combo between Alaska and Kamchatka to let the Russian trade develop
• 29:58
  with the US. I think that would be extremely strong. The US is already in the Arctic Circle
• 30:05
  in Alaska. Canada has tons of room. If Canada chooses to work with China in that area, which
• 30:14
  they're going to, the US, trust me, it won't be done in dollars. It won't always be done in
• 30:19
  dollars. There's new financial systems that, I forget the initials of it all, that allow the
• 30:27
  to, the Chinese are trading in the Yuan. And that is a potential. That's a possibility.
• 30:36
  The drive to BRICS is going to be bigger. It's more stable. It is more, it is less confrontational.
• 30:45
  Less, here's what you're going to do because I said so. It's like dad is,
• 30:51
  wait till dad gets home and Trump is dad. Well, I'm going to tell you what you're going to do.
• 30:56
  You're going to give me Greenland. And people don't like that. They don't want to be told
• 31:01
  you must do X. You know, that's not a good, good look for the United States.
• 31:09
  Anyway, I thought that was a very interesting take on that. And there's, you know,
• 31:22
  there's only about five more minutes left. You know what? I'm going to go ahead and share the
• 31:27
  rest with you. Oops. I forgot to push the button. Hang on a second. We lost about 10 seconds of it
• 31:36
  there, but we're starting anyway. In the world, not importing Chinese EVs, but Canada will now
• 31:42
  allow 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the country, which represents 2.5% of the total
• 31:49
  Canadian auto market at a reduced tariff rate of just 6.1%, a massive drop from the a hundred
• 31:56
  percent tariff just to Trudeau passed against Chinese EVs in 2024. The world is already
• 32:02
  changing rapidly in 2026. And in just the first few weeks of the year, we've seen what feels like
• 32:07
  an entire year's worth of major geopolitical events unfold. Right now, the world's most
• 32:12
  powerful leaders have gathered in Davos, Switzerland for the world economic forum
• 32:16
  and make no mistake, Davos 2026 will be dominated by one man, Donald Trump. But a major theme for
• 32:23
  2026 is going to be precious metals. And just look at the reports from some of the world's
• 32:28
  biggest banks. HSBC just predicted gold could reach $5,000 an ounce in the first half of 2026
• 32:35
  alone. JP Morgan expects averages around $5,055 an ounce by Q4, 2026 with paths to over $5,400
• 32:43
  in 2027. Goldman Sachs upgraded to $4,900 an ounce by the end of 2026. And Bank of America
• 32:51
  sees a clear shot at $5,000 an ounce in 2026. S&P Global Intelligence just published a report
• 32:58
  about severe copper shortages. And in this current bull market, I'm profiling a US-based
• 33:03
  gold and copper exploration company, which. Well, that's the advertising I didn't want to
• 33:10
  get to. That's what I was trying to avoid. And so we will stop right there.
• 33:17
  He goes back into it, but he's talking about, you know, buying gold and silver and stuff like that.
• 33:21
  And he's correct in that. And a lot of people already are doing that, you know, buying gold
• 33:26
  and silver and it goes up, you know, the pricing isn't going to go down. And a lot of huge economies
• 33:33
  are importing a lot of gold. One of the stories of that first, and I haven't followed up on this,
• 33:39
  but on the Russian side of the world, that first tanker that was seized by the United States
• 33:44
  was allegedly full of Venezuelan gold, according to some sources in Russia. I don't know about the
• 33:51
  truth of that, but it was like Donald Trump was really wanted that ship in particular to stick it
• 33:57
  to Russia and steal their gold, which was coming in is what one of the stories is. I don't know
• 34:05
  the truth of that. I'm not telling that it's true, but there were sources of that, but they didn't
• 34:12
  supply sources of where the information came from at the time. And so I couldn't back it up. And I
• 34:19
  haven't seen anything about it later. And it's pretty silent, what people have talked about
• 34:24
  on the tankers that have been taken. What are we up to eight, nine of them now that the U.S.
• 34:29
  is just, we're engaged in piracy and might makes right. And that's kind of the theme for the show
• 34:36
  today is the might makes right and what the consequences are. And so alone from that,
• 34:45
  we're going to switch a little bit to, and I talked yesterday a little bit about Greenland and
• 34:52
  Germany pulling their, whatever it was, 10 soldiers that they sent over. They pulled them because of
• 35:01
  the Trump saying he was going to impose a February 1st, 10% tariffs. And he'll do it. And a lot of
• 35:10
  people are positive about the tariffs and what they're doing. And he feels, part of it is we
• 35:17
  deal with the world as it presents itself. That comment from Mark Carney, I'll try not to get too
• 35:25
  worked up over the fact that it does appear that Trump is going to take Greenland one way or the
• 35:30
  other. And like I shared in that opinion piece yesterday by, what was her name? I forget something
• 35:39
  sync up. I forget her last name, but I forget her first name too, but I'll probably see it here when
• 35:45
  I'm flipping through my prior readings. And Denmark this morning, they've done it. They
• 35:58
  have announced that they're sending more troops to Greenland. Denmark sent additional troops.
• 36:06
  It's not very many. After Trump threatened European countries, he is a new batch of
• 36:13
  soldiers on Monday landed there. Major General Soren Andersen, commander of Denmark's joint
• 36:20
  Arctic command in Greenland, told local media that a hundred troops are stationed in the island's
• 36:25
  capital Nuuk with another hundred deployed to Kangerlussuaq. I don't know if I said that right.
• 36:31
  Danish military spokesperson told CNN there'd be a substantial increase in soldiers in Greenland.
• 36:38
  The deployment is part of the Arctic Endurance exercise launched in response to pressure from
• 36:43
  Trump. And they call this Arctic Endurance. Trump said he might have to assert control
• 36:49
  the hard way. You know, he says he's going to take it. And Danish foreign minister Lars Rasmussen
• 36:57
  rejected threats, said on Sky News, we have red lines that cannot be crossed. You cannot threaten
• 37:04
  your way to ownership of Greenland. And I have no intention of escalating this situation. Trump
• 37:11
  said he's going to impose 10 percent tariff and then 25 percent as of June 1st. And he said,
• 37:21
  the president said there are no written documents that establishes Denmark's ownership of Greenland.
• 37:27
  And, you know, I laugh about these things as the justification that Trump is giving for taking
• 37:36
  Greenmark. But might makes right. The rest of the world is talking about it and they're aware of it.
• 37:43
  I'm not saying he won't get away with it. I'm not even saying that it's negative for America
• 37:48
  in the short term. In the long term, you know, we're going to be alone. We take these kind of
• 37:55
  things. And Trump is not going to be around forever. And there was a. So what is this guy's
• 38:04
  name? The Council of Europe, any move to annex Greenland will undermine the post World War Two
• 38:13
  international order and challenge the principle of state sovereignty, said Council of Europe chief
• 38:21
  Alain Berset, U.S. President Trump, blah, blah, blah. We know about Greenland and an opinion
• 38:27
  piece published in The New York Times on Monday. Berset wrote that Denmark sovereignty over
• 38:33
  Greenland, combined with extensive Greenland and Greenlandic self-government is settled law.
• 38:42
  He noted that the U.S. maintains military facilities in Pitific, Pitufic space base,
• 38:51
  and that existing agreements will allow cooperation to be expanded without any transfer of territory.
• 39:00
  OK, so there's no need to take, you know, for the U.S. to seize
• 39:06
  the Greenland. So the Council of Europe, this thing keeps moving on me, driving me crazy.
• 39:16
  The Council of Europe brings together 46 member states, including Britain and Turkey that are
• 39:22
  non-EU. And it was created after World War Two to uphold human rights and treating Greenland issue
• 39:30
  in Cold War terms and reviving spheres of influence. That sort of thinking runs counter
• 39:36
  to the post-war order, he said. If international law can be set aside when it becomes inconvenient,
• 39:44
  then trust is gone and allies will begin to question U.S. commitments elsewhere, like in
• 39:52
  NATO. I'm going to tell you a story about the exercises going on there now that the U.S.
• 39:57
  didn't do. Well, here you go. Here's an in-your-face, in-your-face move. Last week, Trump,
• 40:05
  well, we know about these. EU has pledged full solidarity with Denmark. Russia, which has a
• 40:12
  large Arctic presence but is located thousands of kilometers from Greenland, calls Trump's annexation
• 40:18
  plans extraordinary and notes that it recognizes the island as Danish territory. And Moscow warns
• 40:25
  against NATO militarization of the Arctic. I think that is important. I wanted to share with you.
• 40:34
  So yesterday, I told you about in Europe, they feel like they kind of had the
• 40:45
  rug pulled out from under them. And they don't have any real
• 40:52
  backup plan because they've destroyed any relationship with Russia over the last four or
• 41:00
  five days. And they're still on about this. They're talking war with Russia by 2030. I mean,
• 41:07
  they're planning for it, you know, and pumping it. And that's one of the things that Trump is trying,
• 41:12
  I believe, to avoid. Although, who knows? After he takes over Greenland, maybe he'll go,
• 41:18
  ah, Arctic Circle's ours. Arctic, the whole ocean is ours. You know, there you go.
• 41:24
  But there's another interesting piece that came out about the EU getting hooked on American gas.
• 41:33
  And the EU has now fear of its long-term dependence on American liquefied natural gas,
• 41:41
  LNG. While promised molecules of freedom by Washington, Europe now finds itself in a prison
• 41:49
  of its own design. The EU has embraced a potentially high-risk new geopolitical dependency
• 41:57
  on American LNG. This is done because they kicked Russia to the curb. So cheap LNG,
• 42:04
  which they got through Ukraine into the rest of Europe, that's gone. And the Nord Stream 2
• 42:11
  pipelines, which Biden blew up, you know, well, made sure that they were blown up. However,
• 42:18
  that happened, nobody really knows. But he said it was going to happen. And then, oh, gee, it
• 42:23
  happened. But the EU is embracing this, you know, how did we get here? The EU imported 45% of its
• 42:35
  gas from Russia before the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. Russia was the bloc's largest
• 42:43
  foreign supplier from the end of World War II until that time. A revolution began in the U.S.
• 42:49
  in 98 that would end in the EU severing its decades-long energy links with Russia.
• 42:56
  Mitchell Energy, a Texas-based company, carried out the first successful natural gas extraction
• 43:02
  via slick water fracturing. This milestone kicked off the U.S.'s fracking boom, which turned the
• 43:11
  country into a net energy exporter. And U.S. gas shale output soared from negligible volume around
• 43:17
  the turn of the millennium to 30 trillion cubic feet a year by the mid-2020s. And Washington is
• 43:24
  looking for new markets. So then Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden all lobbied Europe to switch from
• 43:32
  Russian gas to American LNG, with Trump's Department of Energy describing the American
• 43:38
  product as molecules of freedom in 2019. And for two decades, the Europeans were not receptive.
• 43:45
  Russian gas piped directly through Ukraine or through Nord Stream was 30 to 50 percent
• 43:51
  cheaper than U.S. LNG, which has to be converted to liquid, stored on a container ship,
• 43:58
  and then regasified in special port facilities after crossing the Atlantic. Barack Obama
• 44:06
  offered more favorable prices if the Europeans would make the switch,
• 44:10
  while Trump slapped sanctions on Nord Stream. So when Russia, you know,
• 44:19
  began its military operation, well it didn't, you know, they actually officially entered in 2022,
• 44:26
  the Americans got their opportunity to capture the European market.
• 44:31
  Europe's Atlanticist leaders, among them EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,
• 44:37
  French President Macron, German Chancellor Schultz eagerly went along with Joe Biden's
• 44:43
  sanctions on Russian energy and gas imports from Russia fell to 11 percent in 2024.
• 44:53
  So what did Nord Stream have to do with this? Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas lines were a dilemma
• 44:59
  for the Biden administration. As long as they remained intact, the EU could choose to cut
• 45:06
  support for Ukraine and negotiate a return to cheap Russian gas. But Biden promised in early
• 45:12
  2022 to bring an end to Nord Stream. I promise you, he told reporters at a White House conference,
• 45:21
  we will be able to do it. Nord Stream 1 and 2 were sabotaged in a series of explosions
• 45:27
  that September. And while there is no proof that the U.S. culpability, no concrete proof anyway,
• 45:34
  American journalist Seymour Hersh said that Biden ordered the CIA to carry out the sabotage
• 45:41
  operation. And according to Hersh, Biden ordered the operation specifically to deny Germany
• 45:48
  the chance to back out of the proxy war in Ukraine. Is there any way back to this cheap gas?
• 45:56
  Russian gas reaches the EU through Turk Stream pipelines and by ships from the Yamal LNG facility
• 46:04
  in Siberia. But the EU leaders are fully cutting off Russian fossil fuels by 2027. And the EU is
• 46:13
  currently the world's largest importer of LNG. And half of its LNG terminals have come online
• 46:19
  or entered planning and construction since 2022. And the U.S. now supplies 57 percent of the block's
• 46:29
  LNG imports. Remember, it was just three, four years ago, Russia did 45 percent. Now they're
• 46:35
  down to 11. And 37 percent of its total gas imports. And now up from 28 and 6 percent,
• 46:43
  respectfully, in 2021. So since the Ukraine debacle, Europe has backed the U.S. And so that's
• 46:55
  why this picture is so big. And why, you know, the Nord Stream thing and the Ukraine war and all
• 47:04
  this is basically more U.S. doing just a little bit more quietly, not like Trump now. So even
• 47:13
  if the political will to change this situation did exist and they wanted to go back to Russian
• 47:20
  gas, now they can't because they can't get it through. All they got is Turk Stream. They can't
• 47:25
  do it through Nord Stream 1 and 2 because the CIA blew it up, allegedly. Or if you believe,
• 47:31
  you know, some other popular stories, some Ukrainians in a speedboat blew it up. I don't
• 47:36
  believe that either. And you shouldn't. But if you do, more power to you. And also the Ukraine,
• 47:44
  the Ukraine shutting off the gas and through Ukraine, serious damage to Ukraine and to the
• 47:55
  EU as a result. So even if the political will to change the situation and not buy gas at double
• 48:05
  the price from the United States, the EU is legally bound to deepen its dependence on the U.S.
• 48:15
  And under a trade deal signed by von der Leyen and Trump last July, remember when he forced her
• 48:20
  because he threatened tariffs, the EU is required to purchase 750 billion dollars worth of U.S. energy
• 48:29
  by 2028. So basically Brussels can't refuse what Washington is selling. So Russia maintains that
• 48:39
  it is a reliable energy supplier and the U.S. chose economic suicide by abandoning Russian gas. It
• 48:46
  makes sense, you know, because they're paying double for what they had through Ukraine before,
• 48:52
  all for some, you know, fake war that they're creating. Well, and because that's what the U.S.
• 48:58
  wants, this is what we do. European leaders were content to trade their energy security during the
• 49:07
  Biden years and to bind themselves to the U.S. under Trump von der Leyen trade deal. The risk
• 49:14
  of this approach was apparent this last weekend when Trump announced a 10 percent tariff on eight
• 49:21
  European nations for opposing his planned acquisition of Greenland. And he warns now
• 49:27
  this 25 percent if Denmark refuses to give it away while the EU threatens retaliatory tariffs.
• 49:35
  It's completely defenseless if Trump decides to cut gas export as a punitive measure. Hopefully
• 49:42
  we won't get there, an EU diplomat told Politico. But however, hope is the only tool the Europeans
• 49:50
  have at the moment. Now, that piece was, where did, who wrote this? Well, it doesn't have a byline,
• 49:58
  but it was a piece that came from the RT channel, but it doesn't say who wrote it.
• 50:08
  Usually on their opinion pieces, they tell, that's where I got a lot of that information
• 50:13
  was from there. And I don't want to not put that out there for you that I, you know, stole it.
• 50:23
  Well, quoted it. So, and here, there was another interesting story. And this is, this is another
• 50:30
  reality check for Europe. Okay. And, and this is important. And this one is written,
• 50:36
  it's an opinion piece, another one that is written by a guy named Andrei Medvedev. Okay.
• 50:43
  And basically NATO has annual exercises with the United States. Many years ago, when I was in the
• 50:51
  army, I went to, they called it Reforger and it was Reforger every, geez, I went to it two,
• 51:00
  three times and it was always called Reforger. It was an annual thing. And we, I was in the
• 51:05
  second armored division at Fort Hood, Texas. And we would take all of our equipment over there,
• 51:10
  you know, by ship and, and act like we were deploying at a huge cost. And all of our stuff
• 51:18
  would go over and it'd be like we were in the theater, the Bavarian theater in Germany and
• 51:24
  all these NATO exercises. And I was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. And we went over and all over
• 51:30
  these NATO exercises, people would come from wherever, you know, all over the place as if
• 51:35
  we were mobilizing for a war similar to what was present in, what do you call it, in World War II,
• 51:44
  something like that. Right. And so this year, NATO has, and it happens in the winter, you know,
• 51:51
  there's one called Steadfast Dart 2026, and it's going on now. Okay. And, or where it just ended
• 52:01
  recently. Anyway, it was going on over in the winter months here. Excuse me. NATO, and this
• 52:08
  story was by Andrei Medvedev. And it's, it's, this is very telling. Okay. NATO has launched major
• 52:15
  military exercises, Steadfast Dart 2026. And the drill involves over 10,000 troops from 11 countries,
• 52:25
  Germany, Italy, France, UK, Spain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Greece,
• 52:33
  and Turkey. The primary goal is to assess the block's readiness for rapid deployment of substantial
• 52:40
  forces. The exercises will continue until mid-March. There you go. And so the reforger exercises,
• 52:49
  we were usually over there six weeks or so, but the whole exercise would proceed for a couple of
• 52:56
  months, you know, a couple of three months. And it looks like that's what they're doing on this
• 53:01
  one. So, and the article continues, at first glance, it might seem like just another NATO
• 53:07
  exercise, but here's the catch, NATO exercise, but here's the catch, the US is not taking part.
• 53:17
  So the initiative is purely European, and it aims to achieve two main objectives. First,
• 53:23
  it seeks to demonstrate that Europe is strong, unafraid of American influence and capable of
• 53:29
  protecting its own interests, not only by producing AI animate animations about heroic
• 53:36
  Vikings defending Greenland, but through real military strength. The second goal is to find
• 53:43
  out whether Europe can operate independently without US support. And the answer is probably
• 53:52
  not. It's no secret that 70% of NATO's budget comes from the US. But beyond finance, NATO
• 53:59
  intelligence is primarily reliant on US satellite, communication, coordination, and command
• 54:07
  structure. Also, all built around a model in which the US acts as the big brother to its
• 54:14
  European partners. By the way, there's a separate article that UK last week pulled any working
• 54:24
  relationship with the United States to share intelligence based on what Trump is doing.
• 54:31
  That's a big smack in the face. I think that story is here that I wanted to share with you as well.
• 54:38
  So Russian journalists witnessed this dynamic in Kosovo, Bosnia, and Afghanistan. NATO did not
• 54:46
  officially conduct an operation there. But in reality, it did enter the country who owns the
• 54:53
  largest safest basis, who oversees all sectors, who plans operation and sets combat tasks,
• 55:01
  the big brother, the US. In Kosovo, NATO allies couldn't just enter Camp Bondsteel. The base is
• 55:11
  American, and the Europeans had to get a special pass to enter. So get this all of these American
• 55:19
  bases that are all over NATO, we can withhold them getting in for these exercises because
• 55:25
  NATO doesn't have any bases. They're all American. Okay. Until recently, Europe seemed perfectly
• 55:33
  content with its junior partner status, what fueled the EU's prosperity, cheap Russian resources with
• 55:41
  stable supply lines, and minimal security. Security was outsourced to the Americans,
• 55:48
  US bases, air support, and missile defense. Then Trump came along and in typical businessman
• 55:56
  fashion said, if you want protection, you got to pay. He's the mafia. He got to pay. And is there
• 56:04
  a NATO without the US is the question. That's the question European military leaders are going to
• 56:11
  with during this exercise. And though they already know the answer, surely NATO would exist, but it'd
• 56:19
  be very costly for the EU. Or it won't exist at all, which means Europe has to concede that the
• 56:26
  master will do as he pleases. And the master America is well aware of this. US Treasury
• 56:34
  Secretary Scott Besson, Treasury Secretary stated that the US will remain in NATO. But look how he
• 56:42
  put it asked what's more important to US security interests, NATO or Greenland. Here's what Besson
• 56:50
  said. That's a false choice. The European leaders will come around and they will understand that
• 56:58
  they need to be under the US security umbrella. So they all know it. Well, you know, tough.
• 57:05
  You're going to either do what we want Europe, just like they did with signing the 750 billion
• 57:11
  liquid natural gas thing at the, you know, forcing it. Now they're saying, well, give us Greenland
• 57:19
  or else same thing. So in the current climate, when Europe's economy is struggling, for example,
• 57:27
  BMW and Mercedes are now using Chinese engines and BASF is making only a third of what it used to
• 57:36
  the idea of a European NATO seems far fetched. Europe doesn't have the money for it. Neither
• 57:44
  does it have the military equipment. Most of it has been sent to Ukraine and what's left
• 57:50
  wouldn't last a month in a high intensity conflict. Moreover, Euro NATO doesn't have
• 57:57
  that many armies with real combat experience outside the block. Sure, there's France,
• 58:03
  which has been engaged in prolonged operations in the Sahel and Turkey. However, even their
• 58:09
  combat experience is powerless in a situation where there is no money fighting Bedouins
• 58:16
  in the Sahel or Kurds in Syria is worlds apart from facing an adversary like China or Russia,
• 58:25
  or in the new reality for NATO, the U.S. The fact that the U.S. is not taking part in NATO's
• 58:33
  latest military exercises, despite being able to easily deploy their troops from bases
• 58:39
  in Germany or Italy is quite telling. America's message to Europe is clear.
• 58:47
  Let's see how you do without us and then come running back. The lesson is humiliating,
• 58:54
  but after all, they got into this mess by themselves. I liked that piece. And, you know,
• 59:02
  my theme today was consequences, and the consequences are dramatic. You know, we have,
• 59:11
  like I said, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, which I spoke of earlier,
• 59:21
  saying, you know, that, you know, Trump's Greenland is undermining the world order.
• 59:30
  So I don't think he cares. The gas is making it that way. But long term, you watch things like
• 59:38
  what's going on, you know, but and we're, we're playing hard, definitely playing hardball. Now,
• 59:46
  we're not going to join a NATO exercise. That's on purpose, you know. Interesting thoughts.
• 59:55
  And I tell you what, let's see if there's anything else that we can put on there.
• 1:00:02
  Here's a story that the US and this is from this came out yesterday, said the US Army is seeking
• 1:00:11
  intelligence on key Danish military installations, airfields and ports in Greenland that could be
• 1:00:19
  used for an invasion of the island. Berlingska newspaper reported on Sunday,
• 1:00:25
  citing Defense Ministry documents. According to that outlet, Americans have been collecting
• 1:00:30
  sensitive information about strategic military sites on Denmark's Arctic territory in violation
• 1:00:37
  of existing bilateral agreements between Copenhagen and Washington. The revelation
• 1:00:43
  comes amid the US president's efforts to assert control over the world's biggest island that is
• 1:00:50
  rich in minerals, but has a population of only 56,000. Trump argues that Greenland is critical
• 1:00:57
  for the US to counter Russia and China in the Arctic, a claim that's denied by Copenhagen,
• 1:01:03
  Moscow and Beijing. They all deny it. Excuse me, lingering cough still here. Sorry about that.
• 1:01:11
  Trump's initiative has created a rift between the US and the European NATO allies. They reject
• 1:01:17
  any changes to Greenland status. They warn the US is undermining international law
• 1:01:21
  and the unity of the bloc. And long term, it's going to have consequences. You know,
• 1:01:27
  remember, we started the show by saying we have to deal with reality like Carney is doing.
• 1:01:32
  And I'm not sure that Trump is doing any favors to us by what by what he is doing now.
• 1:01:41
  You know, 100 troops, 100 Danish troops aren't gonna, you know, cause any huge
• 1:01:51
  thought process for the old Trumpster if they feel like taking it. I mean, there were 100 guards or
• 1:01:59
  so that were defending Maduro. And what happened there? They just went and killed them all
• 1:02:04
  and took Maduro anyway. In response to Trump has announced tariffs on these eight countries,
• 1:02:12
  as you know, that's the rest story. Amid the diplomatic turmoil, analysts cited by Berlin
• 1:02:17
  raise concerns about increased US intelligence operations in the region.
• 1:02:24
  Danish authorities reportedly find the episode particularly alarming, fearing it is linked by
• 1:02:29
  to political pressure by Washington, or the potential use of force to take control of
• 1:02:37
  Greenland. Commenting on this spy scandal, Danish Foreign Minister Rasmussen told the
• 1:02:44
  Wall Street Journal, he is greatly worried because we do not spy on friends. Well, the US does.
• 1:02:54
  And NATO is kissing the rear end, you know, of Trump. And Mark Rutte, Trump leaked his message
• 1:03:03
  yesterday. And this is kind of comical. And everybody says, and I'm getting used to it now,
• 1:03:10
  everybody tells me that I need to quit taking it all so seriously. And I'm, I'm a realist,
• 1:03:17
  you know, I like to look at reality as well. And when you think about this, Mark Rutte,
• 1:03:25
  think about the reality here. Here, this story is very funny, in my opinion, because Trump slams
• 1:03:33
  this guy with what he did. And let's see, US President Trump shared what he claimed was a
• 1:03:42
  from NATO Chief Mark Rutte praising his work in global hotspots, and pledging to help resolve
• 1:03:49
  the Greenland dispute. The message that was posted to Trump's true social account came shortly after
• 1:03:57
  the President announced he would meet world leaders to discuss Greenland at this week's
• 1:04:01
  Davos World Economic Forum. I'm going to be watching. I wish I could go to that thing
• 1:04:06
  and just sit there. That would be so interesting. And I hope they do it like C-SPAN and you can
• 1:04:12
  watch it. Trump has long sought control over Greenland, blah, blah, blah, we know that,
• 1:04:17
  and the pushes caused friction with European. In the fawning message, Rutte praised Trump's
• 1:04:23
  accomplishments in Syria, referring to his defense of Kurdish rights following a ceasefire between
• 1:04:29
  their forces and Damascus, as well as his mediation efforts on Gaza and Ukraine.
• 1:04:36
  What you accomplished in Syria today is incredible. I will use my media engagements in Davos
• 1:04:43
  to highlight your work there in Gaza and in Ukraine. Rutte purportedly wrote, I'm committed
• 1:04:50
  to finding a way forward on Greenland. Can't wait to see you. Yours, Mark.
• 1:04:59
  He's the guy that called Trump daddy. Remember that? In an earlier post, Trump said he had a
• 1:05:05
  very good call with phone call with Rutte concerning Greenland. Rutte addressed,
• 1:05:10
  previously refused to address what he called an internal NATO dispute over the territory,
• 1:05:15
  and has hedged direct comment on Trump's plans. Last year, he drew criticism and mockery over what
• 1:05:23
  many European officials saw as excessive flattery toward Trump when he called him
• 1:05:28
  daddy at a summit in The Hague. The Greenland dispute is expected to dominate the Davos
• 1:05:37
  gathering this week. Denmark has insisted that the island status is non-negotiable
• 1:05:45
  and coordinated with several allies to have small troop contingents on the territory,
• 1:05:51
  a move seen as reinforcing its sovereignty. Russian Minister Lavrov, and I want to share
• 1:05:59
  that story too, it's a separate story today, dismissed Trump's claims that Moscow or Beijing
• 1:06:06
  pose a threat to Greenland. And here's what he said. One of the things that Lavrov said,
• 1:06:11
  foreign minister Russia, when they justify what's happening around Greenland by saying that otherwise
• 1:06:16
  Russia or China will seize it, there is no evidence. Washington is well aware that neither
• 1:06:23
  Russia nor China have such plans. He said in his press conference, Lavrov added that
• 1:06:28
  Moscow is instead interested in establishing open, free Arctic cooperation and is closely
• 1:06:37
  monitoring the dispute around Greenland, which he calls a serious geopolitical situation. And it is.
• 1:06:48
  And now the US is spying. Trump told, where is that? Let me see if I can find that article,
• 1:06:58
  because that was a good one too. Here it is. The European leaders, according to Trump,
• 1:07:06
  need to focus on Ukraine rather than US efforts to acquire Greenland, said Trump yesterday.
• 1:07:14
  Excuse me. In a phone interview with NBC News yesterday, he criticized leaders in Europe for
• 1:07:21
  resisting his efforts to acquire the Danish territory. Europe ought to focus on the war
• 1:07:27
  with Russia and Ukraine, because frankly, you see what that's gotten them, Trump said, as if we had
• 1:07:32
  no part in it. That's the funny part. Trump said that's what Europe should focus on, not Greenland.
• 1:07:38
  OK, you guys look over here at this debacle of Greenland. This is still more Trump saying
• 1:07:43
  that ain't my war. It's Joe Biden's war. And I don't want anything to do with it. And plus,
• 1:07:50
  he didn't win. He didn't solve it in a day. And so he can now dump it off and still, you know,
• 1:07:55
  with a straight face, push it off and say, well, that ain't my deal. That's Joe Biden's deal. And
• 1:08:00
  I had nothing to do with that. See how successful I am. I stole Greenland. I stole Venezuela.
• 1:08:06
  Pretty soon I'm going to steal the Panama Canal and I'm going to expand in the Arctic Circle from
• 1:08:13
  Alaska to Greenland. And hell, hell, we might as well take over northern Canada too.
• 1:08:18
  They don't need to be up there. That'll be next. Well, he's already said he's going to make Canada
• 1:08:25
  the 51st state. Remember that? Anyway, EU and NATO delegations are abandoning their prepared
• 1:08:32
  talking points on Ukraine for their upcoming meetings with Trump at the World Economic Forum.
• 1:08:40
  And now that is a shocker. So at the World Economic Forum, everybody's going, you know,
• 1:08:46
  Zelensky is going to want to talk all about Ukraine. Ukraine is still the thing. But Trump
• 1:08:50
  has blown that issue up. Now nothing is about Ukraine. It's all about Greenland.
• 1:08:56
  Nobody's talking about Ukraine at all anymore. It's only Greenland. So EU and NATO delegations
• 1:09:03
  are abandoning their prepared talking points. And now Trump's unsolicited bid to acquire Greenland
• 1:09:09
  is expected to top the agenda. That's what Politico reported yesterday. Last week,
• 1:09:16
  well, we already know about 10 percent tariffs. Trump has not ruled out military action,
• 1:09:20
  saying no comment to NBC when asked if he would use force to seize it.
• 1:09:26
  Greenland. Previously, he warned that he would take the island the easy way or the hard way.
• 1:09:33
  We're going to get it one way or the other. And I'm trying to be a realist about this and not be so
• 1:09:38
  so touchy about the the blatant disregard of international and U.S. law by doing this nonsense.
• 1:09:45
  This is only force force, you know, and the rest of the world doesn't like it.
• 1:09:51
  The rest. I mean, I can't find one country where they support this Greenland move.
• 1:09:56
  Even Greenland doesn't support it. And so the Greenland issue has overtaken the Ukraine
• 1:10:01
  conflict is the main focus of all European leaders who claim that Russia represents
• 1:10:07
  a military threat. Allegations that Moscow has dismissed as nonsense.
• 1:10:13
  Russia has long maintained that weapons supplied to Kiev make Western nations parties to that
• 1:10:18
  conflict, and Moscow considers it a proxy war waged against it using Ukrainian manpower.
• 1:10:25
  The military aid has made European countries the main obstacle to peace amid U.S. broken talks,
• 1:10:32
  said Sergei Lavrov at the same press conference on Sunday. And he said that the EU is openly
• 1:10:40
  preparing to go to war with Russia. Well, that's going to end if the U.S. isn't going to back them
• 1:10:46
  and isn't going to back them by NATO. So all of these huge issues just make you think,
• 1:10:53
  don't they? You know, we're going to be alone on the world stage, you know, and it's no longer
• 1:10:58
  our allies. You know, they're all our subordinates, our colonies or whatever.
• 1:11:04
  And when you're forcing someone to do something, they start to resist, just like a teenager.
• 1:11:11
  You know, a teenager wants to think for themselves. And, you know, with Daddy Trump
• 1:11:17
  being the only person in charge and completely trashing any international norms,
• 1:11:25
  people aren't going to want to work with us. And we're already seeing it.
• 1:11:29
  On the Kremlin, for its part, Kirill Dmitriev will discuss settling the Ukraine conflict
• 1:11:36
  and economic cooperation with Americans. So if there's anything positive, okay, now
• 1:11:45
  I am not against and I think that the U.S. should be more big picture things. I don't like the
• 1:11:53
  approach that we're using right now, but I understand the sentiment. But we have a presence
• 1:11:59
  in the Arctic Circle, in Alaska. When we talk about positive things, if we spun this in the
• 1:12:06
  positive way, instead of the neocon or the uniparty, you know, we need to take over the world
• 1:12:12
  and force our will upon everyone else. I disagree with that, as does the rest of the world, by the
• 1:12:19
  way. But we're already in the Arctic Circle, in Alaska. What would be wrong with starting there,
• 1:12:27
  okay? If you focus on, like, what China does and what Russia does, they haven't started any
• 1:12:38
  wars all over the world. They're not us. They haven't done that. You know, I outlined for you
• 1:12:44
  before how 50-something, 56, 57 times since World War II, the U.S. has engaged in regime change
• 1:12:53
  similar to what's gone on in Venezuela. You know, we went through a big list of them.
• 1:12:59
  And if we focused on creating a safe, common trade corridor, which is what Russia, China,
• 1:13:09
  and India are doing in the Arctic. And India is only a very junior person down there. And Russia
• 1:13:16
  is the major partner in there. Creating that pathway to shorter transport lanes,
• 1:13:24
  backed with nuclear icebreaker fleets, which Russia is so far ahead of anybody else,
• 1:13:29
  it's not even funny. Why couldn't we create a common commercial route to shorten the trips
• 1:13:39
  of supplies from China to the rest of the world, including Canada now? Because those are definitely
• 1:13:47
  going to be through the Arctic, right? And Trump is recognizing that the U.S. is going to be left
• 1:13:53
  out. But they're really not, if you would do something with Alaska, like that Bering Strait
• 1:13:59
  Bridge. Talk about a huge financial boost. That'd be unbelievable. It would be great.
• 1:14:05
  So at any rate, all of those things in the backdrop, Russian President Vladimir Putin's
• 1:14:14
  special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, will meet with the U.S. delegation on the sidelines of the World
• 1:14:21
  Economic Forum in Davos this week. Dmitriev wrote on his ex-account on Tuesday that he had arrived
• 1:14:28
  in Davos. He did not disclose the aim of his visit to Swiss city, but added a peace dove emoji
• 1:14:37
  to the post. When asked to comment on media reports that the Putin envoy had talks planned
• 1:14:43
  with U.S. officials later today, Peskov replied by saying, I confirm that he really does have
• 1:14:50
  such plans. Dmitriev is transmitting information regarding the Ukraine peace process back and
• 1:14:57
  forth between Moscow and Washington, he said. His other task is discussing the issue of economic
• 1:15:03
  cooperation with the United States. You know that we are in favor of resuming those relations,
• 1:15:10
  he added. Peskov did not say with whom the Putin envoy will be negotiating in Davos,
• 1:15:17
  but rejected speculation that he would be meeting with President Trump, who will be attending the
• 1:15:23
  World Economic Forum this year. Axios correspondent Barak Ravid claimed earlier that Dmitriev
• 1:15:31
  will meet with Trump's envoy Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner that are already there on Tuesday,
• 1:15:38
  that they were supposed to meet today, which would be right now because they're eight hours ahead of
• 1:15:42
  us and they could have already met. Dmitriev visited the U.S. several times since Trump took
• 1:15:47
  office a year ago. His latest trip took place in December. He had two days of talks with Whitkoff
• 1:15:53
  and Kushner. Both sides described the discussions as constructive. There's been a lot of movement on
• 1:15:58
  the eastern front in Ukraine and they're talking about, like I think I told you some of it yesterday,
• 1:16:06
  about, what do you call it, leaving, everybody leaving Kiev. No power in Kiev. Russia has
• 1:16:18
  completely destroyed the infrastructure for power and there's no warmth. People are freezing their
• 1:16:27
  butts off because they don't have any electricity. I've been telling you for weeks about the blackouts
• 1:16:33
  that last 16 hours of every day or longer. Peskov said last week that the Kremlin is looking forward
• 1:16:41
  to another visit by Whitkoff and Kushner to Moscow, but he noted that a date had not yet been set and
• 1:16:46
  Bloomberg claimed earlier that the trip would happen this month. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov
• 1:16:53
  reiterated Tuesday that Moscow remains committed to a diplomatic settlement of the Ukraine conflict,
• 1:16:58
  but he stressed that plans coming from the EU and the UK aimed at preserving the Kiev regime
• 1:17:05
  were absolutely unacceptable for Russia. Under Trump, the U.S. has become the only country that
• 1:17:12
  has expressed understanding that Russia's interests must be taken into account and has
• 1:17:18
  also proposed solutions that address the root cause of the current crisis. Now, I haven't heard that,
• 1:17:25
  but I heard Lavrov say that and so I'm very interested because there was also an article
• 1:17:31
  that came out that said that the old z-monster is prepared to meet with Trump and to make some
• 1:17:39
  significant concessions, but those concessions are, you know, I believe because Russia is now
• 1:17:45
  already into Kharkov, they're pretty far in down to, I forget what the name of the city is in there,
• 1:17:53
  but up in the north part of the Kharkov region, Kharkov itself, you know, the city there,
• 1:17:58
  and then the eastern front is collapsing westward at a pretty brisk pace, very little positive from
• 1:18:08
  the Ukraine side on this, and it's looking pretty damn grim, and there was an article about how the
• 1:18:17
  corrupt Ukrainian government, how they're going to divvy up the latest, which a lot of people
• 1:18:23
  feel is the last 90 billion that's coming. This year they get 90 billion and they feel it's the
• 1:18:30
  last that's going to be coming, and they're all trying to figure out how to get their share of it
• 1:18:34
  because it's the last free ride that all the oligarchs are going to get to steal all this
• 1:18:39
  money, and so they, you know, the article was pretty blunt about that, about what, you know,
• 1:18:47
  where the money's coming from, and I hate to laugh about stuff like that, but it is realistic,
• 1:18:54
  you know, to think that, and keep an eye on it. Let's see, did you hear about Bulgaria's
• 1:19:07
  Ruman Radyev? Let's see, he was the Bulgarian president and he announced that he is resigning.
• 1:19:14
  This came out today. He said that political class has betrayed the voters. He cites oligarchy
• 1:19:23
  and fueled speculation that he is poised to create his own party ahead of snap parliamentary
• 1:19:29
  elections in a televised address Monday. Radev, known for his criticism of the EU on, you know,
• 1:19:37
  the policies on Ukraine, blasted what he called the vicious model of governance and argued that
• 1:19:43
  Bulgarians have become disillusioned with the country's authorities. Bulgaria, he said,
• 1:19:50
  has the outward features of democracy, but in practice functions through the mechanism of
• 1:19:58
  oligarchy, he said. Bulgarian politics is conducted outside such institutions. Radev
• 1:20:07
  also stated that while Bulgaria had joined the eurozone, that move had brought no stability
• 1:20:13
  or sense of fulfillment to the citizens themselves, who he said stopped voting and
• 1:20:19
  lost trust in the media and the judiciary. Sounds like America. Sounds like me. The resignation of
• 1:20:26
  the outgoing president, whose term was set to end early next year, has to be approved by the
• 1:20:32
  constitutional court, with Vice President Iliana Iotova expected to assume his post. Bulgaria has
• 1:20:41
  been reeling from months of political instability and is heading toward what would be its eighth
• 1:20:45
  parliamentary election in four years, following the collapse of successive coalitions and mass
• 1:20:53
  protests against alleged corruption. There has been speculation that Radev plans to establish a
• 1:21:00
  new party, and he has not confirmed this, but he did say people everywhere are demanding it. He has
• 1:21:07
  clashed with successive governments over Bulgaria's integration to the EU, which it joined in 2007.
• 1:21:16
  While he backs EU membership and in principle, he criticizes the speed of euro adoption. Bulgaria
• 1:21:23
  adopted the common currency on January 1 without a national referendum, and a December
• 1:21:31
  Eurobarometer survey suggested that 49% of Bulgarians were against it. And on the Ukraine
• 1:21:38
  crisis, Radev has argued that the conflict has no military solution, and he warned that arms
• 1:21:45
  deliveries and sanctions on Russia prolong the hostilities and harm the EU economy. He is also
• 1:21:53
  opposed to Ukraine's push to join NATO. Despite his resignation, Radev has a 46% approval rating,
• 1:22:02
  the highest by far in the country among political leaders, according to the Mayara Sociology Agency.
• 1:22:10
  And these are big deals, you know, that are, you know, the EU is basically, you know, collapsing.
• 1:22:18
  And we're watching it, you know, based on all the, you know, nonsense that they're,
• 1:22:24
  that they're going through. And finally, and I'm hoping I can get through this. I think I can.
• 1:22:34
  This is an opinion piece by Tariq Amar, who I've referred to you before. It's called
• 1:22:42
  the plunder of Venezuela is the dead end of history. Capitalist vultures are not just circling,
• 1:22:51
  they are pouncing, drawn to the smell of decay, evident in Washington's militant tactics.
• 1:22:59
  As deplored in the Washington Post, Washington's recent assault on Venezuela wasn't your usual
• 1:23:07
  US war of aggression, regime change, but served to facilitate a particular kind of insider trading,
• 1:23:15
  or rather betting on the so called prediction platform, poly market, a very well informed
• 1:23:22
  investor wagered over 30,000 at Venezuela, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro would be
• 1:23:29
  out of office by the last day of January and lo and behold, walked away with more than 400,000
• 1:23:36
  in profit. That prediction was timed to a such pitch perfect precision that it drew
• 1:23:43
  heavy media scrutiny as it bore the hallmarks of insider trading. You don't say there's cheating
• 1:23:51
  going on at the White House and among its hangers on who to thunk it right now let's be realistic
• 1:24:00
  real existing capitalism not not the Friedrich von Hayek Milton Friedman fan fiction that still
• 1:24:07
  dulls all too many minds has always been ruthless. It's modern history of about
• 1:24:14
  half a millennium includes stupendous scientific technological and cultural change
• 1:24:20
  as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels acknowledged in their communist manifesto,
• 1:24:25
  parts of which read almost as a panegyric to the bourgeoisie and the capitalist world it made.
• 1:24:33
  But that world also began with the vicious impoverishment and exploitation of the masses,
• 1:24:39
  the plunder and devastation of whole continents and their original inhabitants,
• 1:24:43
  and a brisk international slave trade, vitiating and ending millions of lives. Marx has called this
• 1:24:51
  primitive accumulation. Their master also used the term original expropriation, sardonically
• 1:25:01
  comparing its role in the traditional political economy to man's fall from divine grace in
• 1:25:07
  Christian mythology. After the establishment of the first traditional European great power
• 1:25:15
  empire and radically new management dedicated communism in 1917 and then one world world war
• 1:25:22
  later, a whole communist second world centered in but not restricted to Eurasia, the capitalist
• 1:25:27
  regimes of the West slowly learned to tread a little more carefully, at least at home,
• 1:25:33
  treating their population to some reformist rhetoric of very moderate redistribution and
• 1:25:39
  unusually rational public spending. For a short moment in history, the ruling and owning elites
• 1:25:45
  of countries such as West Germany and France almost looked as if in search of capitalism
• 1:25:50
  with a human face. Even some American presidents were not ashamed to promise progressive things
• 1:25:56
  such as the New Deal, Roosevelt, and Great Society, Johnson. After the global neoliberal
• 1:26:04
  and right libertarian surge at the end of the second world war, capitalism has become more
• 1:26:09
  brutally straightforward again everywhere, and not only in terms of frank contempt for current cities,
• 1:26:15
  I mean, I'm sorry, current elites such as the real estate billionaire who also runs the US
• 1:26:20
  and the BlackRock and Rothschild careers who are in charge of Germany and France, respectively,
• 1:26:25
  display to everyone not part of their exclusive disdainful club. Plunder, plain and simple,
• 1:26:33
  was never gone from the repertoire of capitalism. Obviously, just ask the Syrians who happened to
• 1:26:39
  what happened to their oil. More than half a decade ago in his first term, American buccaneer
• 1:26:45
  in chief Donald Trump already had a moment of refreshing candor, openly acknowledged that the
• 1:26:50
  US military was in Syria, to take the oil. I took the oil. The only troops I have in Syria
• 1:26:57
  are taking the oil. So I don't think I'm going to have time to finish the whole article. I wish I
• 1:27:06
  did. I started it a little bit too late, but it's a good oil. I'll jump forward a little bit.
• 1:27:13
  The simple, let's see, where's Venezuela? Just as enough investors were swarming into the
• 1:27:22
  Donro trade of booty, pillage and big boisterous promises to merit a lengthy Wall Street Journal
• 1:27:30
  article, a different kind of boom was taking place centered on different regions of the world,
• 1:27:36
  Asia, including China. There, Bloomberg has reported tech and AI stocks were on a tear.
• 1:27:42
  And this is not just any surge in stocks from Asia. Rather, investors,
• 1:27:46
  very much including those from the US, are betting their momentum
• 1:27:51
  and outperformance against US peers will last through all of 26.
• 1:27:57
  Simple fact that these hopes shape the market mood is more important than details.
• 1:28:04
  Investors are very optimistic about Asian semiconductor supply chains,
• 1:28:08
  earning potential and cutting edge technology processes while feeling worried about American
• 1:28:14
  tech and AI stocks ability to sustain their rally after their outsized gains. In short,
• 1:28:22
  a typical US bubble. In particular, Bloomberg notes the enthusiasm over China's tech prowess
• 1:28:29
  has only grown in the new year. China, that is the geopolitical competitor of Washington,
• 1:28:35
  that is most obsessed with next to Russia. So the article says, ironically, capitalists sense
• 1:28:43
  long term change with the same acuity they display for fleeting opportunities to profit from the
• 1:28:50
  ransacking of Venezuela. But none of this makes a difference to the fact that Washington is losing
• 1:28:57
  its grip. It can still inflict great pain and cause terrible destruction, but it cannot offer
• 1:29:03
  a vision of international or, for that matter, domestic order that attracts anyone who isn't
• 1:29:10
  corrupt, submissive by nature, or witless. I enjoyed that article. Sorry, I didn't get to
• 1:29:16
  share all of it. Perhaps I shall tomorrow. You can find that guy's name is Tariq Amar, A-M-A-R,
• 1:29:26
  and it's called the plunder of Venezuela is the dead end of history. A little bit more to go for
• 1:29:31
  there. My name is Samuel Trapp. This is International Flavor. I'm glad you're with me today.
• 1:29:35
  Ask you to join me every day, 7.30 to 9, Monday through Thursday. I appreciate you
• 1:29:43
  and hope you have a very nice cold day in mid-Missouri.