Geopolitical Economy Report

The US government has no plan for the war that Donald Trump launched against Iran. The Pentagon is desperately asking analysts for ideas. Tehran won, but Washington refuses to admit it. Ben Norton explains what exactly is happening, and why the United States lost so badly. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25J1gdTCx_o Topics 0:00 Trump has no plan for Iran war 1:37 USA lost and Iran won 2:59 Trump threatens Iran 3:53 USA bombed schools 5:15 Trump's empty rhetoric 7:54 US allies in Persian Gulf 10:28 Yemen and Saudi Arabia 12:01 US military runs out of missiles 14:37 Iran destroys US bases 15:38 Iran expels US troops 18:20 Iran has the leverage 19:05 Trump always chickens out (TACO) 20:32 Iran strengthened, USA weakened 22:34 Outro

The US war on Iran keeps expanding into a regional conflict, as more countries get involved. Reports show that Donald Trump is getting desperate, and he is frantically seeking an off-ramp. Washington announced a "pause" to the fighting, but it lasted just four days. Ben Norton explains the three main reasons why the United States is desperately seeking an exit: one, the Pentagon is running out of missile interceptors; two, the number of casualties among American troops is steadily increasing; and three, Yemen joined the conflict, attacking Saudi oil infrastructure, exacerbating the energy crisis. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPBI8ukcA_4 Topics 0:00 Iran war expands 2:41 More countries join conflict 3:58 Trump is 'exasperated' 5:49 US 'pause' failed 6:19 Three main reasons 7:53 US violates agreements 9:53 USA lost & Iran won 10:40 US military running low on missiles 12:36 Gulf monarchies 13:38 Patriot interceptors 16:07 Pentagon orders old missiles 17:54 Preparing for war on China 18:47 China vs USA: industrial capacity 21:02 Pentagon hides US casualties 24:26 Yemen joins war 26:21 Blockade of Red Sea 27:45 Houthi attacks on Saudi oil 29:20 Energy crisis 30:14 Oil reserves running low 30:44 Iran has won 32:14 Outro

Donald Trump has again paused the US war on Iran. Why? One, the Pentagon is running out of missile interceptors; two, the number of casualties among American troops is steadily increasing; and three, Yemen joined the conflict, attacking Saudi oil infrastructure, exacerbating the energy crisis. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bptw9_glRb8 Topics 0:00 Reasons why Trump paused war 1:58 USA violates agreements 3:58 The US lost. Iran won 4:44 US military running low on missiles 6:25 Gulf monarchies 7:26 Patriot interceptors 9:55 Pentagon orders old missiles 11:43 Preparing for war on China 12:36 China vs USA: industrial capacity 14:50 Pentagon hides US casualties 18:15 Yemen joins war 20:10 Blockade of Red Sea 21:42 Houthi attacks on Saudi oil 22:48 Energy crisis 24:03 Oil reserves running low 24:33 Iran has won 25:58 Outro

The US war against Iran is expanding into a larger regional conflict. After Trump sabotaged a diplomatic agreement, Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz. Now Yemen's Ansar Allah (known commonly as the Houthis) has declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, shutting down oil exports in the Red Sea. Ben Norton explains how this escalation could cause a severe crisis in the global energy market. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJNwRPOnFs Topics 0:00 Trump restarts Iran war 1:26 Yemen joins the war 2:45 Red Sea blockade 3:28 Oil transit chokepoints 5:05 Saudi East-West Pipeline 5:55 China cuts oil imports 6:27 Saudi oil exports 6:59 Oil price skyrockets 7:55 Gasoline prices rise 9:17 Potential for oil crisis 10:31 Reserves running low 11:21 Yemen explainer 13:07 Ansar Allah (Houthis) 22:05 Axis of Resistance 23:58 Iran grows stronger 27:17 Outro

US global dominance is rapidly declining, as China rises. So Washington wants to forcibly impose its hegemony in Latin America, invoking the colonial Monroe Doctrine. However, people are fighting back. Nicaragua's Sandinista government is resisting US imperialism and continuing its revolution. Ben Norton reports. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIXMyFvMeMc

Donald Trump violated the diplomatic agreement and restarted the war, bombing Iran and re-imposing a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Ben Norton explains why the US government will fail, because it has no plan and lacks leverage, whereas Tehran and its decentralized military have escalation dominance. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFHvtxgR5A8 Topics 0:00 Trump restarts war on Iran 0:36 USA violates agreements 1:49 USA won't accept defeat 3:07 Strait of Hormuz 5:37 Iran hits US allies in Gulf 7:20 Iran's decentralized military 8:43 Drones 10:25 Iran already won the war 10:56 Trump has no plan 13:13 Strait of Hormuz fees 13:51 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on fees 14:05 US fees vs Iran fees 14:52 Insanity of ground invasion 17:34 Scheme to seize Kharg Island 18:48 Oil and gasoline price 21:42 Strategic Petroleum Reserve 23:36 Global oil reserves running low 24:59 Danger of empire in decline 27:42 Outro

Many Western economists and media outlets claim that Americans are wealthier than Europeans, but this is not true; it's based on a misunderstanding of the difference between average wealth and median wealth. Ben Norton explains how the extreme inequality in the US make its average wealth misleadingly look high, and why GDP per capita is not a good measurement. He debunks the myth of "Europoors", which is often spread by Donald Trump supporters. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzFUd8uj7pA Topics 0:00 The myth that Americans are wealthy 1:15 Average wealth vs median wealth 3:50 Data on US median wealth 6:42 Wealth inequality (Gini coefficient) 9:31 Poverty and homelessness 10:19 USA vs Europe 12:02 Wealth concentration of US elites 13:28 Distribution of growth in income 15:01 GDP per capita is misleading 21:18 US GDP by sector 23:13 Imputed rent and GDP 25:05 Life expectancy, mortality, etc. 27:10 US healthcare system 28:40 US health system vs OECD 32:58 Ridiculous "Europoor" myth 33:32 Trump cuts taxes on rich 34:27 Trump family corruption 36:20 Insider trading 36:56 Myth of American dream 38:18 Outro

What is the US strategy in its war against Iran? Is the Trump administration seriously committed to negotiations to make a deal? JD Vance accidentally exposed the USA's plan, to use the talks to buy time to refill oil reserves and stabilize the economy. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_BojBCeM6o Topics 0:00 US negotiations with Iran 0:56 Trump considers restarting war 1:46 Strait of Hormuz 3:37 Israel and Lebanon 5:02 JD Vance exposes US strategy 6:27 (CLIP) JD Vance on Iran 7:31 Oil market 8:22 Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) 10:24 (CLIP) Trump on oil reserves 10:52 US strategy 11:56 Iran's strategy 13:12 USA violates agreements 14:18 Iran's economic nuclear weapon 15:24 Oil price 16:14 Parallels to Ukraine war 21:41 New Iranian government 25:55 USA lost. The war backfired 28:00 Outro

The US-based right-wing Chinese billionaire Miles Guo (Guo Wengui), who worked closely with Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for committing $1 billion of fraud. Ben Norton explains how Western governments and media outlets support "dissidents" from countries they don't like, who are often corrupt grifters and con artists; and how fake "experts" make money by spreading absurd disinformation about China, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, etc. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSVBsyDz1ks Topics 0:00 Billionaire fraudster Miles Guo 1:03 Links to Trump, Steven Bannon 4:34 US DOJ prosecution 6:31 China's charges 8:06 US media whitewashing 12:25 Corrupt West-backed "dissidents" 15:23 US support for dictators 17:12 Pro-West Chinese "dissidents" 19:40 Soviet "dissidents" 21:07 North Korean defector Yeonmi Park 24:18 Yeonmi Park becomes a meme 25:36 (CLIP) Yeonmi Park on Joe Rogan 26:12 Absurd propaganda 26:53 Park jumps on the Trump train 27:47 Western media has no standards 28:56 Fake China "expert" Gordon G Chang 34:00 Ai Weiwei change of heart 39:16 Western imperialist hypocrisy 41:17 Outro

US Big Tech corporations are paying influencers to spread anti-China, pro-AI disinformation on social media. Ben Norton explains why Silicon Valley fears Chinese competition and seeks to monopolize artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies, to impose the global dominance of the USA in an imperialist unipolar order. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BLnM-gxj-o Topics 0:00 Silicon Valley spreads propaganda 2:08 US govt helps Elon Musk pollute 4:52 Scapegoating China 5:32 AI arms race 7:34 (CLIP) Ex Google CEO Eric Schmidt 7:52 Silicon Valley wants monopolies 10:02 (CLIP) Peter Thiel loves monopolies 10:20 Sam Altman lobbies US govt 12:40 OpenAI is losing lots of money 14:02 Pentagon works with Big Tech 15:54 Anthropic conflict with Trump admin 17:25 Dario Amodei backs Cold War Two 18:28 USA wants unipolar world 20:01 Palantir and techno-fascism 23:26 Totalitarian police state 26:10 Larry Ellison buys up US media 26:44 Surveillance Valley 30:58 Monopoly and hegemony 32:27 Imperialism and Big Tech 34:48 Outro

The USA and Iran are holding negotiations to end the war, but Tehran condemned Washington for violating the agreement, because Israel keeps attacking Lebanon. US Vice President JD Vance appeared to criticize Israel, but Ben Norton explains the deep hypocrisy of the United States, which is still giving Netanyahu billions of dollars of weapons and military aid. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wogLemf3er4 Topics 0:00 Talks between USA & Iran 0:35 Iran says US violates agreement 1:50 Will Israel sabotage Iran deal? 2:58 Israel needs US military support 4:12 JD Vance: US is Israel's only ally 5:04 (CLIP) JD Vance: US military aid 5:47 (CLIP) JD Vance on Israel 7:57 Put up or shut up 8:40 Billions in US aid to Israel 9:42 Military-industrial complex 11:03 Unsinkable aircraft carrier 11:48 Tails don't wag dogs 12:36 Trump warns of oil shortages 13:25 (CLIP) Trump: 4 weeks of reserves 14:07 Trump threatens Iran again 14:33 (CLIP) Fox News on Trump threats 15:14 Iran has more leverage 16:08 Israel's goals in Lebanon 17:28 Israel takes over Gaza 18:40 US sends more weapons to Israel 19:14 Hypocrisy 19:45 Outro

The US government has signed an agreement to end its war on Iran. It is now widely admitted that Washington lost, and Tehran won. Ben Norton explains why Donald Trump failed, and how this has massive geopolitical implications for the Global South. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NOUxBUSM64 Check out our related report on how Iran destroyed US military bases: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_wC4KuEcWI Topics 0:00 USA & Iran sign deal 0:53 US lost the war 2:21 US lifts oil sanctions 4:14 Details of US-Iran deal 7:25 Strait of Hormuz 8:56 US agrees to end sanctions 10:13 $300 billion investment fund 14:08 Frozen assets 14:36 Nuclear weapons 15:37 Previous nuclear deal, JCPOA 18:00 Why USA lost the war 21:33 Victory for Global South 25:35 Destroyed US military bases 26:43 Historic defeat of imperialism 27:46 Outro

Elon Musk has become the world's first trillionaire, with the IPO of his company SpaceX. He is a symbol of how the United States has become an oligarchy, where elections are bought by rich elites and large corporations, and extreme wealth is concentrated in a few hands. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj-hd3l4dSo Topics 0:00 Elon Musk, world's first trillionaire 0:50 Oligarchy 1:54 SpaceX IPO 3:06 SpaceX is losing lots of money 4:13 Wall Street changes the rules 5:39 Trump coin pump and dump 6:14 Reasons to avoid SpaceX 7:04 Musk: symbol of US oligarchy 8:45 Wealth concentration 9:55 Gilded Age & robber barons 11:13 Money wins US elections 13:06 Elon Musk funded Trump 14:52 Larry Ellison buys up media 17:14 Capitalist class 18:19 Progressive Era 19:27 Great Depression & New Deal 20:08 Golden Age of capitalism 20:59 Tax rates 22:08 Tax burden shifts onto workers 23:24 Billionaires avoid taxes 24:34 Neoliberalism 25:18 Financial crisis & QE 26:54 Neofeudalism / technofeudalism 28:27 Artificial intelligence (AI) 29:24 Universal basic income (UBI) 30:50 Nationalize Big Tech 33:04 China's alternative 33:58 Outro

Gold has officially overtaken Treasury securities (US government debt) as the top asset held by global central banks, according to a report by the European Central Bank (ECB). Ben Norton explains how dedollarization is continuing, gradually and steadily. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmyWn2lrXBM Topics 0:00 Decline of US dollar dominance 0:55 Debasement trade 1:42 Central banks buy gold 3:59 Gold overtakes US Treasuries 5:36 Top countries buying gold 7:00 West's seizure of Russian assets 8:54 Alleged unofficial gold holdings 10:16 Falling dollar share of reserves 12:14 Reasons for fall in gold price 14:58 EU hypocrisy 16:26 China keeps buying gold 18:05 China calls for multipolar system 19:13 De-dollarization is continuing 20:32 Outro

The AI bubble has caused the most concentrated and overvalued stock market in US history. The billionaire CEOs of Big Tech corporations fear it may pop soon, so they changed the rules on Wall Street so that, mere days after their IPOs, SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic will be given "fast track" inclusion in major index funds, despite the fact that they are losing tons of money. These corporate oligarchs want to use average retail investors as exit liquidity, looting pensions, 401(k)s, and other retirement funds, all so Elon Musk can become the world's first trillionaire. Ben Norton explains the scandal. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh3d8xO9NHg Topics 0:00 US stock market bubble 1:08 (CLIP) Ray Dalio on AI bubble 1:37 Comparisons to past bubbles 3:38 Market cap to GDP 4:50 Concentration of stock market 6:52 Magnificent 7 stocks 7:28 Monopolies eat the economy 8:37 Corporate profits break records 9:35 USA slashes corporate taxes 10:40 Plan to loot retirement funds 11:38 SpaceX is absurdly overvalued 12:32 SpaceX is losing money 13:51 SpaceX IPO is a trap 17:00 Elon Musk, first trillionaire 18:08 OpenAI's shady IPO scheme 19:32 Many IPOs at peaks of bubbles 21:51 Bogus Big Tech earnings reports 24:09 AI circular financing scheme 25:09 Animal spirits 25:49 Unregulated financial looting 26:54 Outro

A comprehensive global survey found that people in most countries see the United States as the biggest threat to the world, and they prefer China over the US. Ben Norton analyzes the results of the Democracy Perception Index. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UhHqPGFGos Topics 0:00 Shifting global political order 1:35 Democracy Perception Index 3:08 USA is biggest threat to world 4:25 US military bases unpopular 5:36 Negative perception of USA 6:25 China more popular than US 8:07 US war against Iran 9:06 Israel-Palestine 9:40 Ukraine war 10:14 Taiwan 11:14 Greenland 11:54 Countries progressing 13:15 Democracy 17:33 USA is an oligarchy 20:20 End of end of history 21:15 Outro

The US government is desperate to create a new supply chain that cuts out China, through its Pax Silica initiative. To do so, the Trump administration plans to colonize the territory of the Philippines, a supposed "ally" run by corrupt leader Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, with a 99-year colonial concession. Ben Norton explains the controversy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=302uQhql3kY Topics 0:00 Intro 0:35 Cold War Two 1:50 US-India critical minerals deal 2:55 Pax Silica 3:41 US meddling in Philippines 4:55 Corrupt Marcos dynasty 6:36 US military bases & missiles 8:38 US colonial plan 10:37 Colonial 99-year leases 12:11 US colonialism 13:31 China "threat" narrative 14:34 Exploiting natural resources 15:39 US official Jacob Helberg 16:16 Silicon Valley oligarchs 17:39 US official freaks out 19:57 Neocolonialism 23:58 Comprador leaders 25:21 Poverty & development 28:31 Outro

It has become so widely accepted that the US lost the war with Iran that now even American neoconservative hawks admit it. Ben Norton explains why major neocons like Robert Kagan and Bill Kristol have turned against the war. They lament that Iran's victory reflects the decline of the US empire and the transition to a more multipolar world order. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrlXNHSCfoQ Topics 0:00 USA lost war with Iran 1:47 Poll: war is unpopular 2:42 Media admits USA lost 3:32 Iran still has most missiles 4:39 Iran withstands US blockade 5:21 Iran destroyed US bases 6:03 US hawks admit the truth 7:25 Neocons and PNAC 9:13 George W Bush admin 9:55 Neoconservatism 11:30 Rise of Donald Trump 12:00 Hillary Clinton 12:44 Victoria Nuland 13:41 Coup in Ukraine 15:29 (CLIP) US-backed coup 16:14 US "checkmate" in Iran 17:05 Decline of US hegemony 18:26 Iran has major leverage 19:22 US defeat 20:34 Neocons abandon ship 22:14 Poll: Americans oppose war 22:44 Poll: Americans say US lost 23:30 Crisis of US imperialism 23:57 Outro

Donald Trump said his visit to China was a success, but he failed to pressure Beijing to make any significant concessions. Ben Norton fact-checks the claims of the White House, showing how Washington's trade war backfired, hard, on the US economy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtuYVMrXmAM Topics 0:00 Trump's visit to China 0:41 US trade war 2:01 The trip was a failure 3:17 CEOs of US corporations 4:24 Iran & Strait of Hormuz 7:42 Trade & investment 9:14 Rare earth elements 11:58 Trade war failure 12:42 Boeing airplanes 13:52 Agricultural products 15:05 Nvidia & chips 18:19 USA failed 20:05 Trump's empty threats 20:35 Problems in US economy 22:38 Outro

Donald Trump took a trip to China to meet President Xi Jinping. He was joined by the CEOs of a dozen top US corporations, including billionaires Elon Musk, Jensen Huang of Nvidia, Tim Cook of Apple, Larry Fink of BlackRock, and Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone. Ben Norton explains how Beijing won the trade war that was started by Washington, how China has significant leverage (in manufacturing, supply chains, critical minerals, and rare earths), and how the US economy is in a very bad state. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7MnTzKOANg Topics 0:00 Trump's visit to China 0:27 US trade war backfired 1:25 Trump joined by top CEOs 1:56 Elon Musk 2:20 Jensen Huang of Nvidia 2:47 Tim Cook of Apple 2:58 BlackRock and Blackstone 3:22 More CEOs with Trump 4:17 US CEOs meet Xi Jinping 5:31 USA is an oligarchy 6:23 China's massive market 6:57 Nvidia lost Chinese market 8:02 China's self-sufficiency drive 9:15 Manufacturing superpower 10:50 Tesla EVs made in Shanghai 11:25 US tariffs on Chinese EVs 12:21 China has the upper hand 13:00 US trade war 14:42 China-US trade 16:08 Rare earth elements 17:07 Critical minerals 18:18 New supply chain efforts 18:59 Pax Silica 19:41 Why US rhetoric changed 20:40 Iran war 22:51 US sanctions on China 24:20 Inflation in USA 25:41 Trump is very unpopular 26:33 K-shaped economy 27:25 Inequality 28:05 China exported deflation 29:31 US tariffs boost inflation 30:27 China in stronger position 31:07 Outro

Donald Trump claims Iran has been "militarily defeated", but many reports have come out showing this to be a lie. Tehran destroyed the majority of US military bases in West Asia (aka the Middle East), and Iran still maintains most of its missile capabilities. Meanwhile, experts estimate the USA's war against Iran will cost $1 trillion. Ben Norton reviews the evidence, showing how Washington is clearly losing this war that it started. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_wC4KuEcWI Topics 0:00 US government narrative 0:23 (CLIP) Trump: Iran is defeated 1:20 Reality: USA is losing the war 2:34 Reviewing the evidence 4:34 Iran destroyed US bases 5:37 US troops expelled from region 6:54 US military bases in rubble 7:37 Donald Trump lied 8:11 USA running out of missiles 9:33 War will cost $1 TRILLION 10:38 Iran still has most missiles 12:38 US government is lying 13:05 Saudi Arabia gets cold feet 14:00 Huge economic damage 15:44 Gulf "safe haven" myth 16:28 USA is losing the war 18:04 USA failed to achieve goals 19:57 Outro

Donald Trump boasted that the US government acts "like pirates", seizing Iran's ships and oil. "It's a very profitable business", he said. Meanwhile, Beijing is openly resisting Washington's sanctions against Chinese companies for trading with Iran. China has ordered all domestic firms to ignore US sanctions. Ben Norton explains these geopolitical developments. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfB8xQEZolk Topics 0:00 (CLIP) Trump: "We're like pirates" 0:14 US blockade of Iran 1:11 (CLIP) Trump on US piracy 1:57 US seizure of Iranian ships 2:43 AI memes of Trump as pirate 3:01 Multiple acts of US piracy 4:09 Venezuela 5:06 (CLIP) Trump on stealing oil 5:30 Pirates of the Persian Gulf 6:31 US sanctions on China 8:42 Hengli plant in Dalian 9:23 China challenges US sanctions 10:49 Secondary sanctions threat 11:38 USA crossed China's red line 14:17 US sanctions 1/3rd of world 14:47 Map of US sanctions 15:00 Sanctions are very deadly 16:21 Blockade of Cuba 17:19 US empire's goal 17:59 New sanctions on Cuba 19:02 Chinese solar panels help Cuba 19:47 Blowback: US sanctions backfire 20:45 Outro

Oil has been at the center of the war on Iran. Ben Norton explains how the United States became the biggest oil producer on Earth, and how the US empire uses petroleum as a geopolitical and economic weapon, pushing for monopolistic Big Oil corporations to dominate the global market. Ben also discusses why Trump pressured the UAE to withdraw from OPEC, and he debunks the myth that the USA is "energy independent". VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh-E3q6tGEw Check out our related video on the biggest oil crisis in history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUdyPJM_rOw Topics 0:00 Iran war and oil 0:36 Petrodollar 1:52 USA is biggest oil producer 3:39 US oil exports increase 4:32 Oil price skyrockets 5:03 Corporate profits rise 5:37 Strait of Hormuz 6:30 UAE withdraws from OPEC 7:31 Abraham Accords 8:37 OPEC history 9:14 Seven Sisters: Big Oil 11:01 OPEC members 12:13 OPEC+ participants 13:18 Goal of OPEC 14:25 State-owned oil companies 15:12 Why USA dislikes OPEC 16:56 Oil is political 17:18 Venezuela economic war 19:06 Big Oil execs in US govt 20:55 Cuba oil blockade 22:29 Energy and food crisis 23:36 US "energy independence" 25:06 US oil imports 26:12 Types of crude oil 27:26 US oil refineries 28:47 US imports by country 30:36 Oil benchmarks 32:47 Oil futures market 33:53 Price predictions 36:04 Economic crisis fears 37:02 Outro

The US-Israeli war on Iran has caused the largest oil supply shock in history, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Ben Norton explains how the attacks by Trump and Netanyahu, and the ensuing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, have unleashed an energy crisis that could destabilize the global economy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUdyPJM_rOw Topics 0:00 Intro 0:23 Schrödinger's ceasefire 1:24 Energy crisis 3:11 Strait of Hormuz 5:14 Petrodollar 6:45 Blockade 7:35 Impact on Asia 10:46 Europe 11:29 Food crisis 13:38 China 16:20 Renewable energy 18:24 Trump's claims 19:41 Stagflation fears 21:34 Outro

There are growing signs that the United States may be on the verge of another major financial crisis, one that could start in the $3 trillion private credit market, which is already seeing significant turmoil, before spreading to other sectors. Geopolitical Economy Report editor Ben Norton interviewed economist Michael Hudson to discuss the serious problems on Wall Street. Hudson warned that the US economy is built on a Ponzi scheme that depends on continuing to pour money into a bloated, bubbly financial system based on unsustainable speculation, not industrial production. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blv49u3Q230 Check out our related short video about the private credit crisis on Wall Street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1cx9Zk6WZk Topics 0:00 Introduction 1:37 Highlights of Michael Hudson 3:29 Interview starts 4:18 2008 financial crisis 5:04 Zero interest-rate policy (ZIRP) 7:31 Private equity 9:17 Lack of investment 10:34 Wealth inequality 12:08 Debt defaults 14:10 Depression fears 16:12 US govt supports Wall Street 19:07 Ponzi schemes 23:51 US economic problems 27:35 Iran war impact 30:16 Financialization of economy 33:46 Outro

The peace talks held between the US and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan failed. Despite a temporary, two-week ceasefire Donald Trump announced a naval blockade of the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Ben Norton explains the USA's strategy, and how it is targeting China and Asian economies that import oil, natural gas, and other important commodities from the Persian Gulf. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDH5qMZSPm4 Topics 0:00 Peace talks in Pakistan fail 1:07 Trump blockades the blockade 2:53 Iran trolls the US 3:45 Trump's contradictory posts 6:12 Ceasefire 6:51 Israeli attack on Lebanon 8:17 Trump threatens Iran 9:45 Trump targets Cuba 10:38 Strait of Hormuz 11:41 Iran toll challenges petrodollar 13:12 Logic behind US blockade 14:01 Scott Bessent threatens China 15:31 USA targets China's oil supply 16:29 China condemns US blockade 17:06 Dangers of escalation 18:38 Chinese tankers 20:37 China's oil reserves 21:11 China's supply chain shocks 22:59 Trump wants leverage 24:09 The US is losing the war 26:25 Iran's message to Trump 27:45 Outro

The US government has pushed for years for a war with China, selling billions of dollars of weapons to separatists in Taiwan. However, those plans are falling apart, after the leader of the KMT, the Nationalist Party based in Taipei, took a historic trip to the mainland, promoting peace. Ben Norton explains the importance of Cheng Li-wun's meeting with Xi Jinping, and the complex political history of Taiwan. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiDtfdBYHBQ Topics 0:00 KMT leader visits Beijing 1:28 US "prickly porcupine" strategy 2:09 KMT, Chinese Nationalist Party 2:48 Taiwan's ruling party DPP 3:27 Nancy Pelosi visit 4:17 Taiwan's DPP supports Israel 4:42 Fears of new Ukraine 5:22 US war plans 6:22 US arms sales to Taiwan 7:09 USA uses Taiwan as proxy 8:12 (CLIP) KMT leader on Ukraine 9:08 Is Taiwan the next Ukraine? 9:28 Elections results in 2024 10:12 Lai Ching-te is unpopular 10:54 Iran war hurts Taiwan 11:48 Energy crisis 12:27 TSMC and advanced chips 13:45 Neoliberalism 14:10 Developmental state 14:54 Economic insecurity 15:14 Trump tariff threats 15:48 Beijing does not want war 17:12 Beijing opposes separatism 18:06 UN: Taiwan is part of China 18:50 One China policy 19:46 Map of Taiwan recognition 20:05 List of Taiwan recognition 20:45 Cross-strait relations 22:19 Rising trade 23:13 One country, two systems 24:31 US military bases 24:58 Peaceful reunification 25:27 Poll: Taiwan independence 26:09 Future leader of Taiwan? 26:48 Divisions within KMT 27:27 Modern history of Taiwan 29:05 Chiang Kai-shek 29:41 Democracy? 30:46 Cold War One propaganda 31:39 Sun Yat-sen 34:40 Historic step for peace 36:14 Outro

The United States and Iran agreed to a temporary, two-week ceasefire. However, Tehran said Washington immediately violated it, by allowing Israel to bomb Lebanon. Ben Norton explains how the USA has repeatedly lied about its diplomacy, and how Donald Trump's "art of the deal" is based on deception. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdidAa3CsU0 Check out our related video "Iran is winning the war. This is why": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV26rb-9YsE Topics 0:00 Iran war ceasefire 0:52 US ceasefire violations 2:40 Israel attacks Lebanon 3:25 Energy crisis and inflation 4:50 Both sides claim victory 5:32 Iran says USA violated deal 6:23 Trump's "art of the deal" 7:17 Israel bombs Lebanon 8:09 Strait of Hormuz 9:22 Russia and China UN veto 10:27 Peace talks in Pakistan 10:54 US military will stay 11:11 Trump threatens "civilization" 11:54 US empire violates treaties 14:28 Trump's 15-point plan 16:10 Iran's 10-point proposal 17:55 Someone is lying 19:04 USA underestimates Iran 20:00 Iran establishes new order 21:19 US imperialism continues 23:01 Outro

Is the United States on the verge of another financial crisis? Some top Wall Street executives fear the bankruptcies in the $3 trillion private credit industry could spread, as firms prevent investors from withdrawing their capital, in what resembles a bank run. Then there are problems with the AI bubble and Big Tech stock market bloat. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1cx9Zk6WZk Check out our other video explaining how the Iran war will transform the global economy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kocFwbTbs1Q Topics 0:00 New financial crisis coming? 0:36 Private credit industry 1:27 Cockroaches in private credit 2:18 Bank run similarities 3:32 Bank exposure 5:13 (CLIP) ex Goldman Sachs CEO 6:06 Trump admin scheme 7:55 Blackstone CEO funded Trump 8:48 AI and software companies 9:13 AI bubble 9:42 Big Tech Magnificent 7 (Mag 7) 10:13 US stock market bubble 10:40 AI drives US GDP growth 11:11 Most Americans in recession 11:43 Richest 10% consume 50% 11:57 Iran war, energy crisis, food 13:17 Outro

Iran is winning the war that was started by the USA and Israel. This is now admitted even by major Western media outlets. Tehran has successfully destroyed the US military bases in West Asia (aka the Middle East), forcing the Pentagon to operate from Europe. Ben Norton explains Iran's goals, and how it is seeking to establish deterrence and escalation dominance, using asymmetric tactics. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV26rb-9YsE Topics 0:00 Iran is winning the war 2:32 Iran's strategic goals 2:47 Failure of regime change 3:34 US military bases 4:25 Iran destroyed US bases 7:32 USA wages war from Europe 8:53 Bases used by USA in Europe 9:30 Iran's objectives 10:05 Gulf monarchies (GCC) 13:46 Normalization with Israel 14:54 Threats to Gulf regimes 16:40 Lifting of US sanctions 19:10 Oil and Strait of Hormuz 22:34 Escalation dominance 23:33 Costs of the war 25:34 USA running out of missiles 26:59 Deterrence 29:17 US and Israel are losing 29:42 Multipolar world 31:34 Outro

The US-Israeli war on Iran is transforming the geopolitical order, and could even unleash a global economic crisis. The conflict has caused the largest oil shock in history, disrupting global markets and driving up fuel and food prices. To better understand the implications for the world, Geopolitical Economy Report editor Ben Norton interviewed economist Michael Hudson, who discussed how Iran is challenging US dollar dominance and undermining Washington’s control over the global oil market, which has been a key pillar of US foreign policy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kocFwbTbs1Q Read the transcript here: https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/war-iran-change-economy-michael-hudson Topics 0:00 Intro 4:29 Highlights 7:21 Interview starts 10:10 US plan to control oil 12:25 USA war strategy 18:55 Struggle for sovereignty 21:06 Why the war started now 26:05 Petrodollar system 30:16 Strait of Hormuz 32:02 Largest oil crisis ever 34:14 Energy & food crisis 37:10 Debt crisis 39:31 Outro

The war on Iran is part of a larger attempt by the US empire to reverse the decline of Western hegemony and recolonize the Global South. After invading Venezuela, Donald Trump wants to "take" Cuba, Greenland, and Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel is annexing the West Bank and colonizing southern Lebanon. Ben Norton explains the imperialist plan. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xa_Kahzhic Topics 0:00 Geopolitical context of Iran war 0:37 (CLIP) Trump vows to expand US empire 0:56 Plans to expand US empire 1:21 Colonial Donroe Doctrine 2:13 (CLIP) Trump wants Venezuela's oil 2:32 US military attacks Latin America 3:17 Lula: "They want to colonize us again" 3:51 US dominance declines, China rises 4:59 Trump threatens BRICS 6:25 Plans to revive Western colonialism 7:19 (CLIP) Marco Rubio praises colonialism 8:32 Marco Rubio 9:13 US oil blockade of Cuba 10:19 (CLIP) Trump hopes to "take Cuba" 10:49 US plan to recolonize Cuba 12:31 (CLIP) Trump on Cuban sugar barons 12:47 Exiled Cuban oligarchs in Florida 13:05 Cuban Revolution 13:48 Miami mafia 14:42 When Cuba was a US colony 15:39 US plans to colonize Greenland 15:53 Critical minerals supply chain 17:03 US attempt to save hegemony 17:45 (CLIP) Trump: USA will "own" Gaza 18:08 Israel is annexing West Bank 18:24 Israel invaded South Lebanon 19:48 Oil and gas in Middle East 20:21 Netanyahu's colonial Iran speech 20:56 (CLIP) Netanyahu on "barbarians" 21:32 (CLIP) Pete Hegseth on "savages" 21:48 Colonial rhetoric 22:25 (CLIP) Trump cites Manifest Destiny 22:45 Colonial propaganda 24:36 Gilded Age redux 26:39 Attempt to reverse decolonization 27:53 Will war backfire on US empire? 29:43 Outro

A top advisor to Donald Trump, billionaire venture capitalist David Sacks, warned that, if the war on Iran continues, "Israel could just be destroyed", or it could even use a nuclear weapon. Ben Norton explains how Washington sabotaged multiple peace deals and negotiations with Tehran, putting the world on the path toward catastrophe. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo9IHy0y8mo Topics 0:00 (CLIP) US official warns of nuclear war 0:22 Israel's nuclear weapons 2:04 UN vote against nukes in Middle East 3:00 US hypocrisy on Israel & Iran 3:34 Trump advisor David Sacks 4:55 (CLIP) Trump advisor on Israel & Iran 6:04 David Sacks, Silicon Valley billionaire 8:35 US military escalates war on Iran 9:24 This war is unpopular 10:00 Iran wants deterrence 10:53 Israel is running out of interceptors 13:33 Reports of damage in Israel 14:09 Censorship in Israel & Gulf regimes 16:36 Limited water in Persian Gulf 17:48 (CLIP) Gulf regimes in danger 18:56 Dangerous to be a US "ally" 20:31 Ali Khamenei opposed nukes 21:38 New leader Mojtaba Khamenei 22:35 Iranian military criticized fatwa 23:37 Will Iran get nuclear weapons? 25:16 Iran negotiations with USA 26:48 US-Israeli surprise attack in 2025 27:19 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) 28:09 Conclusion 29:27 Outro

In response to the US-Israeli war, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil chokepoint on Earth, causing energy prices to skyrocket. However, Tehran is allowing Chinese tankers through, and says other ships can pass if they agree to sell oil in China's currency, the renminbi (aka yuan). Iran is also targeting offices of major American corporations, and wants to force them out of the Middle East (West Asia), while trying to expel US military bases. Ben Norton explains how this war affects the petrodollar system, and the dominance of the dollar as the global reserve currency. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2zBWcGahuc Topics 0:00 Iran war causes energy crisis 0:29 Oil price skyrockets 0:56 Fears of economic crisis 2:07 Strait of Hormuz 3:21 Iran permits Chinese oil tankers 4:17 Iran says: sell oil in RMB, not USD 4:43 Dollar dominance & petrodollar 6:28 Asymmetric warfare 6:59 US military bases in Middle East 7:47 Iran strikes CIA stations 8:46 Iran hits US refueling planes 9:10 US empire underestimated Iran 10:32 Iran targets US corporations 12:03 Economic warfare 13:07 (CLIP) Scott Bessent on sanctions 14:05 New leader Mojtaba Khamenei 15:21 Iran strategy spelled out 17:08 Tehran wants revenge 18:51 Yemen, Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab 22:16 US war on Yemen in 2025 23:23 Anti-colonial wars 24:16 Trump sends more US troops 25:21 Iran's Kharg Island 26:21 Global energy crisis 27:24 Trump wants military coalition 29:02 Iran allows Chinese ships 29:59 US dollar dominance 30:37 US current account deficit 31:20 Exorbitant privilege of dollar 32:19 Dedollarization 32:52 West seized Russia's reserves 33:49 Central banks buy gold 34:16 US Treasury securities 34:47 Oil sales in dollars 36:26 Trump threatened BRICS 37:16 Iran promotes dedollarization 37:42 China & Russia de-dollarize 38:33 India 39:34 UAE 40:18 Saudi Arabia 41:04 Iran & Indonesia join BRICS 42:14 Iran proposes BRICS currency 42:31 Divisions within BRICS 43:12 Struggle against imperialism 45:12 Outro

Why is the USA waging war on Iran? It's not just because of Israel. Washington wants to control the oil of the Middle East (West Asia) to maintain the petrodollar system. The Trump admin fears the dedollarization movement's challenge to the global reserve currency, which is the US empire's most powerful tool. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcXrvKVsPV8 Topics 0:00 Iran war, US & Israel 0:32 World War I analogy 1:47 Middle East wars 2:56 Oil reserves 3:51 (CLIP) Trump wants Venezuela's oil 4:14 Oil blockade of Cuba 4:59 Strait of Hormuz 5:40 Trump admin targets Iran's oil 6:06 (CLIP) US wants "to get all of the oil" 6:30 USA is top oil producer 7:11 Dollar as global reserve currency 7:55 Sanctions and financial system 9:00 Dedollarization 9:50 (CLIP) Trump fears dedollarization 10:07 Iran joins BRICS 10:22 Iran promotes dedollarization 11:08 Resistance groups 11:38 Petrodollar system 13:14 US oil deal with Saudi Arabia 15:06 Oil is (mostly) sold in US dollars 16:38 China buys Iranian oil with yuan 17:05 Venezuela sold oil in renminbi 17:26 Petrodollar and Venezuela 18:19 Trump official: Iran war for oil 19:44 USA targets China 20:44 Exorbitant privilege of US dollar 22:26 Commodities priced in USD 23:19 Financial elites benefit 24:17 US stock market: 60% of world 24:54 Global elites hold US assets 26:57 Gold standard to oil standard 28:11 Richest 10% hold 90% of stocks 28:43 Dedollarization grows 29:21 Rise of China (and India) 30:01 China buys oil with yuan 31:20 Iraq sold oil for euro, not USD 32:19 USA controls Iraq's oil revenues 33:30 Venezuela's oil revenues 34:19 Trump fears de-dollarization 35:00 UAE sells China LNG in RMB 36:01 Saudi Arabia considers yuan 36:51 Saudi BRICS invitation 37:15 UAE joined BRICS 37:44 War among BRICS members 38:29 US provokes Saudi-Iran conflict 39:10 China brokers Saudi-Iran deal 39:39 Petrodollar war 40:52 Israel and lobbying 43:34 Israel: US aircraft carrier 44:20 (CLIP) Biden: Israel "investment" 44:36 Israel and petrodollar 45:11 The tail does not wag the dog 46:05 Suez crisis of 1956 47:28 Origins of US-Saudi alliance 48:30 US-Israel alliance is recent 49:58 Bigger picture of US imperialism 51:55 Outro

After the US and Israel attacked Iran, Tehran's strategy of asymmetric warfare is clear: it closed the Strait of Hormuz and is attacking energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf, causing global oil and natural gas prices to skyrocket, crashing stock markets, fueling inflation, and provoking an economic crisis that will hurt the USA and its allies. The conflict has also become a battle of attrition. Iran is using cheap missiles and drones to deplete the defense interceptors of neighboring countries, which will be very difficult to replace, due to deindustrialization, despite Trump administration efforts to boost production. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAc9mgZrE6E Topics 0:00 Iran conflict becomes war of attrition 1:10 US strategy: "punch them while they're down" 1:45 US military vs Iranian military 2:25 Asymmetric warfare 3:30 Decentralized mosaic defense doctrine 4:13 Guerrilla economic warfare 5:08 Oil price skyrockets to over $100 5:30 Strait of Hormuz closed 6:00 Energy infrastructure hit in Persian Gulf 7:19 Economic crisis on horizon 7:54 Trump: it's a "small price to pay" 8:46 Inflation fuels inequality 9:47 US midterm election coming soon 10:46 Donald Trump's approval rating 11:08 Fertilizer supply chain breakdown 11:28 Food price shock 12:33 Dubai airport shut down 12:54 Gulf monarchy reputation crisis 14:06 Iranian drones vs expensive missiles 15:15 Iran's Shahed 136 drone 16:56 Missile math in asymmetric war 18:47 Military-industrial complex profits 19:24 Gulf runs out of interceptor missiles 20:29 USA prioritizes Israel over GCC 23:26 What does victory look like? 25:25 US allies need more munitions 26:25 Deindustrialization 28:08 Trump meets with weapons CEOs 29:16 Corruption in Pentagon 30:49 Wall Street wins 31:45 US empire underestimates rivals 32:28 Iran destroys radar system 33:07 Iran hits energy infrastructure 33:32 Hotels hosting US military officials 34:54 US military uses civilian ports 36:10 Gulf monarchies are not neutral 37:08 Top oil producers, by country 37:35 Top oil exporters, by country 38:24 Top natural gas producers 38:39 Top LNG exporters 39:11 Strait of Hormuz alternatives 40:10 Saudi alternative oil pipeline 41:11 Iraq and Kurdish fighters 42:31 Insurance companies avoid region 43:13 Trump Hormuz US Navy proposal 44:15 China in talks with Iran 44:58 Asia imports most Gulf energy 45:38 China stockpiles commodities 47:58 China renewable energy strategy 49:23 India wants Russian oil 49:57 India's ties with USA & Israel 51:39 South Korea hurt by oil crisis 52:12 Europe faces new inflation shock 52:39 EU wants Russian oil 53:17 Ukraine backs Gulf dictatorships 54:08 Geopolitical reality 54:53 Gulf monarchy propaganda 56:00 Foreign nationals in GCC countries 56:34 Migrant workers in Persian Gulf 58:32 Asymmetric warfare results 59:59 End of "strategic patience" doctrine 1:00:55 Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei 1:01:57 Nuclear weapons 1:03:29 Clear losers of Iran war 1:04:42 Outro

The US and Israel are bombing schools and hospitals in Iran. This is not an accident. War Secretary Pete Hegseth admitted they want to unleash as much "death and destruction" as possible. Their goal is total collapse of Iran's state and society. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dAY9J6aAr0 Topics 0:00 (CLIP) US secretary of war on Iran 0:27 Schools & hospitals bombed in Iran 2:14 US-Israeli war violates international law 3:45 Iran was NOT preparing to attack USA 4:30 (CLIP) IAEA chief on nuclear weapons 4:53 Trump admin boasts of "unfair fight" 5:22 (CLIP) "Punching them while they're down" 5:49 Sadistic rhetoric 6:18 (CLIP) "Death and destruction... all day" 6:49 Operation Epic Epstein Fury 7:39 (CLIP) Comparing Iran to Iraq invasion 8:09 Pete Hegseth, extremist "crusader" 9:09 US military promotes "holy war" 9:42 Anti-woke? Pro-war crimes 10:47 (CLIP) Hegseth promotes war crimes 11:40 US torpedoes Iranian ship near India 12:32 The cruelty is the point 13:12 What is goal of USA & Israel? 13:43 Ali Khamenei 14:10 "Decapitation" of Iranian leaders 15:45 USA & Israel want state collapse 16:57 Israeli admits: it seeks chaos 19:48 Imperialist war of extermination 20:47 Outro

After launching a war of aggression against Iran, Trump and Netanyahu are attacking more countries. Israel invaded Lebanon and besieged Gaza. US soldiers are fighting in Ecuador and shooting Pakistani protesters. Trump even threatened an embargo on Spain, demanding to use its military bases. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3mU2qgYUcE Check out our related video - The US-Israeli war on Iran is based on lies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_xGgeV_9rw Topics 0:00 US-Israeli war on Iran expands 0:36 Iran hits US bases in Middle East 0:54 Oil price & Strait of Hormuz 1:24 US State Dep't orders evacuations 1:59 CIA plans to arm Kurdish militants 4:02 Trump vowed to end wars 4:22 Israel invades Lebanon 5:06 Israel besieges Gaza 5:31 USA shoots Pakistani protesters 5:49 US troops fight in Ecuador 6:31 US oil blockade of Cuba 7:23 Many wars happening at once 8:16 Trump, the "peace president" 8:29 (CLIP) Trump promised peace 8:43 Trump's "Board of Peace" 9:04 Trump has bombed 10 countries 10:15 Trump attacks Spain 10:39 Spain opposes war on Iran 11:21 Trump wants embargo of Spain 12:33 (CLIP) Trump threatens Spain 13:56 Trump floats invading Spain 14:48 NATO military spending 5% of GDP 15:33 Spain supports Palestine 17:04 Spain moves closer to China 18:08 Germany backs US attack on Spain 19:20 (CLIP) Germany condemns Spain 20:06 Myth of European solidarity 20:40 Friedrich Merz, BlackRock boy 21:34 Kissinger on US "friends" 22:03 France admits war is illegal 23:12 Germany, France, UK join war 23:56 European vassals of US empire 24:27 (CLIP) Trump criticizes UK 24:39 UK lets US use its military bases 25:20 (CLIP) Mark Rutte: Trump is "daddy" 25:52 Canada's hypocritical position 28:16 Iran wanted negotiations 29:45 Outro

The US-Israeli war on Iran is expanding into a global conflict. The European Union supports it. The UK is letting Trump use British bases. Germany and France are involved. Canada backs it. Tehran has retaliated, in self-defense, hitting US military bases in Gulf countries. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un25sqF6tnU Topics 0:00 US-Israeli war on Iran expands 0:46 Pentagon admits war is based on lies 2:54 France, Germany, UK join war 3:36 USA is using British bases 4:44 Iran retaliates in self-defense 5:48 Iran hits US bases in Middle East 6:20 US casualties 6:42 CIA coup installed Iran's shah 7:22 USA wants hegemony 8:21 Iran closes Strait of Hormuz 9:23 US & Israel target Iranian leaders 11:19 Supreme leader Ali Khamenei 12:28 US & Israel bomb a school 13:38 Germany ignores international law 15:10 Friedrich Merz, BlackRock boy 16:27 Canada PM Mark Carney 17:48 (CLIP) Carney WEF Davos speech 18:45 West's hypocrisy 20:19 Trump's war unites the West 21:33 Canada supports US-Israeli war 22:11 Netanyahu ICC arrest warrant 22:49 Nuclear weapon negotiations 24:24 US surprise attacks on Iran 26:34 Myth of "rules-based order" 27:20 Germany supports war 28:39 Turning victim into aggressor 29:29 France supports war 31:07 EU supports war 32:10 Ursula von der Leyen hypocrisy 33:16 EU works with Israel 33:40 EU backs Gulf monarchies 35:22 EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas 36:51 UN Charter on use of force 37:37 UN Charter on self-defense 38:14 Western imperialism 39:15 Outro

The United States and Israel are waging a war of aggression against Iran. This is not about nuclear weapons; it's about imperialism. Trump and Netanyahu admitted they want regime change in Tehran. They want to overthrow the revolutionary government and put a puppet in power, like the former shah. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_xGgeV_9rw Topics 0:00 USA & Israel bomb Iran 1:21 (CLIP) Trump threatens Iran's military 1:49 (CLIP) Trump calls for regime change 2:33 Iran retaliates, hitting US bases 3:26 Iran is not Venezuela, or Iraq 4:18 (CLIP) Trump fears US casualties 4:52 Israel's PM Netanyahu 6:08 US empire's plans for West Asia 7:39 (CLIP) Wesley Clark: 7 countries targeted 8:14 Nuclear weapons 9:15 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) 10:31 Fake US "negotiations" 12:21 Oil & gas in Middle East (West Asia) 12:45 USA wants to cut off China's oil supplies 13:55 Trump's oil blockade of Cuba 14:25 Israel: US empire's aircraft carrier 15:26 CIA coup in Iran in 1953 16:04 US-backed dictator, the shah 16:54 Iranian Revolution 17:20 Iran-Iraq War 17:52 US puppet, "crown prince" Reza Pahlavi 19:56 US-backed regime change in Syria 21:01 Imperialism 21:24 Outro

Cold War Two is transforming the global political system. Two distinct visions are competing: The US seeks to revive colonialism and imperialist "spheres of influence", using force to restore Western hegemony. China wants a multipolar order based on peace, sovereign equality, and win-win cooperation. Ben Norton analyzes speeches by officials from both countries. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqhLXjvTRsw Sources and links here: https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/us-unipolarity-china-multipolarity-vision-global-order Topics 0:00 (CLIP) China proposes multipolar order 0:30 Cold War Two 1:13 Comparing visions of USA and China 2:49 (CLIP) Stephen Miller: Might makes right 3:39 US imperialist model 5:18 (CLIP) Marco Rubio's pro-colonialist speech 7:13 Speech by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi 7:55 China opposes hegemony 8:45 (CLIP) Wang Yi explains China's vision 10:11 (CLIP) China opposes "law of the jungle" 10:24 Xi Jinping's global governance principles 10:53 United Nations 11:51 (CLIP) China defends UN system 12:33 Respect for small countries 13:56 (CLIP) US is destroying law-based system 14:40 Importance of sovereignty 15:38 (CLIP) Global South is rising 15:58 China's multipolarity vs US unipolarity 18:13 Outro

The Second Cold War that the United States is waging against China includes a trade war, tech war, and now a mineral war. In alliance with Silicon Valley Big Tech corporations, the US government is trying to recruit countries into Pax Silica, a coalition to create a new global supply chain for critical minerals that cuts out China. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHHeug0APxk Topics 0:00 Cold War Two against China 0:30 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on China "threat" 1:33 Trade war 2:26 Why China won the trade war 3:25 Critical mineral supply chain 4:10 Trump plans to restart trade war 4:47 Trump tariffs and SCOTUS ruling 6:15 Tech war against China 7:05 Chip war 8:32 AI chip supply chain 9:58 Military-industrial complex 11:28 Plans for new supply chain 12:14 Project Vault: US mineral stockpile 12:53 Japan deal with USA 13:35 Pax Silica 14:13 Critical minerals ministerial 14:57 Members of US-led Pax Silica 16:17 India 17:03 Other countries 18:04 US State Department narrative 19:41 China is the target 21:10 Big Tech corporations 21:30 Google 22:14 Public-private partnership 23:23 Under Secretary Jacob Helberg 24:32 US attacks on Iran target China 26:00 China oil imports 27:11 Geostrategic oil chokepoints 27:48 Strait of Hormuz 28:27 Strait of Malacca 29:27 Silicon Valley oligarchs 31:04 AI & crypto czar David Sacks 31:32 PayPal Mafia 32:41 Billionaires make US govt policy 33:19 AI race with China 34:57 Silicon Valley fears China 35:32 Billionaires run US government 36:46 India joins US-led Pax Silica 39:22 India's foreign policy 40:41 Non-Aligned Movement 41:23 New cold war 43:24 Outro

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered an overtly pro-colonialist speech at the Munich Security Conference in which he praised "the great Western empires" and said North America and Europe should unite to recolonize the Global South. Ben Norton reports on the increasing desperation of the imperialist West as its global dominance declines. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mWRy7A1cJI Topics 0:00 (CLIP) Marco Rubio praises colonialism 1:13 From colonialism to decolonization 2:17 Western colonies today 3:24 USA wants to reverse decolonization 4:30 Marco Rubio's pro-colonialist speech 6:06 (CLIP) Rubio loves "great Western empires" 6:58 Demonizing anti-colonial movements 7:55 (CLIP) US plan to reverse West's decline 8:57 (CLIP) Erasing colonial crimes 9:32 Proud of colonialism 10:21 (CLIP) "Purported sins" of colonialism 10:37 Crimes of Western colonialism 11:39 (CLIP) Armies fight for "civilization" 11:49 EU leaders applaud colonialist speech 12:31 (CLIP) EU standing ovation for Rubio 12:40 Western media coverage 13:16 Munich Security Conference (MSC) 13:43 (CLIP) Europe's colonial "sigh of relief" 14:15 Defeat of European colonialism 14:57 US imperial message to Global South 15:58 (CLIP) "Western civilization" 16:30 Western civilization built on colonialism 17:00 (CLIP) Trump invites Europe to join 17:15 Rubio identifies as European, not Cuban 18:28 (CLIP) Rubio praises European colonizers 19:21 (CLIP) Rubio's ancestry in Italy & Spain 20:07 Capitalism vs anti-imperialist socialism 21:26 (CLIP) Anti-communism unites West 22:47 Cold War Two against China 23:42 New supply chain to cut out China 25:26 (CLIP) "Western supply chain" 25:49 US goal: reverse decolonization 26:19 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi 27:05 China opposes imperialism 27:42 China's speech at MSC 28:38 Need to reform the UN 29:36 Equality for countries 30:20 China opposes new cold war 30:59 Multipolar world based on sovereignty 32:34 Global South is rising 33:13 US empire wants global dictatorship 33:49 USA vs China: polar opposites 35:18 Outro

The Donald Trump administration has imposed an extreme oil blockade to prevent Cuba from getting fuel from any country. Marco Rubio wants to collapse the economy, causing millions of civilians to starve and suffer in order to overthrow the revolutionary Cuban government. Ben Norton explains the monstrous history of US imperialism and its siege of Cuba. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ykeYsIRqKQ Topics 0:00 US oil blockade of Cuba 1:09 USA starves Cuban women & children 2:23 Interview with Cuban mother 3:57 Far-right Miami Congress members 4:40 Shutting down Cuba's free universities 5:41 US blockade is illegal 6:06 Trump threatens tariffs on oil sellers 6:40 US empire attacks international law 7:48 US war on Cuban Revolution 8:08 Goal: "Hunger, desperation, & overthrow" 9:29 Trump's war on Cuba 10:25 (CLIP) Marco Rubio wants regime change 10:58 Marco Rubio, warmonger in chief 12:42 Miami Mafia wants to exploit Cuba 13:16 Narco Rubio's links to drugs 15:12 Trump admin attacks Cuba 16:13 Trump executive order on Cuba 17:05 Monroe to Donroe Doctrine 17:57 Russia vows to send Cuba oil 18:43 USA seizes oil tankers 19:26 (CLIP) Trump vows to steal oil tankers 20:09 China supports Cuba 21:30 US-China trade 22:01 Will Brazil help Cuba? 22:34 Mexico is in a tough spot 23:35 US attack on Venezuela 24:26 World opposes US embargo (UN votes) 26:12 US threatens secondary sanctions 27:28 How the embargo works 29:24 Gains of the Cuban Revolution 30:56 Extremist Miami Congress members 31:36 US politicians call to asphyxiate Cuba 32:06 US corporate colonization 33:33 US imperialism 34:24 Outro

The USA is waging a new cold war on China, and trying to recruit countries in the Asia-Pacific region to join it. Vietnam refuses, and is making plans for a potential second war with the United States. Ben Norton explains the complex geopolitics of Southeast Asia and the US empire's strategy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NncakfDmrxU Topics 0:00 Cold War Two against China 1:00 Vietnam's "bamboo diplomacy" 2:18 Vietnam prepares for new war with USA 4:07 US-Vietnam relations 5:38 Fears of US interventionism 7:22 US National Security Strategy 8:10 Monroe (Donroe) Doctrine 9:08 US "Indo-Pacific" strategy 10:55 US imperialism 12:51 China-Vietnam relations 13:38 Non-Aligned Movement 14:10 BRICS 14:49 Vietnam's economy: GDP 15:38 Incomes in Vietnam 16:54 Investment-led growth 17:44 Vietnam's manufacturing exports 18:18 Socialist market economy 19:30 Vietnam's "Four Nos" policy 20:51 Vietnam's "2nd US Invasion Plan" 23:48 US-backed "color revolution" fears 25:03 Shift in US imperial strategy 27:17 Divide and conquer 28:24 Trump, Biden, Obama 29:07 Vietnam & China share vision 30:02 China & Vietnam deepen ties 30:43 China-Vietnam conflict 32:21 ASEAN 33:28 Thailand foreign policy 34:41 Southeast Asian model 35:39 Outro

The United States is waging medieval economic war. Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran is "designed to collapse its already buckling economy", boasted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Ben Norton explains how the US is trying to suffocate Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba by collapsing their currencies and causing extreme inflation, using illegal sanctions and blockades. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AQWr6Rtybg Topics 0:00 Economic war 1:02 USA has sanctioned 1/3rd of countries 1:40 Sanctions kill 560,000 people per year 2:46 US sanctions on Iran 3:54 Trump threatens to bomb Iran (again) 5:20 Map of US troops in Middle East 6:58 Economic war against Iran 8:21 (CLIP) Scott Bessent: "Collapse" Iran 10:17 (CLIP) Bessent: Crash Iran currency 11:13 (CLIP) Bessent: Stop Iran oil exports 11:34 Dollar hegemony & financial system 12:33 "Making Iran broke again" 13:09 Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman 14:20 Inflation & US sanctions on Iran 20:40 Goal: "hunger, desperation and overthrow" 22:25 "Make the economy scream" 23:15 More US sanctions 23:50 UN experts: US sanctions are illegal 25:25 How to help the Iranian people 26:29 Outro

Donald Trump's attacks on longtime US "allies" have forced Western leaders to admit their warmongering foreign policy was hypocritical. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said the truth in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos: the "rules-based order" was "false". Ben Norton explains how the global balance of power is shifting. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTH_rx1mpfE Check out our related video on Europe improving its relations with China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpngJ3tC7Xw Topics 0:00 Hypocrisy of Western foreign policy 1:05 "Rules-based international order" 1:27 Donald Trump, arch-imperialist 3:00 Canada PM Mark Carney Davos speech 3:42 "Middle powers" fear US attacks 5:42 (CLIP) Multilateralism is under threat 6:04 Double standards on international law 6:35 (CLIP) "Rules-based order" was false 6:58 US unipolar domination 7:28 (CLIP) Defending "American hegemony" 7:41 Financial system & US dollar 8:34 (CLIP) Rupture, not transition 9:13 West's exploitation of Global South 9:36 Canada's complicity in imperialism 9:56 Gaza, Palestine, Israel 10:31 Canada sells weapons to Israel 11:54 Canada's whitewashed reputation 12:22 Canada's hypocritical UN votes 13:47 West votes against rest of world 14:21 Canadian conservatives 15:03 Imperial hypocrisy 15:36 USA supports Canadian separatists 16:33 (CLIP) If not at table, on the menu 16:48 Partners in crime 17:34 Macron's message to Trump 18:38 New phase of imperialism 19:38 Sovereignty: Westphalian system 20:40 Decolonization 21:11 Neocolonialism 22:08 Mark Carney's trip to China 23:09 Trump threatens Canada over China 23:51 Canada's trade dependence on USA 24:26 Oil exports 24:59 Canada's oil pipelines 25:49 Chinese car industry investments 27:41 Reducing dependency 28:06 European leaders visit China 28:30 "Human rights" hypocrisy 29:07 EU relations with China 29:32 Outro

As Donald Trump hits the EU with tariffs and threatens to colonize Greenland (an autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark), European leaders are improving relations with China and seeking new trade partners. Is this the end of the political West and the transatlantic alliance? Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpngJ3tC7Xw Topics 0:00 Western alliance & US empire 0:59 NATO 2:04 Cold War One 2:42 Rise of China 4:20 Cold War Two 5:11 Europe's trade with China 5:33 Trump strategy: exploit Europe 6:55 Why Trump wants Greenland 8:18 Critical minerals & rare earths 9:37 End of NATO? 10:28 UK PM Keir Starmer visits China 11:07 Europe improves China relations 11:39 Trump threatens Europe over China 12:26 Splits with European Union 13:10 German industry 14:44 Would a Democrat repair EU ties? 15:46 EU trade deal with India 16:25 EU agreement with Mercosur 17:06 EU trade dependence on USA 17:50 UK trade dependence on USA 18:13 Canada trade dependence on USA 19:04 Canada PM Mark Carney visits China 19:33 US military presence in Europe 21:02 EU energy dependency 21:38 US oil exports to EU 22:06 US LNG exports to EU 23:41 EU dependence on US technology 25:52 Artificial intelligence (AI) 26:35 US Big Tech companies 27:05 EU card: ASML machines 28:09 Will EU dump US financial assets? 28:54 European holdings of US assets 29:56 US bond market vulnerability 30:58 Trump threatens "big retaliation" 32:30 INSTEX & US sanctions 34:12 Merkel & Macron promised EU army 35:02 Strategic autonomy? 35:37 Vassals of US empire 36:40 Change will be slow 37:33 Independence would be good 38:26 Outro

The Donald Trump administration is waging a war against all multilateral institutions and international law itself. He withdrew the US from most global organizations and created a "Board of Peace" as an alternative to the UN that is entirely controlled by the USA. Ben Norton explains the imperialist strategy to impose unipolar hegemony on the world. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3nGsmSI3EQ Topics 0:00 New phase of imperialism 1:17 US war on international law 2:03 US colonial expansionism 3:05 USA withdraws from international orgs 4:30 Board of Peace: Trump's UN alternative 6:27 Board of Peace isn't about Gaza 7:39 Board members: US officials & oligarchs 9:10 Most countries reject invitation 10:04 Trump didn't invite Africa 11:10 China opposes US-led world order 12:08 Trump's US unipolar pay-to-play plan 13:25 USA attacks Canada over China deal 15:19 Importance of international law 17:20 UN Charter upholds sovereignty 18:27 Goal of US imperialism 19:34 Outro

So-called "peace president" Donald Trump has bombed 10 countries, more than any other US leader. He attacked 7 countries in 2025 alone. Now he wants to raise the USA's military budget to $1.5 trillion. Ben Norton explains how the self-declared "peacemaker" is waging war around the world. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Div95RNXX0M Topics 0:00 Donald Trump's promises 0:13 (CLIP) Trump: I'm a "peacemaker" 0:50 Trump promises no new wars 1:14 (CLIP) "I'm going to stop wars" 1:27 Trump bombed 7 countries in 2025 1:50 Map of 10 countries Trump bombed 2:49 US presidents are war criminals 4:06 Post-9/11 US wars: 4.5 million deaths 5:01 Trump the "peace president" 5:51 Joe Biden, war criminal 6:09 Trump, war criminal 6:50 Victims of US attack on Venezuela 8:26 US Department of War 9:06 Pete Hegseth threatens China, Russia 9:36 Trump's $1.5 trillion military budget 10:25 Military spending by top countries 11:09 Share of world defense spending 12:13 US national debt 14:26 Cut taxes on rich, raise on poor 15:41 Elon Musk's DOGE 16:28 Food stamp cuts 16:58 Class war 17:21 Money buys US elections 17:54 (CLIP) Trump praises Big Tech oligarchs 18:17 Imperialism 18:48 Outro